By: Ava Bonavia and Kenzie Wagner

“Out of Grandview’s 2,780 students, about one half participate in school sports, and for all of these athletes, we only have one athletic trainer, Mr. Learned,”Aidan O’Keefe wrote one year ago, so what has changed?

Nothing, yet.

Even after the article “One Thousand to One”, students still only have one trainer for the almost 3,000 kids at Grandview.

Athletes still face long wait times. Amilya Scott, a JV cheerleader, has to wait about an hour and doesn’t always get to see Learned, often times seeing the student trainers on staff.

Without an additional head trainer, student trainers are necessary to keeping the training room functional. They make ice bags, organize the room and some can perform tape jobs after proper training but are still not educated enough to treat certain injuries.

“Learned wasn’t there one time and I had to get [my ankle] taped by a student trainer,” said Scott. “Mid way through practice I had to go take off my tape because it was way too tight and I couldn’t walk.”

Although student trainers are not a replacement to Learned, they still work hard to improve their skills and be a helpful asset to the training room.

“I want to go into physical therapy and this is a good chance for me to start helping people now,” said students helper, Quentin Reese. “There is not much I can do, but what I can I am going to.”

Student trainers work hard at the job they enjoy and try to help Learned in the busy training room.

“My favorite part of the job is when we help someone, and this feeling, you can just see on their face how excited and happy they become,” said Reese. “The look of pure joy and happiness on their face, nothing beats that.”

But even with the hardworking help from the student trainers, there are still not enough helpers to fill Learned’s role.

“There are so many athletes and so many sports he needs to cover but there’s only one of him and there is only so much the student trainers can do,” said student helper Roy Shaw.

Student trainers can only do so much to help with the bustling training room.

“We can’t do anything in the way of diagnosing just because we don’t have any sort of education on all the stuff that Learned has,” said student trainer, Mike Zobel

Although athlete wait times are still an issue, Athletic Director Wes Smock says there are plans for improvement.

“[We are] always looking to get someone there,” said Smock. “We have several people hopefully lined up.”

With only one head trainer and three to four student trainers present each day, how equipt are coaches to assess and treat injuries when outside help is unavailable?

“Every coach is trained in first aid, concussions, CPR and AEDs,” said Smock.

When injuries surpass coach’s ability and there is no trainer, there is always an emergency plan.

“We always have emergency plans in place,” said Smock. “We error on the side of caution.”

Even with the additional help and coach training, students not get treated right away for their injuries.

“Sometimes it takes a while, but eventually everyone gets treated” said Zobel

With such a busy training room, student trainers have found that they must put other sports above others.

“We get pressure from the school to make sure that certain sports get priority, but that happens with all schools.” said Reese. “But that doesn’t stop us from making sure everybody gets treated.”

Trainers find that pressure changes just depending on what sport is being treated.

“A lot of it [the pressure] comes from the coaches and the popularity of the sports,” said Reese.

But long wait times and sport priority has a light at the end of the tunnel as Smock has hopeful candidates lined up.

“If someone with the same level of training that Learned has can be there to help him out everything will move so much quicker,” said Zobel.