RUPERT, Idaho — Intermountain Health is helping schools in Idaho and Utah get the athletic training they need for student athletes.
Minico High School in Rupert is one of over 50 schools that uses the Intermountain Health athletic trainer program. Seth Koyle, now in his fourth year with the school, says he started to pursue the profession after the injuries he sustained during his time at Burley High School limited his athletic abilities.
“I had no idea what was going on. I had nobody to tell me anything. I just knew I had to tough it out because we were at the end of football season. I couldn't quit and so it was like, hey - I got to just keep going. It was frustrating. And the amount of knowledge that I didn't have, or having somebody there to be able to just take a look at it, to help me understand what's going on would have been really beneficial,” said Koyle.
Now Koyle, along with athletic training is teaching sports medicine at Minico, is drawing students to the profession.
“I've always wanted to go into the medical field, but I play sports so it's fun and it's really helpful for me. So it just kind of clicked for me that I just want to work that in my future,” said Stockon Chandler, senior at Minico High School.
A study from the University of Connecticut in 2020 found that 31% of high schools in the U.S. don't have athletic trainers. This number is often higher in rural communities.
“He's always helped me with mechanics, making sure I'm doing things correctly. And he's identifying if I'm doing things incorrectly and, you know, 'Do this workout. This is going to help this part of the body to strengthen it,' you know to avoid injuries,” said Averie Page, senior at Minico High School.
Assuring parents is another big part of this program to help student-athletes succeed at the high school level.
“The comfort that parents get to have knowing that there's somebody at the school that's looking out for their kid's best interest,” said Koyle.
