While the athletes are grabbing all the attention on the field, it’s the team behind the team making everything possible.
Hart High School has been known around the Santa Clarita Valley for its athletics, but recently, it’s been the people behind the scenes who have been keeping these athletes in shape for their upcoming season.
Blake Bourgeois, a student at Hart High and a member of the sports medicine program, explains the importance of preparing these athletes to compete at their best.
“It definitely helps if you get injured and you want to rehabilitate to become able to play again, as well as also preparing before a game,” said Bourgeois.
“I feel like before I was in sports med, I was not as good as like warming up and becoming ready for a game.”
The program at Hart High is led by Jon Figueroa, the school’s head athletic trainer. Figueroa takes pride in his job and has created a community where these students can be part of something.
As an athletic trainer, I think one of the most important things to me is ensuring that every single patient/athlete I have, I can impact them in a positive way,” said Figueroa.
“Whether that’s through some sort of injury or they come to me about other things outside of it, because at the end of the day, they’re not just athletes, they’re people.”
At times, it might seem as if these trainers are underappreciated, but for Hart, that is not the case. The sports medicine program is currently partnered with the local hospital, Henry Mayo and is recognized by the professional NBA organization, the Los Angeles Clippers.
“A field trip to the Clippers is awesome,” said Figueroa.
“I think it’s amazing that they sponsor an event to recognize sports medicine and bring in sports medicine programs from hundreds of schools.”
As more and more athletes put time and effort into their sport, so do the people who keep these players off the injury report.
