Coaches from Rancho Bernardo High School spoke last week at the Poway Unified school board meeting to emphasize how valuable athletic trainers are to student athletes and to thank the district for its .
Two weeks before, the coaches had written a letter to the district that brought attention to staffing and funding issues experienced by athletic trainers at district high schools. They also requested from the community at the April 6 meeting.
At the meeting, the board room was nearly full with students, parents and RB High staff.
However, things had changed since the letter went out. District spokeswoman Christine Paik said last week that the board has been working to address these issues. In August 2022, a meeting was held between the athletic trainers and district officials where officials approved the allocation of $8,000 per high school for athletic trainer supplies.
Paik also confirmed that budgeting has been made for this school year to hire additional athletic trainers for of each comprehensive high school. In addition, current athletic trainers will receive a 5% increase in salary starting June 1, she said.
When Kurt Trecker, a teacher at RB High for 23 years and boys soccer coach for 19, spoke during the public comments section of the meeting, he praised the actions by the school board and their plans to further athletic trainers.
“Today I’m here to thank our district leadership for validating the importance of our athletic trainers. When it comes to the care of our student athletes, they’re the first responders for athletics,” Trecker said.
In addition to being a first responder in the event of an injury, Trecker said the role of an athletic trainer includes rehab and reconditioning for students along with injury prevention strategy and medical record management.
Trecker said he has seen injuries becoming more common in sports as athletes are stronger and faster than when he was in high school, which adds more duties to the already full plate of athletic trainers.
In their letter to the district, the coaches had asked for competitive pay for athletic trainers in district high schools, a fixed budget for supplies and assistant athletic trainers.
The letter highlighted the efforts of Robbie Bowers, the sole athletic trainer for all RB High athletes for 17 years. As the population of student athletes continues to grow, Bowers has become more and more limited to the services he’s able to provide, the coaches wrote.
“No physical therapy, no treatment, no return-to-play protocols, no advice or counsel, no guarantees that contests will be attended by an AT. Just the basics. Emergency care, if he’s available,” the letter said.
Trecker told the board that he saw the value of having an AT available for emergencies first hand when Bowers saved the life of the father of the coach of the Westview High School basketball team during a game.
“I cannot forget the speed at which the athletic trainer jumped into action to save that man’s life,” he said.
Tristan McCoy, a teacher and former head football coach at RB High, represented the coaching staff at the meeting. He emphasized the importance of hiring additional athletic trainer staff for the next school year, when the number of sports at RB will increase from 20 to 28, with a total of 1,200 students participating.
McCoy said he’s seen hundreds of examples of Bowers being pulled in too many directions at once, which lessens his ability to help the students.
“Each day our athletic trainers work wonders but are spread far too thin attempting the impossible task of being many places at once and attempting to give care to hundreds of student athletes at the same time,” he said.
McCoy said he was pleased with the news that the district was addressing their issues. But he said wanted to make sure the concerns of the coaches were voiced and recorded and the commitments made by district officials are kept.
“If we have determined that it is important to provide athletic opportunities for our kids, then we must do the right thing and make sure our kids’ health and safety is secure by providing quality athletic trainers who are taken care of,” McCoy said.
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