CHS athletics prioritizes health and safety

Mia Ferraro
CHS Class of 22

(1/2021) Catoctin athletes are carefully watching their health, on and off the field, court, or track, as they train for the upcoming competitive season for winter sports and adjust to safety restrictions--general and COVID-19-related. As of December 7th, winter sports have officially begun, and the teams are set to compete from January 4th to February 13th. After conducting summer and fall conditioning, current teams continue to follow the basics of the Return to Play safety protocols, including mandating masks, participating in small groups, and consistently evaluating the health of the athletes. While keeping healthy in the time of COVID-19, athletes are also being cautious of the dangers on the field. Catoctin Athletics’ top priority is keeping their participants and community healthy and safe.

Since the season began, all participants in winter sports have been required to complete a daily check-in regarding symptoms of COVID-19 before they are able to attend practice for the day. This form is to ensure the safety of all participants to the best extent possible. The check-in asks for basic background, including the individual’s role in participation, sport, team, small group, and the type of event. Then the participant is required to indicate which, if any, virus-related symptoms they have exhibited, including a fever of 100.4 or higher, chills, a cough, shortness of breath or difficulty breathing, muscle aches, congestion, a sore throat, a new loss of taste or smell, a headache, and/or fatigue. Finally, the form asks if the participating individual has been in contact with any person who has tested positive for COVID-19. The online questionnaire can be found on the Catoctin High School (CHS) website under "Athletics." QR codes for the form will also be accessible upon arrival, but it is requested that all participants complete the form before arriving at any of the school’s athletic activities, as individuals who checked off any symptoms should stay home and contact the athletic trainer.

As participants follow COVID-19 regulations for safety against the virus, they also turn to the athletic trainer for treatment and examination of injuries and other medical concerns. Athletic trainers play a critical role in a school’s athletic department, as they provide medical service to the teams and are responsible for training teams to avoid injuries, developing policies to ensure safety and the best healthcare, evaluating the athletes’ physical health, tending to injuries, and overseeing the overall physical well-being of the teams. Catoctin High School is happy to welcome Kayla O’Connell to our school community this year as the athletic department’s new athletic trainer.

O’Connell is no stranger to FCPS sports, as she played softball from age six through the end of her junior year of college. Much of her youth was spent playing on a local team called the Heartbreakers. She was primarily an outfielder in college, but also pitched and played some infield. She also participated in unified sports, playing on her school’s unified bocce team throughout high school, which she considered to be the most competitive sport she has been involved in. O’Connell attended Frederick High School. She then continued her education to earn her Bachelor’s and Master’s degrees at Shenandoah University. During that time, she completed four internships for athletic training during graduate school--three internships at high schools, and one at a Power Five institution. Throughout these experiences, she had the opportunity to expand her abilities and knowledge about the field. "I was able to learn about the profession, build my skills, and build my own style as a professional." O’Connell explained.

As athletic trainer, O’Connell’s responsibilities entail injury prevention, examination, treatment, and rehabilitation. She trains with administration, coaches, and teams in preparation for emergencies in which someone is injured to determine the best healthcare for them. O’Connell works with individual CHS athletes on a regular basis to aid their health, from treating musculoskeletal injuries to general medicine, as their situation is "always different than that of their teammates." She also trains with teams as a whole, providing mobility programs and other guidance for staying healthy. In addition to this, she also confers with other healthcare professionals in the area that she can refer athletes to in situations that cannot be handled "in house." When O’Connell is not training with CHS teams, she works with the Emmitsburg Pivot Physical Therapy Clinic to assist with patient care. She also assists on projects with various Pivot Athletic Trainers. In addition to this, she collaborates with other athletic trainers in the county, physicians, physical therapists, coaches, parents, and school administrators to, as she described, "create a well-rounded sports medicine team." As Catoctin sports begin and competitions soon commence for the upcoming season, O’Connell will be attending every home game at CHS as the responsible medical professional. She will stay on the sidelines at every home game so that she will be able to tend to chronic and acute injuries that occur to a player on either team during the competition. "I am available during most practice times for student athletes to receive an evaluation or treatment if they need before, during, or after practice," she assured.

Though athletic trainers generally would not have the opportunity to meet with the teams until the beginning of the season, O’Connell has been able to meet all of the teams and individual athletes during Return to Play conditioning as she assisted in checking-in participants at every session. She is excited and prepared for upcoming games and matches and is looking forward to working more with the teams. After what was essentially an extended off-season since the beginning of isolation and shutdowns, the players must adjust to being back on the field. O’Connell feels that a challenge she will often face this year will be "ensuring that each student athlete is prepared to compete in competition while they are maintaining their health both on and off the court," as she described. "Most of my athletes play multiple sports, compete in club/travel teams, and might not be accustomed to this amount of time off." After COVID-19 has restricted the teams’ abilities to complete the season as they generally would, lots of uncertainty has circled around the sports seasons in various aspects. "The phrase ‘play like it could be your last game’ has never been more true," O’Connell stated. "Given the frequent changes, we never really know if we will be back the following week." O’Connell feels that while it will be a challenge, it is important that athletes and coaches focus on staying in the moment and being thankful that they are able to play and spend time together. "This year is the year of adaptability," she described.

O’Connell, like all athletic trainers, is a medical professional with lots of training in orthopedic and musculoskeletal injuries. However, while her job entails treating and examining chronic and acute injuries, athletic trainers are, in addition, "advocates for their student athletes’ overall wellness." O’Connell wants CHS athletes to know that she has an open-door policy where she offers her attention to them so that they may speak to her about anything that they may have going on, or just to have someone to talk with. She explained, "You learn lots about student athletes in the athletic training facility and it is good to know someone is always in their corner."