That's the goal for every coach and athletic trainer. There are two ways both can achieve that common goal - through collaboration and effective communication.
By collaborating and communicating with each other, coaches and ATs build trust and instill confidence that everyone involved is committed to the best possible outcome. But how can coordination and communication be handled more effectively, to avoid miscommunications and misunderstandings? How can ATs save time keeping everyone up to date without sacrificing athlete care?
Effective coordination between the coaches and athletic trainers is a must, but it is not always easy to do. Why? The ratio of athletes to athletic trainers can be high or the AT may have to be in several different locations. More difficulties arise when the AT cannot see each coach every day. Communication itself may not be easy because doing so takes a lot of time and effort to send emails, make calls, leave voicemails, returns calls, send text, and reply to every text that comes in.
The major question that every coach usually has comes down to whether or not an athlete is cleared to practice or play in their games. Parents also need to know the status of the athletes, as well. So, the athletic trainer needs to communicate with coaches from each team, at every school, as well as the athlete and their parents. The process can be maddening and time-consuming. With those obstacles in mind, it's easy to see how miscommunication and misunderstandings can occur.
So athletic trainers are forced to come in earlier and stay later to handle all their documentation and communication with everyone involved, which takes away time that could be better spent focusing on their athletes.
Is there an alternative?
Improving coordination with coaches
Technology is already an ATs best friend. Our phones allow us to easily communicate with texting, phone calls, and emails. But all those texts, emails, voicemails, and group chats can be difficult to keep track of.
Healthy Roster includes a host of tools that help ATs communicate easily and quickly. Athletic trainers can document everything inside the mobile app—they don't need to lug around a laptop or wait till they get home or back to the office.
"I have had multiple coaches and parents comment on really appreciating the increased communication with the app and our management just got their first referral report and are extremely happy.”
— Kyle Bangen, Sports Performance Supervisor, Samaritan Health Services
When the AT is able to document injuries, treatments, and update athlete statuses in the app, the coaches are able to see that update instantly! This way, the coach can stay on the same page as the parents and personal communications are eliminated.
The coach will have access to statuses and visibility into any instructions sent from the AT, allowing them to easily keep tabs on their athletes with return-to-play updates.
The athletic trainer can also take advantage of tools to save them even more time. By using the Voice-to-Text feature in the app, they can record notes more quickly and easily than ever before. Using the PDF scanner lets them scan any notes, paperwork, or photos and securely attach them to the athlete file. When ever they create an injury timeline and make updates, the AT is communicating to everyone involved just by documenting the notations and updates.
"The injury timeline feature has enabled smoother and more efficient communication between the doctor, therapist and athletic trainer, resulting in better quality care for the athletes.”
— Doug Means, Director of Sports Medicine/Marketing at KORT - Kentucky Orthopedic Rehab Team
Healthy Roster forges a simple, secure bridge between the AT and the coaches, helping to coordinate, update, and build the trust and confidence needed for a successful collaboration. All of this done while saving coaches, ATs, and parents time and energy. Ultimately, the goal of having successful athletes—and successful programs—is achieved with the least amount of effort, helping everyone reach their full potential.
“Healthy Roster has been a great way for me, as a coach, to be on the same page as our Athletic Trainer when it comes to student athletes with injuries. It’s allowed me to follow the progress (or lack there of) our injured athletes, especially when our schedules make it difficult to connect face-to-face. Healthy Roster has been a very positive part of the return to play efforts for our athletes.”
— Kim Triskett, Head Basketball Coach, Grand Valley High School
You can sign up to watch all 4 recorded webinars in our Athletic Trainer Improvement Series to learn more about how to improve documentation, communication, and get back to caring for your athletes: