by: Susan Myers

SANFORD – Any game at high school athletic game requires an athletic trainer to be in attendance in case of injuries. For Lee County High School school, it is Devan Daniel.

¨I am responsible for men’s and women’s soccer,” Daniel, better known at LCHS as ‘Coach D, said. “Those are my two first responder things that I have to do, and I am responsible for being at all of the home games.¨ 

As the athletic trainer she is responsible for being at the home games, as well as any away games as she chooses to attend.

Daniel also teaches Sports Medicine I and II classes at LCHS. She does her best to teach these classes about sports injuries and how to go about helping people when an injury occurs. Her students in Sports Med II are more hands on and they attend more of the games to assist her. 

¨I help the players get stuff like water and anything they need from the concession stand. I also help her take pictures because she takes pictures for the team,¨ said student Nya South.

As the athletic trainer, she must be prepared for anything, and always make sure she has all the supplies needed.  ¨Mostly for games I just try to make sure I have everything I need, Daniel explained, “anything from tape to bandages, ace bandages, if I have any type of ice, wrap, prewrap, those things are kind of a necessity. 

“With soccer players, they are always asking to get their ankles taped, and sometimes you need to make sure you have an AED (automated external defibrillator), you never know when someone is going to have to have CPR or something to get them back just in case.¨ Daniel said

When you are an athletic trainer it’s important to have more than one person to help in case there is more than one injury. ¨I personally think that having someone who is deeper in knowledge, I know every coach is supposed to be certified in CPR and AED, but I don’t think they truly realize how helpful it is to have an athletic trainer that can assist with immediate injuries and effectively tell them what they need to do next. I think having that extra person can alleviate the duties,¨ Daniel stated.

Any athletic trainer must be very visual to make sure they see anything that happens. ¨First thing first, you have to be paying attention. Sometimes you might miss something but if your paying attention you can see the injury occur, and you can be told you can go on the field by the referees, and you might even be with one of your students or might be with another team,¨ Daniel added.

These are useful skills students are learning in the classes. South sees a practical application due to the fact that she plays sports.

¨It’s interesting and she’s very good at teaching, and it’s good to know how to do that stuff because I am an athlete,¨ South stated.

With all of the work you have to put into being an athletic trainer, there is also some aspects that make the job more fun and rewarding.

¨The most rewarding part of my job is being able to sit and talk with the students and then those that come to games are able to see what we talk about in class and how to assess it on field and then come back into the classroom to talk about what we did and how is was done, so it’s good to see my students really learn what’s happening through sports med, and just being able to sit and talk to them.¨ Daniel said.