With the high school sports season resuming, the importance of having Athletic Trainers on campus cannot be overstated. Their presence often makes the difference when emergencies strike—a fact made clear last spring at a Culver City High School track and field meet.
“He didn’t have a pulse,” Rivas recalled. The 28-year-old, fresh out of Cal State Northridge, immediately went into action.
He directed one assistant to call 911, another to retrieve the AED, and began chest compressions. When the AED advised one shock, Rivas pushed the button. The jolt restarted the athlete’s heart.
Paramedics arrived within minutes and transported the student to the hospital, where he later learned he would need a pacemaker. Without Rivas’ swift intervention, the outcome could have been tragically different.
“This was my first cardiac arrest,” he said. “I was super stressful. Honestly, I went on auto pilot. My main goal was to get this kid help as fast as possible.”
Unfortunately, stories like this highlight a troubling gap: the majority of high schools still do not employ Athletic Trainers. In the City Section alone, only 12 of 71 schools with football programs have one.
Adam Cady, an Athletic Trainer with Kaiser Permanente who founded a nonprofit dedicated to improving athlete access to care, stressed the urgency. Rivas echoed the sentiment simply:
“It’s super important” for schools to have Athletic Trainers.
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