The National Athletic Trainers' Association recently named the McCutcheon Athletic Department as a recipient of the Safe School Award! The award champions safety and recognizes secondary schools that have met the recommended standards to improve safety in sports. The award reinforces the importance of providing the best level of care, injury prevention, and treatment. In order to achieve Safe Sports School Award status, McCutcheon Athletics completed the following safety checklist with our Sports Medicine partners at IU Health: - Create a positive athletic healthcare administrative system - Provide or coordinate pre-participation physical examinations - Promote safe and appropriate practice and competition facilities - Plan for selection, fit function and proper maintenance of athletic equipment - Provide a permanent, appropriately equipped area to evaluate and treat injured athletes - Develop injury and illness prevention strategies, including protocols for environmental conditions - Provide or facilitate injury intervention - Create and rehearse a venue-specific Emergency Action Plan - Provide or facilitate psychosocial consultation and nutritional counseling/education - Be sure athletes and parents are educated about the potential benefits and risks in sports as well as their responsibilities A huge thank you goes out to our medical and training staff partners with IU Health for helping McCutcheon align its safety protocols to the NATA's highest standards. IU Health trainers Kariel Hoagland, Jill Noblitt, and Isabella Hannigan have been instrumental in helping our coaching staff learn new techniques and best practices that have prepared our Athletic programs for emergency situations. Along with the dedicated and talented Orthopedic staff at IU Health, McCutcheon hopes to continue to provide our coaches, students, and fans with a healthy and safe athletic environment. #MavPRIDE