For the first time, students in the Pinnacle High School (PHS) Sports Medicine program attended the HOSA Sports Medicine competition for the Arizona Athletic Trainer Association (AzATA). This competition challenged attendees to learn and enhance their skills and knowledge regarding athletic training by allowing students to engage in four different rotational activities: learning about water polo, practicing CPR on dummies, learning about the practice of Sports Medicine and partaking in a Google forms test. Students also saw multiple machines used in the medical field, interacted with college students majoring in Sports Medicine and interacted with Sports Medicine students in neighboring high schools. Lauren Rodrigues, PHS Sports Medicine teacher and club sponsor, expressed her excitement about the opportunity for her students.
“We have such a huge program here at Pinnacle that it’s awesome to show off our skills to a conference we’ve never been to and represent one of the first Sports Medicine programs in our district,” Rodrigues said.
Before entering the competition, Rodrigues covered all of the bases with those attending, as she didn’t know what to specifically prepare her students for. Junior Addison Torda, a member of the Sports Medicine club at PHS, attended the competition.
“I didn’t know what to expect going into the competition, as this was the first year Pinnacle has gone to it,” Torda said. “I was a little nervous about what the competitions were going to have us do and if I was skilled enough to do them.”
However, upon arrival, the nerve-wracking sensation of the unexpected quickly wore off. It was just about learning, no need to stress. In the long run, everyone enjoyed the competition, glad for the opportunity to attend.
“It was impressive to see how much the kids retained, knowledge-wise, within the medical field,” Rodrigues said.
Thoroughly impressive, freshman Alexis Ho Lem placed third out of the 300 competitors attending the competition. Earning an almost perfect score, her performance on the test ultimately placed her so high. This not only shocked Rodrigues, but also Ho Lem herself, who later received a bronze HOSA medal for her achievement.
“I was really not expecting it and it caught us all off guard and surprised us, especially because we hadn’t been given certain details on what to study,” Ho Lem claimed.
Overall, Pinnacle’s first time at the HOSA Sports Medicine competition proved a huge success. Rodrigues plans to attend the event in the future, finding it a great way for her students’ skills and knowledge to flourish.
