Brian Killinger was the athletic trainer at Northview for the past year and a half. In December 2021 Northview said goodbye to Brian because he left and took a big opportunity for himself.
Killinger left his position at Northview to exceed his skills in his sports medicine degree, working for the United States Army and Special Operations at Fort Bragg in Fayetteville, North Carolina Killinger grew close connections with his athletes and he will be missed. Since his departure, there have been few updates, leaving students wondering who the new athletic trainer is.
Athletic Director Patrick Marsman stated that for the past two months, the school hasn’t had a set athletic trainer, just different trainers on a daily basis. This is because there’s a nationwide shortage of athletic trainers. It’s now required to have a masters degree as an athletic trainer. The pay rate for a trainer at this point does not appear to be worth two more years of studying necessary to obtain the appropriate degree from a college or university.
“I think if the companies that employ these trainers paid them more, it would help,” Marsman said.
Since the pandemic hit, almost every workplace has lacked employees. As of right now, Northview is actively reaching out to agencies to find an athletic trainer. Due to the shortage, this is a difficult process. Marsman compares the athletic trainer situation to other situation industries with staffing shortages.
“It’s kind of like when you go to a fast food restaurant, you don’t get your food as fast as you used to,” Marsman said. “ It’s not the best situation.”
Jesse Brinks, a fellow athletic trainer, P.E teacher for Highlands and health class teacher for the high school, Brinks is handling running gym classes and being called into work to be the temporary athletic trainer. As of right now there will soon be a more permanent answer about all of this.
“By May 2022 there will be a permanent athletic trainer,” Brinks said.
Northview will continue to search for the next athletic trainer, but in the meantime the school is doing the best they can with what’s available.
