Members of the University of Connecticut’s Korey Stringer Institute attended a conference on March 26 to promote the need for athletic trainers in all high schools in America, Douglas Casa, KSI Chief Operating Officer and UConn Director of Athletic Training said.
“One of our main goals at the KSI is to try to prevent sudden death in sports and we really wanted to advocate for athletic trainers because if it’s a head or neck injury, a heat stroke or a cardiac condition, what you do in the first five or 10 minutes can dictate if the athlete lives or dies,” Casa said.
Casa said it was the first time in history that the KSI was able to get multiple representatives from all 50 states to attend the conference, and this was important because representatives were able to see how other states have successfully implemented particular policies and have some motivation to move forward faster.
“Athletic trainers are the licensed medical professionals that high schools need to properly prevent, recognize and treat athletic injuries, so thankfully most high schools in America already have athletic trainers, but we are trying to advocate for more,” Casa said. “We called all 20,000 high schools in America and found that 70 percent have access to an athletic trainer and about 50 percent have one there everyday for both practices and games.”
Casa said that he thinks there will be a big mobilization with states requiring an emergency action plan for critically injured athletes now that they have learned strategies on how other states have implemented them.
The KSI has been advocating for more full-time athletic trainers and better medical coverage for athletes since 2010, when it first opened at UConn, according to a UConn Today article.
The Institute was formed after Korey Stringer, a football player who used to play for the Minnesota Vikings, died from a heat stroke at practice in 2001, Casa said. Stringer’s widow, Kelsey, wanted to have a lasting legacy for him and asked if UConn would want to be the home for that.
The KSI plans to promote many policies in the future including proper training for heat strokes and concussions, emergency action plans, and automated external defibrillator’s (AED’s) at sports fields, Casa said.
“The athletic trainer is essentially a necessary person to have on site so you don’t have to rely on coaches, parents or athletes to try to save someone’s life in an emergency,” Casa said. “They do more than assess injuries but this particular meeting in March was really focused on emergency action plans that show why athletic trainers are so important, especially at a high school level.”
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