A new study published in the Journal of Athletic Training shows a significant shortage of athletic trainers in California high schools.
According to the study, over 47 percent of high schools in California do not have an athletic trainer, and 7 percent of schools employed unqualified health personnel for the position.
Among those schools who do have a qualified athletic trainer, just 13 percent reported employing a full-time, year-round athletic trainer.
“Currently in California, anyone, even if they have zero medical experience, can call themselves an athletic trainer. This should be a major concern to parents,” NATA President Tory Lindley said in a statement.
Public schools were slightly more likely than private schools to employ an athletic trainer. Fully 50.6 percent of public high schools employed an athletic trainer.
“One wrong decision could leave your child paralyzed forever,” Lindley said in a statement. “That is how serious this is. There is no room in organized sports for this level of risk. Our athletes deserve better.”
