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Jonathan Jones is entering his 6th year as the Head Athletic Trainer for Lytle ISD Athletics. Coach Jones is currently a Licensed Athletic Trainer through the state of Texas. He graduated from the University of the Incarnate Word with a Bachelor's degree in Athletic Training & a Minor in Psychology. He served as a student athletic trainer, treating athletes that participated in Football, Softball, Baseball, Men's & Women's Basketball, and Track & Field. He is currently pursuing his Masters in Sports Administration from Concordia University in Austin.
Upon arriving at Lytle, he served as an Athletic Trainer working inside the Toyota Manufacturing Plant. His main focus there was work ergonomics of the team workers and he was in charge of 120 team members who worked on the engines, axels, and frames of the Toyota Tacoma and Tundra.
Jonathan Jones is also International Youth Conditioning Association- Strength & Conditioning Certified and is Reflexive Performance Reset Level 1 Certified. He is happily married to his wife, Contessa Martinez-Jones, and are parents to their 15-month-old daughter, Lylei.
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MARCH IS NATIONAL ATHLETIC TRAINING MONTH: FIVE THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT ATHLETIC TRAINERS
National Athletic Training Month Launches with ‘Essential to Health Care’ Theme
(Lytle, Texas) – March is National Athletic Training Month, an opportunity to spread awareness of the impact athletic trainers (ATs) have on work, life and sport. Athletic trainers are health care professionals that prevent, diagnose, treat and rehabilitate injuries for active people in many industries, including sports, military and clinical practice.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, employment of athletic trainers is projected to grow 23 percent from 2016 to 2026, which is significantly faster than the average for all occupations. Reasons for this include people becoming more aware of sports-related injuries and an active aging population that may need additional support. Here are five things you should know about athletic trainers.
1. They are health care professionals. ATs work with individuals who are physically active or involved in sports participation through all stages of life. They prevent, treat and rehabilitate musculoskeletal injuries as well as sports and work-related illnesses and medical conditions. They offer a continuum of care unparalleled in health care and practice under the direction of and in collaboration with physicians. Athletic trainers abide by HIPAA and FERPA laws, and are recognized as allied health care professionals by the American Medical Association, Health Resources Services Administration and the Department of Health and Human Services.
2. The welfare of patients is their top priority. Athletic trainers work with patients to prevent injuries. If a patient is injured, they work with physicians to provide care and rehabilitate the patient back to life before the injury as fast and as safely as possible. Brain and spinal cord injuries and conditions such as heat illness can be life-threatening if not recognized and properly handled. Athletic trainers are there to immediately address emergencies.
3. Taping and ice is a small part of what athletic trainers do. Athletic trainers also coordinate and execute injury prevention programs, prepare athletes for practices and games, communicate with physicians about injuries, treat and rehabilitate injured players, help determine return to play for injured athletes, monitor environment and weather conditions, develop and execute emergency action plans and are first responders on the scene.
4. Education is a huge part of becoming an athletic trainer. Academic curriculum and clinical training for athletic trainers follow the medical model. They must have a minimum of a four-year degree from a CAATE-accredited program and be certified by the Board of Certification (BOC) through an exam. More than 70 percent of athletic trainers have surpassed the minimum requirement and have earned a master’s degree. By 2020, all CAATE-accredited programs will be offered at the master’s level only. Every two years, athletic trainers are required to complete Continuing Education Units (CEUs) to maintain their athletic training certification with the BOC.
5. They work in more settings than sports. The duties of many workers – such as baggage handlers, dancers, soldiers and police officers – require range of motion and strength and stamina, and hold the potential for musculoskeletal injuries. ATs work with individuals in a variety of settings – including Fortune 100 companies – to help prevent, diagnose and treat injuries.
About Lytle Sports Medicine Program
The Lytle Sports Medicine Program is managed by Jonathan Jones, The Head Athletic Trainer for Lytle ISD. Coach Jones and his student trainers provide the best quality care possible, expanding to not only high school sports but junior high sports too! The student trainers who work with Coach Jones go through the Sports Medicine Curriculum, which consists of Sports Medicine 1&2. From there, they are selected to become Coach Jones’s student trainers to help cover their assigned sports. They are truly the team behind the team and as our motto goes: “Calm the Storm, Steady the Ship!”
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Athletic forms for 2021-2022 school year.
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3-27-2023 AAATA Student Trainer Workshop 2023
This past Friday, March 24, 2023, we had 6 student trainers take part in the 2023 Alamo Area Athletic Trainers Association Student Trainer Workshop, which was the first time in this program's history to attend! We were part of the biggest size of student trainers, with an attendance of almost 700 with 40 school districts present. They also got to meet vendors that I use to order medical supplies/equipment as well as experience how I look for the newest tech in the sports medicine industry to bring to Lytle. They also met some colleges (UIW, UTSA, Howard College, & TLU) that offer Kinesiology Program information and Athletic Training Programs as well!
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8-26-2021 Lytle Student Trainers 2021-2022
When I started my job as the Head Athletic Trainer 7 years ago, one of the biggest challenges I faced was making this program well-respected and to increase my number of student trainers. In my first couple of years, I had an average of 3-4 student trainers as a whole! Fast forward to today, I have 13 total student trainers in the program! With some arduous work and revamping the sports medicine program here in Lytle, the perception of this program has greatly improved, and having increased kids interested in becoming student trainers has shown me that word is spreading!
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5-10-2021 Sports Medicine Recap for 2020-2021 School Year & 2021-2022 Lytle Student Trainers
It has been one crazy year, especially in the athletic department; however, our student trainers made sure that our athletes were taking care of and following COVID-19 mitigation rules at the same time. Trust me when I say, trying to balance all of that is pretty strenuous but our student trainers prevailed!
