The athletic training room—located near the boys’ locker room—quickly fills with the bustle of students almost every day after school. Led by Sports Medicine teacher and Athletic Trainer Stephanie Mock, the room serves as a space for athletes to stop by for treatment.
Although the athletic room is already quite well-ordered with implementations such as sign-up sheets, a few concerns still stand out.
For one, Mock has to do most of the work. This includes taping, concussion clearances, and communication with both coaches and teachers. Despite her efficiency, the work can quickly become overwhelming.
“I see anywhere between 30 to 50 kids, 50 plus kids, every day. So when it’s one there’s one of me and 50 of them, it’s kind of hard to keep up with,” Mock said. “It’s about as organized as it can be, and it’s just a lot for one person. It’s a two-person job,” she added.
“Between the start of practices, there are a lot of people. There is always a full line outside,” sophomore Carla Luna-Contreras said.
Luna-Contreras is one of Mock’s few student assistants. Assistants don’t need any prior experience to begin learning from Mock. “If they want to learn and they’re interested, they’re 100% more than welcome to come in,” Mock said.
Luna-Contreras works with Mock because of her interest in sports medicine. “It’ll help out a lot of people,” Luna-Contreras said. “I’ve always wanted to do sports, but since I can’t really do it, I help people doing sports. It’s very fun.”
Though her student assistants help her wherever they can, struggles still persist.
Another significant issue is the lack of space. The athletic training room is smaller than a typical classroom, and struggles to fit the number of people visiting. Many students expressed hopes of expanding the room to resolve this issue.
“Her office is quite small, and I think since she’s helping out so many different athletes from different sports, a bigger office could help out. She can [be] more efficient with space because she has very limited stuff in her office,” junior Gabriella Recendez said.
Freshman Damian Anguiano also voiced a similar desire for a larger room. “I think it [would give] more room for people that are getting treated to get treated,” Anguiano said. “It [would be] easier to fit those types of people instead of being packed outside.”
“Steph’s room is very popular, just very small, which [is why] I feel like the school should expand her office,” Luna-Contreras said.
Despite the students’ wishes, expanding the athletic room proves to be a difficult feat.
In most states, national certification from the Board of Certification is required to practice as an athletic trainer. In Hawaii, New York, and South Carolina, though they don’t require full licensure, they have other forms of regulation to practice as an athletic trainer.
California is the only state where athletic trainers aren’t recognized as medical professionals, meaning there is no state licensure, registration, or title protection for the term “athletic trainer”.
Moreover, the district isn’t the one funding the athletic room—the athletic training program is part of the rehab division in the orthopedics service line in Stanford Medicine Children’s Health Hospital—meaning that it’s even less likely for the district to fund a room expansion.
“Stanford Medicine Children’s Hospital is who we’re contracted through, and just statewide and federally, there’s no funding for it,” Mock explained. “The districts don’t have enough money.”
Anyone interested in athletic training is encouraged to go to the athletic room to learn from Mock, or take her sports medicine class. Others who need treatment can also stop by at the athletic room.
