By Helen Wilson
Editor-In-Chief
Sophie Guy, a junior on the field hockey team, was assisted off the field after she was struck in the head with a pass in the Demons’ match against Grimsley.
When my field hockey team at R.J. Reynolds High School won the conference championship this fall, it should have been one of those moments we never forgot. We had worked for it all season, through injuries, late-night practices, and long away-game drives. But when I think back on that championship game, and the state playoff games that followed, one thing still frustrates me. We didn’t have an athletic trainer present.
At first, it didn’t seem like a big deal. Our coach had the first-aid kit, and we’ve all learned to tape our own ankles and stretch out pulled muscles. But as the game went on, and the hits got harder, I realized how vulnerable we actually were. After multiple injuries this season, I realized that we were playing without the basic medical safety net that almost every other team seems to have.
It’s easy to blame the school district, but the issue runs much deeper, stemming from flawed statewide policy that puts our athletes at risk and forces medical professionals to make impossible choices. Our trainer is dedicated, but she can’t be everywhere at once. I learned why when I spoke with Janna Fonseca, the Director of Health, Safety, and Wellness for the North Carolina High School Athletic Association (NCHSAA).
“The only sports right now that the NCHSAA mandates coverage for are football practices and games, and wrestling matches,” Fonseca said.
Because field hockey is not covered by the mandate, our trainer must prioritize football, even if we are playing a critical playoff game. This leaves coaches and players to make medical decisions they aren’t qualified to make. When an athlete gets hurt, seconds matter.
“Unless the practice times and games completely don’t conflict with football, that’s really the only opportunity to free up that medical personnel to be there for field hockey,” Fonseca explained.
Trainers are trained (literally) to recognize and treat injuries, and coaches are trained to win games. Expecting a coach to do both is unfair and unsafe. This is especially true in field hockey, which has unique dangers.
“When you have field hockey, you’ve got implements,” Fonseca said. “You have a ball, you have a stick, you have other things that you don’t have in other sports. How do you assess the risk? It’s different,” Fonseca said.
The inherent risk without immediate professional help became undeniably clear last week. When a severe injury left teammate Sophie Guy needing emergency assistance from a parent due to delayed medical coverage, the conversation that followed was understandably charged with emotion and deep concern.
“I lost a lot of blood, and I remember having to sit on the field in pain waiting for a trainer to come help me,” Guy said. “It is concerning for future injuries how unprepared our school was in an emergency like that.”
This on-field emergency, where precious time was lost waiting for help, is exactly the scenario the NCHSAA claims to mitigate with proper safety protocols.
“Having an emergency action plan in place, and practicing and talking about it, helps eliminate that confusion at the time of injury,” Fonseca said.
More seriously, without a consistent trainer who is monitoring a player for a concussion?
“There really should be a licensed healthcare professional or a licensed healthcare provider…especially when it comes to concussions,” Fonseca said. “Relying on an absent professional risks the long-term health of student-athletes by delaying proper diagnosis and management.”
It’s also emotional. As athletes, we trust our trainers. They’re the ones who get us back on the field, who provide us with physical therapy and encouragement, and who know exactly how much we’ve pushed our limits. Without them, there’s a sense of uncertainty on the field. Every time someone goes down, there’s that split-second of panic: Who’s going to help them?
Cutting or underfunding athletic training isn’t just a cost-saving measure; it’s a safety risk. What might look like a budget line item on paper has become something much bigger on the field.
This issue doesn’t just affect field hockey. It affects every sport—soccer, lacrosse, basketball. Every student-athlete who steps onto a field, track, or court deserves the reassurance that if something goes wrong, someone with medical expertise is there to help.
To fix this, the NCHSAA needs to change the way it assesses risk. Fonseca acknowledged that the existing policy was based on ‘anecdotal evidence,’ but what we need now is data.
“Objective information is really the best way to guide decision making in terms of who’s going to provide coverage based on the highest level of risk of sport,” Fonseca said. “The NCHSAA must mandate a statewide, mandatory injury reporting platform to track the frequency and severity of injuries across all sports. This objective data is the only ethical way to guide policy decisions based on actual risk.”
It shouldn’t take a serious injury to make the district realize how critical athletic trainers are. Prevention is always cheaper, safer, and smarter than dealing with a crisis afterward. We earned our championship title this season, and I’m proud of what my team accomplished. But I can’t help thinking that our success came with a quiet reminder: it’s time for the NCHSAA to value student safety across every sport.