Apr 5, 2018Middle School Coverage
Many high schools partner with hospitals to provide athletic training coverage for their sports teams, but the North Kansas City (Mo.) School District (NKCSD) has taken their arrangement one step further. Starting last fall, NKCSD expanded its existing contract with Mosaic Life Care to bring athletic trainers to its middle schools. Not only is this keeping young students safer, it has laid the groundwork for their athletic futures.
“When the middle school athletes get to high school, they will already know what the athletic trainer is there for, which will keep a lot of injuries from slipping through the cracks,” says Tony Phillips, DC, Director of Sports Medicine at Mosaic Life Care. “In the past, we’ve spent a lot of time educating the freshmen and sophomores on how to use the athletic trainers. Now, the transition will be much smoother.”
The idea arose when NKCSD began planning to add football to its middle school programs for 2017-18. Fred Bouchard, Executive Director of Support Services and Athletics for NKCSD, approached Phillips about the need for athletic training coverage for these young athletes.
When the middle school athletes get to high school
