As the school year comes to an end, tryout season is in session. Many organizations are taking steps to prepare for next school year, one being the Sports Medicine Program.
With many seniors leaving, Sports Medicine is looking for fresh faces to join their team. So what is Sports Medicine?
“Sports medicine is a branch of healthcare that focuses on the prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of injuries and health conditions related to sports and physical activity,” Assistant Alayshia Hunter said.
Students who wish to join should know Sports Medicine works with all the sports teams in the school and will have up to two games a week. According to Hunter, in order to join, students must have ‘good grades, eligibility, few to no tardies, no referrals and two recommendation letters from their teachers’.
“Tryouts consisted of going to spring football practices every day after school in late-April and mid-May until about 4:30-5 o’clock,” senior Emily Salinas said.
During practice, students watch over the players, learn new wrapping techniques, and pass out water to players. Students who wish to work in the medical field can gain much experience from joining Sports Medicine. They gain firsthand experience, great work ethic and independence.
“It is so rewarding, but there are some aspects that are difficult,” senior Ismari Aretaga said. “The worst part was dealing with summer practice in the heat. Yes, the practices will be long and may get repetitive, but in the end it is something you’ll definitely enjoy.”
Though the Texas heat may be unbearable at times, the bond these students have and the skills they learned definitely made up for that. Not only that, but it exposes students who wish to do Sports Medicine as a career to elements they may face once working for a professional team.
“I did Sports Medicine for two years: my sophomore and senior year,” Salinas said. “I would 100% do it again.”
With Sports Medicine comes many benefits such as making new friends, gaining experience, and getting into games and matches for free. Sports and friendship go hand-in-hand, so if you’re interested, tryouts are around April 14th. The deadline to apply for the 2025-2026 team is April 2. You can find QR codes on posters around the school.
