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On March 9, 2015 The 6th Annual High School Sports Medicine Seminar celebrated National Athletic Trainers Month. Hosted by the National Honors Society of Sports Medicine, Los Angeles Clippers, Providence Health and Services, Saint Francis High School, and Notre Dame High School. The event took place in downtown Los Angeles at the world-famous Staples Center. Speakers and Volunteers from California State University of Northridge and College of the Canyons came out to speak and educate high school students around Southern California. Co-Event Coordinator Eli Hallak, Head Athletic Trainer of St. Francis High School stated that for third time in six years, the event hosted over one thousand high school students. The Speakers that attended the event focused on exposing students to information about various college athletic training programs, career choices in health care, and stressing the importance of professional growth and development. It is the hopes and goals by all those involved that every attending student will be able to take and grasp anything from what they learned and build upon it for their futures.

Chris Schmidt PhD, ATC director of the Athletic Training Program at Azusa Pacific University, was our first speaker. He spoke about his experience in the field of Athletic Training and stressed the importance of going to college and furthering ones knowledge in the field they enjoy doing. Following Professor Schmidt was retired Major League Baseball player “Big Money” Benjamin Molina. His speech focused on the effects that family upbringing has on the aspects of personal development and more. There was no shortage of enthusiasm as he urged and motivated these high school students to be the best they can be, concentrate on developing personal growth, character, and striving to help others. Bengie was a phenomenal speaker captivating the audience with his knowledge and the experiences of his childhood.

The purpose of the The National Honors Society of Sports Medicine (NHSSM) is to promote fields of study within Sports Medicine, community service, leadership and character development of students in secondary schools. The CSUN Athletic Training Program has been an integral part of the NHSSM’s event at Staples Center since it’s inception in 2007. The CSUN Athletic Training Program contribute annually to all aspects of the NHSSM’s ideals of character development, education, growth, and integrity of students in secondary schools. This year, CSUN athletic training students (ATSs) along with Students from College of the Canyons paired up with Co-Event Coordinator Cindy Kramer ACI, MS, ATC, CSCS Notre Dame High Schools Head Athletic Trainer to teach a specific technique used in the field of Athletic Training. Cindy Kramer developed twenty-four skill stations ranging from first aide procedures to in clinic evaluations all which introduce the high school students to various aspects in the health care setting . Each station volunteers had five minutes to demonstrate their given task before the high school students rotated.The stations included shoulder evaluation, functional movement screening, goniometry, lateral walks with thera-bands, single and double legged basketball shots on a bosu ball/airex pad, and taping. The Volunteers not only expressed to the students why each station was important in the field of Athletic Training but they also talked about their journey in applying to a program and or being in the program. A Few students eyes lit up as the volunteers shared their past experiences throughout undergraduate education in athletic training. CSUN and COC’s Athletic Training Students encouraged the High School Students to continue learning and never give up on your path you want to pursue.

Though the event is a learning opportunity for high school students some of the volunteers have never worked at a high school level. For the volunteers it was a great opportunity to engage each group and encourage participation. Eli Hallak stated “Our passion is to share our knowledge and love of healthcare with others. We hope to connect with theses students, and help them realize their true potential moving forward in their high school careers and or graduate careers” All of the volunteers enjoyed teaching the students and were able to gain confidents in the skills while making their given stations fun and relatable to the student. Eric Martinez second year CSUN ATS stated “As a leader at my station, I learned how to engage each group and encourage participation.  It’s an amazing experience to share my education with students! I hope to continue volunteering at events such as this one.”Marc Millner second year ATS  stated “This was my second year attending the event to teach high school students about AT at the Staples Center. I am glad I went both years and I recommend that every athletic training student attend this event. I believe the best way to test your knowledge on a subject is to try and teach it to someone else; this event puts you in the position to do that.”Natalie Flores second year CSUN ATS stated “It was a super fun experience and made me feel confident about how much I know after so much time in the program!” The overall event was a tremendous way to expose high school students to the field of athletic training earlier in their career. Kiani Reis first year CSUN ATS “So grateful I had the opportunity as a first year to speak at the high school level especially having a high school setting as one of my rotations this year I was able to better explain the importance of my station along with testing their knowledge that the students learned in school.”  What is wonderful about the event is that the high school students had the able to talk to students one on one in undergraduate athletic training programs along with students at the community college level hoping to attend an Athletic Training Program stated.

Courtesy of Eli Hallak, Head Athletic Trainer of St. Francis High School