Althetic Trainer Story
In the shadows
Athletic trainers in Katy ISD are dedicated professionals essential to sports’ programs
By Dee Blevins
Five days a week they are at the school before dawn and often leave well after dusk. Weekends don’t offer a reprieve; there are games to attend, athletes to rehabilitate and paper work to finish. Often putting in over 80 hours a week, the work of Katy Independent School District’s athletic trainers is never done.
“I arrive at school at 6 a.m. and prepare for the day,” Charlie Stevens, Head Athletic Trainer at Mayde Creek High school said. “Athletes start filtering in around 6:30 and we take care of them. Then I spend the morning following up on situations, doing clerical work and fixing equipment. Athletic periods start at 10:30 and we treat athletes while setting up for practices. Then, after school workouts start at 3:00 and we work practices until 5:30 and do treatments until 6:00. On Mondays and Tuesdays we have junior high football, on Tuesdays and Fridays we have volleyball and on Thursdays, Fridays and some Saturdays we have high school football games.”
Like Stevens, trainers at all Katy ISD high schools put in long days to assist student athletes and coaches. Though the hours are extensive and the job is intense, it is their shared love of athletics that got them interested in the career in the first place.
Russell Sadberry, Katy High School’s Assistant Athletic trainer, and Anjanette Butts, Head Athletic Trainer at Taylor High School became interested in the career after suffering injuries themselves. “I got injured and became interested in rehabilitation therapy so I got into it in college,” Sadberry said. Butts tore her ACL while playing soccer in high school. “So, I spent a lot of time in the training room. I also played soccer in college, but quit after a year. I then joined the training room at A&M.”
Mike Vara, Head Athletic Trainer at Seven Lakes High School became a trainer not because he suffered an
Athletic trainers in Katy ISD are dedicated professionals essential to sports’ programs
By Dee Blevins
Five days a week they are at the school before dawn and often leave well after dusk. Weekends don’t offer a reprieve; there are games to attend, athletes to rehabilitate and paper work to finish. Often putting in over 80 hours a week, the work of Katy Independent School District’s athletic trainers is never done.
“I arrive at school at 6 a.m. and prepare for the day,” Charlie Stevens, Head Athletic Trainer at Mayde Creek High school said. “Athletes start filtering in around 6:30 and we take care of them. Then I spend the morning following up on situations, doing clerical work and fixing equipment. Athletic periods start at 10:30 and we treat athletes while setting up for practices. Then, after school workouts start at 3:00 and we work practices until 5:30 and do treatments until 6:00. On Mondays and Tuesdays we have junior high football, on Tuesdays and Fridays we have volleyball and on Thursdays, Fridays and some Saturdays we have high school football games.”
Like Stevens, trainers at all Katy ISD high schools put in long days to assist student athletes and coaches. Though the hours are extensive and the job is intense, it is their shared love of athletics that got them interested in the career in the first place.
Russell Sadberry, Katy High School’s Assistant Athletic trainer, and Anjanette Butts, Head Athletic Trainer at Taylor High School became interested in the career after suffering injuries themselves. “I got injured and became interested in rehabilitation therapy so I got into it in college,” Sadberry said. Butts tore her ACL while playing soccer in high school. “So, I spent a lot of time in the training room. I also played soccer in college, but quit after a year. I then joined the training room at A&M.”
Mike Vara, Head Athletic Trainer at Seven Lakes High School became a trainer not because he suffered an