Again...What is going on in Austin????

Senate Bill 3 & House Bill 3

These are two pending pieces of legislation in the Texas Legislature....what does this have to do with you as an Athletic Trainer in Texas?

Both of these bills want to remove Health, PE, and Fine Arts from STATE GRADUATION REQUIREMENTS. It may or may not be required by local school districts to take Health, PE or Fine Arts....that will be determined by the TEA at a later date.

This is HUGE....and the kids will start to be huge in the coming years.

Why should you care?

Last year's Fitness Gram data shows that 92% of all the high school students in Texas are unhealthy...that should concern you. (now you can argue the validity of the FG test, but those are the results)

Removal of the only two subject areas in the high school that are designed to teach people about their bodies and how to care for their body will only make those numbers worse.

If you are in the secondary schools and you teach a health class or a PE class along with your athletic training duties, this will effect you.

How can we educate the whole child when all we are going to require is Math, Science, English, Social Studies and Foreign Language? We all know that kids only take PE and Health because it is REQUIRED.

If you depend upon student trainers to help you in the athletic training room you probably use the I will get you your PE credits for working in here....well...if PE is no longer a graduation requirement....you see where this is going.

If you offer Sports Medicine 1 and Sports Medicine 2 you can still use these classes to get your student athletic trainers elective credits. In our school district we are using SM1 and SM2 as career pathways credits. If you do not offer SM 1 and SM 2 you might want to rethink that decision.

As a young professional you are probably thinking: "I do not want to ever be a part of the politics, I just want to work as an athletic trainer and go on with my life." I used to think that as well. I have learned, taught by my mentors as well as experience, that you WILL have to LEARN POLITICS if you want to have any say so in what you do as a part of your job. It is a necessary evil to protect and develop your profession.

Please contact your Texas Senators and Representatives. If you do not know who those people are....click here.... http://www.fyi.legis.state.tx.us/

If politicians in your town, Austin ,or Washington D.C. are left unchecked you will wake up one day and wonder how did we ever get to this point???? (See the above picture)

Indecision '09

Between the H1N1 "pandemic," the UIL, Brett Favre, American Idol, and many other current issues, I'm beginning to think that GOOD decisions are hard to come by these days.

So I'm going to give you the TOP 1O list of some things that will ensure YOU make

good decisions in the coming weeks before SUMMER VACATION (if you get one!).

10. Wash your hands. I don't know why people need to be told to do this (and only because of a flu), but it is always a good idea.

9. Don't count your Pig Flu cases before the extent of the virus is known. Seriously. Close school for two weeks! No wait, it's cool, just put out a lot of hand sanitizer, and send home kids with a fever.

8. Don't retire before you know you are ready. If you do retire, don't try to come back and stick it to your old employer. It will just make people mad.

7. Don't panic. Not about anything in particular, but just in general. Really, it will all be ok.

6. Don't take advice from Paula Abdul. She had a video where she danced with a cartoon cat. Good judgment? :)

5. DO tell us if you will be attending the NATA and SWATA annual meetings! There is something in it for you, but we need to know...

4. Register for the SWATA & NATA annual meetings! Do it today! They are worth it.

3. Join Facebook (and if you are already on fb, join our group!) It is more than a silly social website, it is a great networking tool! Just be smart about what you put on it. ;)

2. VOTE! VOTE! VOTE! VOTE! VOTE! VOTE! VOTE! in the SWATA election...the numbers have increased, but not nearly enough. The ballots should be sent out once more before the election is over. Make sure your contact information is up to date with The Association to ensure you will receive all the important news and updates!

1. Take time for yourself. As the school year winds to a close and many are in the midst of spring football, don't forget to take care of you! Burn-out happens, and it will happen to you if you don't have time to focus on what is most important. YOU!