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Two new studies presented at the 2025 NATA Conference underscore the critical role of Athletic Trainers in high schools, linking their presence to significantly reduced rates of fatal and catastrophic injuries among student-athletes.
Led by UConn PhD candidate Aleksis Grace and researchers at the Korey Stringer Institute (KSI), one study analyzed 21 exertional heat stroke cases from 2015 to 2021.
In schools where an Athletic Trainer was employed, only 5 of 13 incidents were fatal. In contrast, all six cases at schools without an Athletic Trainer ended in death.
“Athletic Trainers are trained in recognition, prevention, and response to emergency, potentially catastrophic injuries in sport,” said Rebecca Stearns, KSI’s chief operating officer.
The data also revealed inequities: socially disadvantaged schools—those farther from trauma centers and with higher poverty indicators—were less likely to employ Athletic Trainers.
“There was more survival in the schools that had Athletic Trainers,” Grace noted. “But lower socioeconomic status schools were the ones less likely to have them.”
A second paper, led by UNC PhD candidate Erin Shore and affiliated with the National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research, found similar patterns using national injury data from 2013–2021. Schools with Athletic Trainers had fewer cases of fatal or permanently disabling injuries, regardless of students’ race or ethnicity.
Among schools with an Athletic Trainer, fatal or disabling outcomes occurred in 40% of white student cases and 48% of non-white cases. Without an Athletic Trainer, those rates jumped to 54% and 67%, respectively.
“These findings show the urgent need for equitable access to Athletic Trainers in all high schools,” said Shore. “They are a frontline defense against catastrophic outcomes—and their absence can be deadly.”
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