Mulder-Bowman
Katelyn Banner on the sidelines during a recent basketball game, ensuring the safety of the athletes.
When most people think about high school athletics, they picture roaring crowds, edge-of-your-seat finishes, and athletes giving it their all. However, behind every successful team and every win is someone who often goes unnoticed: the athletic trainer.
At Lakeview High School, Katelyn Banner has been the athletic trainer for the past four years, providing essential care and support to Lakeview High School athletes. With a lifelong passion for athletics and inspiration from her mother, a physical therapist, Banner always knew she wanted to work in a field that combined her love for sports and helping others.
The most rewarding part of my job is when an athlete I’ve worked with who has been injured works hard enough to come back to competition and play,” said Banner. Her dedication to seeing athletes recover and thrive embodies athletic trainers’ critical role in sports programs.
Athletic trainers do far more than tape ankles or roll out sore muscles. They’re often the first responders when injuries occur, ensuring the safety and well-being of athletes. They also work behind the scenes to develop injury prevention strategies, monitor athletes’ health, and provide ongoing rehabilitation to help players return to their sport stronger than ever.
When asked whether some injuries go unnoticed or untreated when athletic trainers aren’t present, Banner explained, “Absolutely, when there’s an athletic trainer who’s not there, a lot of times, kids are just going to push through and keep going until they run themselves down enough that they aren’t able to go anymore.
Whereas, when I’m here, and they know me and it’s established, they’ll come in when something’s starting to bother them,” Banner said.
Banner’s day-to-day responsibilities reflect
how much she juggles to ensure the safety and success of Lakeview’s athletes.
“As an athletic trainer, my day-to-day responsibilities are extensive. I prepare athletes to be ready for practices and games, whether that’s taping, injury evaluation, rehabbing, that sort of thing. I set up the waters, water bottles, and ice to be ready for practices and games.
So game prep, practice prep, and then the behind the-scenes things like doing paperwork whenever there are injuries and prepping for any emergency situations that we might be in, so that everybody is ready for when those happen, and it goes smoothly.”
Despite the challenges of being the sole athletic trainer at Lakeview, Banner takes pride in her role. When asked about her difficulties, she shared,
“Probably there just being one of me here with lots of athletes. We’re kind of at that size of a school where, if we were to get any bigger, a second person would probably be needed. But two people right now is kind of excessive. People always wanting me, but sometimes I feel like there’s not enough of me to go around to do things as diligently as I could.”
For students considering a career in athletic training, Banner has some advice:
“I would say, get into the anatomy and medical terminology classes to start understanding all those things, because when you have a better knowledge of that before going in, it helps a lot as you’re going through classes in college,” Banner said.
“It’s a lot of work in school and very time-consuming, but it’s very well worth it. So, find a place to get in and shadow, even if it’s just for a couple of games, to see how it is. If you like it, I highly suggest that.”
Athletic trainers play a vital role in keeping athletes safe while ensuring their health and performance. Banner’s passion and dedication remind us that every successful athletic program depends not just on the players and coaches, but also on the skilled professionals working behind the scenes.