Savage WordsL They have the biggest burden to bear

Next time you’re at a Brandon Valley football game, have a glance to the sidelines. You’ll obviously see a bunch of high schoolers in white, black and red uniforms with big numbers on the back.

But there’s a handful of others in street clothes, all with a certain responsibility. They all have burdens. Whether it’s a coach making the right call, a chain gang member making sure the ball is in the right spot, a statistician recording things correctly, or a photographer making sure they’ve got something to run in the newspaper or yearbook, everyone’s got a responsibility on the sidelines.

But none carry a heavier burden than the athletic trainers. 

They’re often taken for granted, and are easily overlooked after they’re done taping ankles pregame. But this time of year – every year – I always pay them more attention and give them all the grace in the world.

So far this fall, three high school football players have died, two in Alabama, one in West Virginia.

Caden Tellier was a 16-year-old quarterback at John T. Morgan Academy in Selma, Ala. The popular athlete died after suffering a brain injury in Morgan’s opener on Aug. 24.

On the same day, 13-year-old Cohen Craddock succumbed to injuries after colliding with another player at West Virginia’s Madison Middle School. On Aug. 13, another Alabama teen, 14-year-old Semaj Wilkins, died after suffering a medical emergency during football practice at New Brockton High School.

In 2023, there were 16 deaths among football players, including seven in high school, according to data collected by the National Center for Catastrophic Sport Injury Research. According to the Center, among those deaths, three were traumatic brain injuries. All three occurred during games. The rest of the deaths in 2023 were considered exertional or medical, with deaths caused by heat stroke, sudden cardiac arrest and pulmonary embolism among them.

By comparison, the inherently dangerous sport of motorsports saw 12 deaths last year in the United States.

For as alarming as those numbers are, I’m not advocating for any big change. To be very clear, I love football. It’s a beautiful game that most high school and college coaches will tell you helps build men for the future through character development, leadership, resilience and teamwork.

The sport has obviously gotten safer over the years. It wasn’t even that long ago that massive hits in the NFL were celebrated. In the early 2000s, ESPN’s PrimeTime show each Sunday had a segment called, ‘Jacked Up,’ where players were shown getting decimated by another. 

Thankfully, rules have since been put into place to eliminate such hits. Equipment has gotten better, and safer techniques are being taught at every level.

There’s been a recent push, even over the last couple of weeks, to boost the use of soft-shell helmet coverings. There’s probably some good numbers to back that up, but I don’t know. When I worked in the NFL 15 years ago and I stood on the sidelines for games, the hits were so brutal, so hard, so bone-crunching that you could actually feel it just standing there.

Although Friday nights at Brandon Valley obviously aren’t the NFL, the hits are still big, still massive, still bone crunching as you watch from the sidelines.

Improvements in equipment and techniques will obviously continue to be made. But I put my faith, my grace, my patience, in the athletic trainers that keep our kids in Brandon Valley, and around the country, safe.

They carry a heavier burden than most.

“We train for this and we go over and over and over it,” said Sanford athletic trainer Zach Gillette. “I think it’s safe to say that we’re ready. But yea, there is a lot of pressure on us. It’s definitely scary, for sure.”

Gillette and Chad Urban are Sanford employees who work each year with the Brandon Valley School District. They work closely with the coaching staff in every Lynx sport, which is something Gillette said is paramount in keeping student athletes safe.

“We always ask for help,” he said. “The coaches, the athletic director. There’s a lot of things that go into play. Being a one-person team, that would be really tough.”

Even with the help they get, it’s gotta be really tough. It’s gotta be really overwhelming. It’s gotta be really nerve-wracking, every play.

Like many of you, I love sports. And I’m thankful dudes like Zach and Chad are on the sidelines when the Lynx go to battle.

They’ve got the biggest burden to bear.