Carrboro High School hires athletic trainer

The sun was blazing as about 40 boys positioned themselves to be tackled, the sweat hidden under heavy padding.

As a whistle blew, they gathered around a 40-gallon water tank, waiting for their turns to use the attached hose to quench their thirst.

The Carrboro High School football team will be even more serious about hydration and safety when a full-time athletic trainer joins its ranks in the coming weeks.

Player safety came to the forefront last August, when a 17-year-old Chapel Hill High School football player, Atlas Fraley, died after returning from a scrimmage.

“Coaches are very aware of the need to monitor student athletes during and after practice,” said Christoff Stutts, an assistant football coach for the Carrboro High Jaguars.

Before his death, Fraley had been complaining of cramps and dehydration. He later called for help from his home, only to be found dead hours later.

After searching for a year, Carrboro High is waiting for the school board to confirm a full-time athletic trainer who will be certified in exercise and sport science, bringing expertise to athletic health and safety.

But Chapel Hill-Carrboro City Schools officials said the impetus to create an athletic trainer position at Carrboro High was not directly in response to Fraley’s death.

“That’s a misrepresentation,” said Stephanie Willis, the district’s health coordinator.

A N.C. High School Athletic Association bill that asked the N.C. General Assembly to fund a licensed athletic director at every school was a reaction to student deaths, but funding was not provided because of the state budget crunch.

The position of athletic trainer was open all of last year, but was less attractive to applicants at the time.

Willis explained that in the past, regular PE teachers had volunteered their time to stay after school for athletic events, or athletic trainers were paid a small stipend with no benefits.

The new position will be full-time with benefits, and the trainer will be available to students between about 1 p.m. and the end of evening athletic events.

The trainer’s salary, roughly $40,000, comes from funds saved from hiring freezes on positions such as third assistant coaches throughout the school system.

“What this proposal does is create a job that’s more friendly to the employee,” district spokeswoman Stephanie Knott said.

If the position works out, it could be duplicated throughout the system’s high schools.

Stutts listed many benefits to having a certified athletic trainer on site, including the burden lifted from assistant coaches.

“We’ll be able to have a professional diagnosis of kids’ injuries,” Stutts said. “Maybe a kid has something that doesn’t look very serious, and it is.”

Willis also said the trainer would be able to provide workshops for student athletes on important topics like dehydration, nutrition and muscle massage.

The trainer will be confirmed and his or her name released by the school board at its Sept. 3 meeting.


Contact the City Editor at citydesk@unc.edu.