Let the games begin... just don’t get hurt

RIO RANCHO – Sports Medicine is one of the more exciting medical fields to enter. At least, that’s the opinion of the students who are part of the Rio Rancho Public Schools CTE Pathways Program and its Sports Medicine track.

March is a special time for the sports medicine students. It marks the beginning of the 2nd annual “Sports Medicine Olympics”. Finally, this essential group of athletics workers will get a chance to put their own skills on display; a chance to compete in what they do best. And hey, if that means healing people, so much the better for the rest of us.

Hosted by the Sports Medicine staff and Athletic Trainers at Cleveland High School, the Sports Medicine Olympics is one way RRPS supports National Athletic Training Month. All month long, teams from the two high schools will compete in various sports medicine-related events (TBD).

Last year, the event was marked with a series of potlucks, on top of the events.

According to Stanford Children’s Hospital, “Sports medicine healthcare providers have special training to restore function to injured patients so they can get moving again as soon as possible. They are experts in preventing illness and injury in active people.”

While most might think of Sports Medicine as something that involves hanging out in NBA locker rooms and on NFL sidelines (and for a select few, that’s true), but more often, sports medicine involves treating those with active jobs, like construction workers, fire fighters, etc.

“Sports medicine is not a medical specialty in itself,” Stanford Children’s Hospital continues. “Most sports medicine healthcare providers are certified in internal medicine, emergency medicine, family medicine, or another specialty. They then get additional training... Some, but not all, sports medicine healthcare providers have surgical training, too, usually as orthopedic surgeons.”

In RRPS, sports medicine is a CTE program that is starting to surge in popularity and gaining more notice. CHS senior soccer player Taylor Williamson is a sports medicine program leader and recently signed a commitment letter to play for St. Edwards University in Austin, Texas while continuing her studies in sports medicine.

Career and Technical Education (CTE) Pathways is a long-running program for RRPS and looks to help students with post-high school career training, especially for those looking to pursue a route other than college.

The RRPS CTE program includes pathways to help students in fields including Agricultural Sciences, Automotive Technology, Computer Assisted Design, Criminal Justice & Law Enforcement, Film/Video/Audio Production, Forensic Science, Marketing, PLTW Computer Science, STEAM Robotics, Teacher Prep, Theater Technology and, of course, Sports Medicine.

The teams and events for this year were announced Mar. 4 at CHS, but not released prior to the Observer’s print deadline.

The sports medicine teams will compete again on Apr. 21 at the Athletic Training Challenge.

Visit rrobserver.com for details and updates.