Coaches’ Aid….Basic Ankle Taping Techniques

Oftentimes, coaches at the high school level are asked to perform duties that go way beyond the basic X’s and O’s. Most of that “extra” deals with the health and well-being of their athletes, both on and off the court/field. With the help of various ATCs from the Champion Fitness Physcial Therapy staff, Growth and Develpoment Director Mick Peterson, himself a former coach for 33 years, introduces a new program designed to help coaches eliminate potential problems that could be avoided with the information available.

“Many times, the head coach assumes that his staff members know how to perform basic techniques like taping, hydrating, stretching, or handling various weather issues with their athletes, simply because of the nature of the profession,” Peterson explained. “However, that may or not be the case. Some schools have trainers who take care of this; others don’t. The head coach figures his coaches know what they’re doing when it comes to …taping, for example, but, in reality, we may not be that comfortable. Regardless, we coaches, both head coach and assistants, learn through experience that we could ALL use a little refresher course now and then, whether there’s a trainer on the school’s staff or not.”

This is the first of a series of presentations, which, hopefully, can provide the coach with the proper knowledge of some basic skills, the kind, if done properly, could keep the athlete competing and, hopefully, out of the training room. In this first entry, ATC Luke Thompson demonstrates the proper technique of taping an ankle, the most common ailment seemingly the coach has to face.