The Eagle Sports Medicine Team (ESMT), a Los Altos High School club, teaches students about sports medicine with the help of athletic trainer, Lucas Okuma. Together, members prepare safety measures for different sports games and practices to learn about recognizing and treating various injuries.
When the club was chartered last year, Lucas taught students how to treat injuries through lectures, allowing them to attend sporting games with him.
“When there is time, I will do anatomy lectures for the students,” Lucas said. “We practice basic taping techniques, stuff that they would commonly see me doing in my office.”
Although students start by practicing with each other, eventually, they are taught how to assist Lucas in helping student-athletes who come to his office by providing taping and icing treatment.
“When someone comes into my office with an injury, students will observe how a healthcare professional would come to conclusions about how to treat various injuries,” Lucas said.
Once students feel more comfortable, Lucas allows them to attend games with him, keeping them on standby in the case of an emergency, such as during football games.
“I will have them on hand in case I need to instruct them to do something,” Lucas said. “We did have a football incident one time, so it’s nice to have my helpers there and start emergency action plans. Every team has one, so they are prepared on what to do.”
Emergency action plans go into effect in the case an athlete is seriously injured. Prior to the start of each sports season, Lucas visits each team and assigns roles to each of the players so they are ready in case of a real emergency.
“Not a lot of people know who Lucas is and what he does,” ESMT club president Nina Shkolnik said. “I feel like once you’ve finally gotten the opportunity to work with him more closely you realize that he’s a really fun dude.”
However, depending on the emergency, students can’t always get fully involved with the incident. As a licensed professional, Lucas sometimes ends up doing most of the work with the student-athlete, and club members learn by watching.
“It can get difficult because I’m not legally allowed to help anyone without Lucas overseeing it,” Nina said. “We watch Lucas do what he does, and then we go back to his office, and he’ll explain everything to us.”
“I really appreciate having help and working with the students and seeing it click for them,” Lucas said. “They form an understanding, and it feels good to see them get it all.”
For ESMT co-Vice President Alina Safina the club is also a great way for students to come together to do something fun.
“I look forward to helping out with different sports and meeting new people,” Alina said. “It’s a great time to hang out with your friends, but also the chance to learn something new.”
ESMT meets in Lucas’s office with flexible shifts for student schedules. Visit ESMT’s Instagram @esmt.lahs for more information.
