Trainers aid sidelined athletes, offer advice for future
By KATHLEEN O'BRIEN
Assistant Sports Editor
For an athlete, nothing is more disappointing than being told he or she can not compete.
"It's frustrating because you want to help your team, but you just can't," senior football player A'Jani Sanders said. "It bothers you on your mental aspect, especially when you've been a starter and you know that you're probably the best person at that position."
Yet the constant strain on their bodies, particularly the danger arising from collisions in contact sports, can frequently send players to the sidelines with injuries and illnesses.
When a Notre Dame varsity athlete sustains an injury, he first sees an athletic trainer. If the injury warrants further medical attention, the trainer refers the athlete to one of the University team physicians, who makes the final decision regarding a player's eligibility for competition.
"As athletic trainers, we're in charge of any of the health care involved with the athletes,"head athletic trainer Jim Russ said. "Anything dealing with the injury or illness of an athlete, we are the central point."
Because each team has trainers assigned to it, a trainer is often present at the time of injury. Consequently, the trainer is generally the first point of contact.
"The trainers are what I call the paramedics of the sports field," University physician Jim Moriarity said. "They're always there. We always try to defer to the trainers in their initial decision."
In the event that medical attention is necessary, an athlete sees either team physicians or community-based orthopedic consults. The athlete must receive medical clearance to compete before returning to play.
"It would be the consultation of the doctors and the trainers involved," associate athletic director Tom Kelly said. "If need be, the ultimate decision would be Dr. Moriarity."
Requiring a University physician to approve an athlete to practice and compete is standard procedure across the country, according to Kelly and Moriarity. This system of dealing with injuries is advocated by the NCAA, and has been dealt with in numerous court cases, said Moriarity.
Referring to doctors for the final decision on athletes' eligibility helps eliminate cases in which a coach might put pressure on an athlete to perform regardless of whether he or she is ready or not.
"I think there's always going to be a certain amount of tension," Kelly said. "Coaches want their athletes to be able to participate, but are also concerned with the well-being of the student-athlete."
While some schools may have conflicts between coaches and medical experts over an athlete's eligibility, Moriarity says the relationship at Notre Dame is fairly smooth.
"Everyone always talks about coaches pushing their athletes to compete but we very rarely have a problem with that," Moriarity said. "I think of us as being in a partnership. We don't tell them how to coach; they don't tell us how to practice medicine."
Women's basketball coach Muffet McGraw is pleased with the system.
"I think it's in place because the doctors have the expertise to make the decisions that the coaches don't have," McGraw said. "I think it's a great system."
Occasionally, the parties involved are unable to agree on the treatment or the recovery time necessary for an athlete.
"It's a collective decision,"Russ said. "It's not a decision that's made in a room without the athlete. It's not like it's a blind decision. If they object, we talk it through. It's open to discussion, some things are."
Senior cross country and track runner JoAnna Deeter, who is recovering from anorexia, has had conflicts with the medical staff. However, she also recognizes their attempts to consider her well-being.
"Conflicting judgments between the medical staff and me about my health and distance performance requirements could not be overcome," said Deeter. "Although conflicts arise, I believe the University has the best intentions in each matter."
Sanders, on the other hand, feels that the medical treatment at Notre Dame operates well.
"They get you healed. They get you out there and they don't rush you into anything either," said Sanders.
Notre Dame does not take into consideration the scholarship status of a student-athlete when deciding his eligibility, nor the impact of the player for his team. Instead, it attempts to look at the player as a person, not just an athlete.
"We always maintain that the welfare of the student-athlete is paramount and everyone proceeds from that," Kelly said. "Anybody that I'm familiar with, the welfare of the student athlete is the bottom line. That is something that is our guiding principle is the welfare of the students."
All Sports Stories for Thursday, November 18, 1999
