In 16 years as the athletic trainer at Springville High School, Lisa Walker knows firsthand the tremendous emotions involved as kids, teammates, parents and coaches face the health-related challenges inherent in athletics.

"It's absolutely heartbreaking in those first moments when I go on the field and can see that it could be something serious," Walker said. "Some feel that life is over and are devastated while others are in complete denial and are certain they can go on."

It's a roller coaster of emotion that she sees frequently as kids and parents deal with health issues: Shock, denial, anger, bargaining, depression and eventually acceptance. While the process can be excruciating, Walker said that it leads to the best part of her job.

"The most rewarding part of what I do is to watch a kid come back and be successful," she said. "They don't even need to win; they just need to see that they can be a valuable contributor again."

Unlike years past, now kids who enjoy sports activities in local schools have a network of professionals to keep them fit and in the game as much as possible.

"The goal is to get the best, most efficient care for the athlete, to get them back on the court or the field with the best outcome," said Dr. Karl Weenig, who specializes in general orthopedics and sports medicine at the Orthopedic Specialty Center at the Central Utah Clinic.

Today many doctors, including Weenig and Dr. Brent Rich and Dr. Melissa McLane of Intermountain Utah Valley Orthopedics and Sports Medicine in Provo, specialize in understanding and treating sports-related injuries.

The doctors said they rely on the information that the athletic trainers provide in their capacity of being familiar with the kids on a daily basis.

"My athletic trainers are my eyes and ears," McLane said. "They play a vital role in seeing what's going on with the athletes. It's a multi-disciplinary team, and we couldn't do our jobs without each other."

Certified athletic trainers are often the first to respond when there's an injury.

"When a kid gets hurt, our first job is to immediately evaluate what's going on with them," said Pleasant Grove athletic trainer Kristin Pond, who has worked with Viking athletes for nine years and is currently the president of the Utah Athletic Trainers Association.

"That's a core part of our training. After that, it depends on the injury on whether we contact a doctor, a physical therapist or take care of it ourselves."

These athletic trainers play a vital role in advising parents and coaches about the significance of an injury as well as getting a hurt competitor to the right doctor for medical evaluation.

"We've got to be the one individual that cares most about the athlete," said Walker, who is also the president of the Rocky Mountain Athletic Trainers Association. "Parents sometimes want their kids to be great, coaches want to win, the athletes want to be stars and fit in. We have to be rock-solid in doing what is best for them and not wavering."

With doctors and athletic trainers working together, coaches and administrators at the schools have a lot better chance of knowing what is going on with their student-athletes.

"I don't think there is any way to put a price tag on what they do," said Davis Knight, long-time head football coach at American Fork. "When we first got an athletic trainer, I thought of it as a luxury; now I consider it a necessity."

That's the way it should be, says Dave Wilkey, executive director of the Utah High School Activities Association. He said that as those governing high school sports examine issues, they always keep three things in mind.

"No. 1 is keeping the safety of the athlete in mind," he explained. "No. 2 is fairness and a level playing field, and No. 3 is making it possible for kids to have fun expressing themselves on the field of competition. It's always those three things, always in that order."

Placing the health of the athlete first is the cornerstone of sports medicine, and McLane said that's what everyone should keep in mind.

"Families, athletes, athletic trainers, institutions and doctors should all have the athlete's best interests at heart," she said.

∫ Jared Lloyd can be reached at jlloyd@heraldextra.com.

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