PCSS Pleased With Cookeville Regional Athletic Trainer Agreement

Putnam County School System renewed an athletic training agreement with Cookeville Regional Medical Center after seeing success in its first year.

PCSS Deputy Director Tim Martin said the medical center provides athletic trainers to all of the high schools who watch after as many sports teams as possible. He said CRMC bid to provide the services at just $1 per year, essentially providing them for free.

“It helps us quite a bit,” Martin said. “Right now we’re trying to take that money that we were paying for athletic trainers and we’re allowing the athletic directors and they each have a committee at their school, and we’re trying to divvy that money up to the schools to let them make some determinations in their programs to how they can spend that money.

Martin said although there are not enough to be every single game district-wide, the athletic trainers work with every athlete in the district. He said they can help with injuries, help the coach decide on treatment for playing, and even help with doctor referral decisions.

“They do the scheduling along with the athletic directors to try to always have an athletic trainer where they can make the most difference for the most number of kids,” Martin said.

Martin said he feels as though the partnership has gone very well. He said he believes the school district has received as good a service as it has ever had.