There is an unsung hero of two-a-day practices every year.

It’s an exciting time, where football teams get back out on the field while parents and fans ponder what the season has in store. But none of it could happen without the athletic trainers at every high school throughout the state who keep athletes and coaches healthy, hydrated and going all year long.

It’s a big job that is key to every program throughout Katy ISD and the job isn’t taken lightly. The Athletic Trainers throughout the school district pride themselves in their sports medicine programs, teaching student athletic trainers and doing everything they can for student athletes.

But the biggest piece of the puzzle for the Athletic Trainers are the students that come through the program and spend their days helping hydrate and keep athletes healthy, and without them none of the sports medicine programs in Katy ISD could do what they currently are able to do.

“The kids are the lifeblood of our program, without them, we could not operate efficiently and do the things we do,” said Katy High School Head Athletic Trainer Eddie Smith. “They get here at 5:45 in the morning, they’re getting ice in the buffaloes (water tanks attached to a wagon), they’re getting water out on the field and they have things ready to go even before practice starts. They allow us to focus on the more advanced stuff because they take care of so many other things. They’re really the lifeblood of what we do and the most amazing thing is that they do it voluntarily.”

The value of the athletic trainers and student athletic trainers is needed and valued year-round, but it’s felt more than ever when fall practice starts up for football and everyone is out on the field in the grueling heat of August.

The message is preached from the head athletic trainer to the student athletic trainers and from the Katy ISD Athletics Office. Make sure that everyone stays hydrated and not overheated, and keep giving the athletes water even if they don’t seek water out.

“The biggest thing is education,” Smith said. “We preach constantly to make sure you are hydrated, to drink water any chance you get and to not overheat out there. And then we make sure to tell our student trainers that we do not care if they are asking for water, you bring it to them and make sure they are getting some. It’s better to constantly bombard them than the alternative.”

What the athletic trainers do doesn’t go unnoticed by the coaches around Katy ISD either. At every high school they appreciate what the professionals and what the student trainers do for the programs.

“They do such a great job,” said Tompkins head football coach Todd McVey. “They are out here and they make sure everyone is cared for, they watch out for all the players and we cannot thank them enough, especially for being out here in the Texas heat. We respect them and appreciate them so much.

Katy head football coach Gary Joseph echoed McVey’s comments.

“It’s what they do for us all year long, it’s essential,” Joseph said. “They’re out here before the players are and they leave after the players. It’s hot for them too and they do this because they want to. The kids always have a water bottle on hand, they’re always helping everyone out and it’ so appreciated. We’re very lucky here because we have a great training staff and the student trainers are as good as it gets. In some places you only have two people for 300 football players so for us to have what we do is never taken for granted.”

So much of what the student trainers do is for others, but they also get taught lessons and gain while in the high school programs. From communication skills to first aid, time management, responsibility and more, the student trainer program helps prepare them for their next steps after high school.

“It helps me back home even,” said Katy student athletic trainer Kate DeLaGarza. “When I’m back home and my mom has anything wrong with her or even just needs a massage I’m able to help with that and I think that’s a really cool thing.”

The program also offers experiences that not all high schoolers would get a chance to have without it as well.

“It’s so unique because as a girl you don’t really get a chance to be a part of the football program and get to experience all those places,” said Katy junior student athletic trainer Kiley Christenson. “As part of this program I have gotten to go to so many cool Stadiums. My freshman year we went to Rice and Baylor, then last year we went to NRG and the Alamodome. Those are things that I got to experience that are so unique and I’m very grateful to be a part of this program.”

But the biggest thing that it does for the student athletic trainers give them a community through high school, and that’s something that they all will appreciate even after they go to college.

“It’s an amazing program,” said senior student athletic trainer Logan Correll. “When I was a freshman I got to spend a year here with my older brother, who was a senior, as part of this program and now that I’m a senior I get to do the same thing with my younger brother, who’s a freshman now. That’s really special to me. I just love everyone here. The head athletic trainers have taught us so much and it’s amazing. I’m just savoring every moment of my last year here.”