The purpose of athletic training is to provide sports medicine services to student-athletes to decrease the risk of injury and enable them to report to their sport as soon as medically cleared. At PACT, our athletic trainer will be at the school at the end of the school day and for practices and home games. Coverage at home events includes the following sports: football, boys and girls soccer, volleyball, cross country, boys and girls basketball, dance, softball, baseball, and track.

The athletic trainer will provide sideline care for the above teams at all home events. Sideline care includes but is not limited to taping, on-field and sideline injury evaluation, sideline concussion evaluation, wound care, emergency care, heat illness prevention, and return-to-play. If multiple home events are scheduled simultaneously, the athletic trainer will work with our athletic director to determine coverage priority and if additional coverage will be needed.  If additional athletic training coverage cannot be obtained, the sport with the highest injury potential will be prioritized.  The athletic trainer will be available by phone for all events, including middle school programs. 

ImPACT, an FDA-cleared medical device, is used to help assess and manage concussions. All PACT athletes will be required to have a current baseline ImPACT test on file to play. Athletic trainers use baseline testing to document the healthy brain function of athletes. This baseline is compared to post-injury testing results if they suffer a head injury to help make concussion treatment decisions. Baseline tests are good for two years. The athletic trainer will coordinate with the coaches of each sport to set up group testing at the beginning of the season. This service, as well as any post-injury testing done by PACT’s athletic trainer, is free of charge to our student-athletes. As part of TRIA’s administration of the baseline ImPACT test, student-athletes will also be provided with pertinent concussion education. 

The athletic trainer will utilize an online injury documenting system to communicate pertinent injury and rehabilitation information to coaches, parents, and the school nurse. This system is both HIPAA and FERPA-compliant. The standard procedure for communicating injuries to parents will be that the athletic trainer will call or email parents for injuries that meet one or more of the following criteria:  

• Result in a change in the playability status of the athlete (i.e., removed from play)  
• Require imaging or further evaluation by an MD  
• Have not improved with two weeks of regular treatments in the ATR  

Coaches will typically be made aware of all remarkable and unremarkable injury evaluations, along with their playability status. Not all athlete encounters warrant a call home (i.e., wound care, taping, unremarkable evaluation, etc.). Parents are welcome to contact the athletic trainer with questions about their athlete’s visits to the ATR at any time.  

Athletes seen by a physician outside of TRIA for an injury must turn in a doctor’s note to the athletic trainer before they can be cleared to return to play.  

Athletes with health conditions that require a care plan or emergency response plan should be sure to share this with the athletic trainer and provide emergency medications to keep on hand if applicable: Examples:  

• Asthma  
• Severe allergy  
• Diabetes  
• Epilepsy  
• Anemia  
• Anxiety/panic attacks  
• Vasovagal syncope  

The athletic training room (ATR) is a free walk-in orthopedic clinic for students for pre- and post-practice evaluation, treatment, and rehabilitation. Hours may vary depending on school and sports schedules but will generally be as follows: 

• School days: 2:30-5:30 p.m.  
• Non-School Fridays: Staff walk-in hours 11 a.m.-2 p.m.
• Weekends and school breaks: Event coverage only

We are seeking donations for the upcoming school year! See our Amazon Wish List to view and purchase needed items. We also accept gently used, durable medical equipment (DME) and rehabilitation equipment. See our donation list for examples of what is being accepted. Thanks for helping our student-athletes! *Note: Donations count toward volunteer hours ($10 = 1 hour).