Written by Hayden Soley – Buccaneer Scroll Staff Reporter

One of the most important staff members on any sports team is the Athletic Trainer. They can help and train their athletes with ease and can give important information on how to prevent certain injuries. However, with the presence of COVID, our Athletic Trainer Derek Sobczak has new protocols he must follow to keep him and his athletes safe and healthy.

Before athletes can even see Derek, they need to be screened, get their temperature checked, and have a document from their coach saying who was at practice and if they had any symptoms. In the beginning, if the athletes were separated by 15 minutes, it could eliminate contract tracing. Now it has turned into 15 minutes in every 24-hour period. Also, the number of athletes that are allowed in the training room is dependent on how many Certified Trainers are present. With these new protocols, the trainers must wear masks, and they can’t bring water or towels out to football practice. They can bring water for games, but they must always be in possession of the medicine girls. “Still not sure how the winter and spring sports will work,” is what Derek stated when asked if he was optimistic about other sports for the rest of the year, but as the year goes on, the process can fluctuate.