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Show i ym uJ v f Jaio Doctor vl By DAVE WIGHAM 5j This article is in response to a Letter to the Editor that i was printed in last week's issue concerning the injured athlete and the possibility of the district hiring an athletic 'Wl trainer to diagnose the injuries. FIRST OF all let me assure all people concerned that J ' none of the athletes mentioned were injured as a result of 7 I poor medical judgment by a coach. The boy who is having trouble with his knee is under a doctor's supervision, so a y trainer wouldn't be able to do much anyway. Another x4 1 football injury, to the player at Davis, came during foot- f? I ball and he was treated by a doctor and slowly working his I I' way back into condition for basketball. I I The athlete at Viewmont who suffered the injury in the t I summer is a special case. First of all, a coach or a doctor, 1 J has no way of telling what an injury is if the athlete makes All nocommentconcemingbeinghurt. In this case the athlete : j thought it less serious than it obviously was. In football the Sill athlete felt the pain, said nothing, thinking it just part of being hit all the time. Unless a player says something to a V coach, or even a doctor, they have no way of telling about ij an injury. , TRUE, 1 agree with the writer that an athletic trainer ' 1 would be great, but all the high schools I know have a team I1 doctor that the coaches use frequently, fll i If there is anyone that thinks the coaches in the area ' aren't thinking and concerned with the athletes well-being I, j first, then those people are very wrong. Every coach is flf worried about his players. If a player is hurt, then he 1 im ., shouldn't play and the coaches, if they know about it, don't 'Ul4 play that person. How many times do the athletes actually I! tell the coach if they are hurt? Many occasions I have iiij known the players to remain quiet, this is no fault of the ly bnto coach. iW ,l THE POINT about not being trained to perform in h athletic training is not really true. If you major in physical M education you'd be surprised at the type of classes III required. True, these classes wouldn't get you into . ' f medical school but majors are required in such classes as , i' Kinesiology, tests and measurements, first aid, human anatomy. Give the coaches some credit, they are not stupid wT when it comes to the human body. Certainly not as qualified as a doctor, but certainly more than John Doe. t Look on the other hand, I have known athletes who have gone to specialists and still had problems with rehabilitation rehabilita-tion of a knee injury. L THE IDEA of a trainer is good. To me the coach is well qualified in that field. And with the addition of working with the team doctor, I maintain that the athletes are well taken care of in the high schools in the area. C Believe me, the coaches first care is for the welfare and health of his players. ! |