Jax High Schools To Get Athletic Trainers

More money is now being allotted to pay for licensed athletic trainers to work in Duval County schools. The extra dollars are coming from Jacksonville Jaguars coach Jack Del Rio's foundation.

It means that student athletes who get hurt can get help from someone with medical training -- something coaches don't have.

For instance, football players at Wolfson High School are given water breaks and chances to cool off on hot summer days. But the reality is, if one of them starts feeling sick or gets hurt, the responsibility of their well-being falls on their coach.

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Del Rio wants that to change.

"We're trying to do our best to make sure that there are athletic trainers that know what they're doing out there on the field that can provide proper treatment for our young athletes," he said at a news conference Thursday.

Del Rio is giving $40,000 from his foundation to put two athletic trainers in Duval County schools.

"You don't want to leave it up to a coach," he said. "Believe me. You don't want to leave up the training aspect of the job to a coach like myself who's not trained to do that."

The announcement was made during a meeting of high school principals and athletic directors Thursday morning at EverBank Field.

Terry Parker High School will get one of the athletic trainers immediately.

"The trainers are going to be expected to be at practices and athletic contests," said Janet Carpenter, the school's athletic director. "They will be looking for sports-related injuries, heat-related injuries or illnesses -- really just an extra set of eyes."

The trainers will be used for all sports, not just football, allowing someone other than a coach to offer advice on keeping student athletes safe.

"Help the coaches with preventative strategies, injury prevention strategies, perhaps it's working one-on-one with the coach and identifying some high-risk drills they may be doing and may be able to talk about ways to prevent injuries," said Robert Sefcik, of the Jacksonville Sports Medicine Program.

The athletic trainers will rotate from school to school for now. Del Rio's foundation is working with Wolfson Children's Hospital and Jacksonville Sports Medicine Program to donate more money to hire more trainers over time.

Additionally, all Duval County schools should now have automated external defibrillators on campus. The AEDs are medical devices used to help a child whose heart stops.