Trainers abound in club soccer
Licensed specialists a definite asset to leading teams07:24 PM CDT on Saturday, July 28, 2007
Two national tournaments in the Dallas area this past week offer two different approaches to using athletic trainers in club sports.
The U.S. Youth Soccer National Championships, which conclude today in Frisco, had four trainers on duty most shifts to treat any player from the 48 competing teams.
Elite sports for high school athletes
Part 4: Trainers abound in elite soccer
The PrimeTime Sports National Basketball Championship, which also concludes today, had one trainer for the entire event, involving 600 teams competing in several area cities.
In general, youth sports experts say, the use of licensed and certified athletic trainers in club sports is still the exception rather than the rule. But they are commonly employed at the top levels of club soccer here.
Frisco-based U.S. Youth Soccer expects the bill for athletic trainers and other medical services at its national tournament to exceed $6,000. The top two leagues in the area – one boys, one girls – spend a total of roughly $50,000 a year to have trainers at tournaments and league games.
A few area soccer clubs even have trainers travel with teams. Bob Luedtke says he has been to 13 countries and 39 states with club teams in the 20 years he has worked with them. Currently he travels with the Texans.
Athletic trainers tape ankles, ice sprains, give nutrition advice and devise rehab and injury prevention regimens. They may even play the role of psychologist, helping an injured player deal with pressures to play in the pursuit of a college scholarship.
"The trainer is there for one reason," said Luedtke, "to take care of the kid."
Some area hockey, volleyball, lacrosse and rugby clubs also use athletic trainers, youth sports officials and trainers say, as do some area basketball and baseball tournaments. The recently completed Great American Shootout basketball tournament in Denton had trainers at all nine sites, organizer Mike Kunstadt said.
Where athletic trainers are used in soccer and other sports, the level of care is on par with top high school programs, those involved say. Indeed, many of the trainers working club sports are also high school athletic trainers. In Texas, athletic trainers must be licensed.
Billionaire businessman Kenny Troutt has employed a trainer-nutritionist for his Dallas youth basketball teams, and individual athletes work with individual athletic trainers.
Still, on many club teams, if a kid gets hurt, coaches and parents are on their own. And that often means bring your own ice.
"Most teams take care of that themselves," said Jason Maupin, operations director for PrimeTime Sports, referring to athletic trainer duties.
Richard Holt, executive director of Boys Baseball Inc., says the cost of providing trainers to teams in his organization would override the need. The soccer organizations pay $25 to $30 an hour for athletic trainers.
"We have very few injuries," Holt said.
Mesquite-based BBI is one of the largest select baseball associations in the state with 100 teams and 1,500 players, ranging to age 18.
Mary Margaret Taylor, the executive director of the Plano Sports Authority, one of the largest youth sports organizations in the country, said for most games and matches at PSA facilities, athletic trainers are not on site. But they do cover some hockey, basketball and lacrosse events.
For the 12th consecutive year, McKinney is hosting the Mickey Mantle World Series (16-and-under baseball), beginning Wednesday. Tournament director David Gunter said that in the past an athletic trainer has been on site, but this year that probably won't be the case. Instead, players will have access to an off-site physical therapy center if they need treatment.
The Lake Highlands Girls Classic League, with 200 teams and about 3,000 players, is the top girls' soccer league in the area. Some think it might be the best girls' league in the country.
It has used athletic trainers at tournaments for many years and began using them at league games three years ago, said executive director Jim Creasey.
"You have someone doing triage who can evaluate immediately if you need ice or an ambulance," Creasey said. "It provides a comfort level for kids, for parents and for us."
Creasey said his organization spends $12,000 a year on athletic trainers. Night league games are not covered.
Gary Robinson, executive director of the Chamber Classic Soccer Alliance, which operates the top boys' league in the area, said the Classic League has arranged for trainers at tournaments for at least 10 years and expanded to include league games two years ago.
"Since then, we've seen a reduction in injuries," Robinson said.
The Classic League has 240 teams with just under 4,000 players. Robinson said the athletic trainer program costs less than $10 a player a year, or less than $40,000.
Team fees, travel and other expenses for a player on a top team can total several thousand dollars a year.
Ken Locker is an athletic trainer and director of sports marketing at Presbyterian Healthcare System, which supplies trainers for the boys Classic League. When he started at Presbyterian three years ago, Locker said, 25 percent of his group's revenue came from club teams, mainly soccer and high school-affiliated hockey clubs. That has increased to 50 percent and Locker expects the trend to continue.
"A trainer can return you to play much quicker," he said.
Locker, who worked for the Cowboys for 17 years, said very young players aren't particularly prone to injuries, but as they get older, bigger, faster and more skilled, the possibility for injuries increases.
"Don't take this the wrong way," Locker said, "but some of these youth football games look like an amoeba in heat."
Bill Borowski is coordinator of the athletic training outreach program for Baylor Rehabilitation System at Pizza Hut Park in Frisco. His group was busy this past week with the U.S. Youth Soccer nationals. Peak time, though, comes every spring during the Dallas Cup, the largest international youth soccer tournament in the world. Borowski said 22 athletic trainers worked a total of 450 hours during the weeklong event this year.
Injury prevention is a big topic for athletic trainers. Steve Parker gives an annual speech to coaches and managers before summer tryouts for the Lake Highlands Girls Classic League. This year, he said, he talked about hydration, knee injuries and why soccer players should wear headgear protection, which he said is a controversial topic.
"We are more worried about bruising our shins than losing brain cells," Parker said, pointing out that shin guards are required but headgear isn't. Parker oversees the athletic trainer program for the girls' league and travels with some clubs.
Traveling with club teams is mostly a labor of love that covers expenses, say Parker and Luedtke, who also operate their own clinics. Some players later retain them individually.
In the kickoff story to this club sports series four Sundays ago, University Interscholastic League director Bill Farney said his organization is getting a growing number of complaints from high school trainers who are treating injuries they suspect come in club sports. The UIL oversees most high school sports in Texas.
Trainers say that happens, especially in a sport like soccer where overlapping high school and club seasons can mean playing nearly year-round. But they say there is usually more friction between the club and high school coaches than the trainers.
"It's usually not a big issue," said Jason Barnes, an athletic trainer at Frisco High School.
Creasey, with the Lake Highlands league, says the problem goes both ways. Based on anecdotal evidence, he said, the girls' injury rate in high school soccer is two to three times the injury rate in club soccer. He attributes that to differences in field quality and the wider variety of skill levels in high school that can lead to more inadvertent collisions between players.
Luedtke, a former trainer at Pearce High School, said there are no definitive studies yet on injury rates. But he said "more kids get hurt in high school that screw up their club than get hurt in club and screw up their high school."
For Parker, it doesn't make any difference where the injuries occur.
"It's a profession of healing," he said. "If you're hurt and playing for me, I'm going to take care of you."
• An athletic trainer is not the same as a personal trainer, the National Athletic Trainers' Association says.
• Athletic trainers assess and treat injuries, practice injury prevention and establish rehabilitation plans. They work in cooperation with other health care professionals.
• In Texas, an athletic trainer must be licensed by the state. Licensed athletic trainers hold a college degree, meet coursework and any necessary apprenticeship requirements, and pass written and practical exams.
• Athletic trainers can be certified by the national Board of Certification. Once certified, by passing a comprehensive test, athletic trainers must meet continuing education requirements.
• More than 70 percent of certified athletic trainers hold at least a master's degree, according to NATA.