Hello! My name is Nikki Rowland. I am a licensed athletic trainer and Advanced EMT in the state of WI. I currently work in the secondary school setting for a private HS in southeastern WI. I am also apart of the WATA secondary school committee. My favorite Gatorade is the light blue! It's super hard to pick only one athlete! I'd probably have to pick Ilona Maher - I love the emergency care side of rugby and Ilona's personality. I think we'd get along so well!

Has anyone ever heard of pre-competition drinking icy cold water to slow down the effects of dehydration at the beginning of competition? I was shared this by someone working on the professional tennis tours.

Pay is a huge portion of it.  But there is also the idea of does the pay match your hours.  The idea of working 60-70 hour weeks but "it balances out since you have a 10 month contract" doesn't really cut it once you have a family.  You basically get one month with your kids once they finish with school. But during that month you also have to attend NATA/NSCA or other conferences to stay current.  I believe that no setting should see a salary lower than $70k for an entry level.  I understand that is easier said than done....

Thank you all so much for the information and resources!

The answer is Gatorade has been partnering with people like us and other athletes so you should try it

Gatorade has been in the drink company for years but why should athletes drink it

I once worked for an orthopedic group that would have a satellite athletic trainer that would visit schools in Texas, like yours, weekly. They would provide evaluations, rehab-like programs when needed, and facilitate any doctor’s visit. If you’re willing to share what area you’re in, I bet we would be able I help a lot more! As much as I know you want to help, I think the best option for you at this point would be for you to advocate to hire an athletic trainer. Whether it be part-time, or contract. I understand what you’re asking about resources, but ultimately that is an athletic trainer’s job and I do not think you can do much “training”, since Athletic Training educational content is a master level degree.

With such a strong focus on game day results, post-game or post-practice recovery isn’t always top of mind for young athletes. How do you educate your athletes on its importance? What strategies do you find helps them keep it in focus?

I’ve definitely used chatGPT to see what the general consensus on things are whether it’s a topic of discussion or even training splits/guidelines. However, if it does cite journals, I do look into that more. Definitely pretty good as a starting ground to build off ideas in my opinion!

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