A nationwide shortage in athletic trainers will once again rear its head as KSHSAA fall sports practices begin on Monday, commencing the 2024-25 season. According to the National Athletic Trainers’ Association , 41% of schools in Kansas do not have an athletic trainer. Rural schools are three-to-four times more likely to not have one compared to suburban schools.
Kansas is in the middle compared to its neighbors. Missouri (46%) and Oklahoma (68%) face a steeper shortage, while Colorado (33%) and Nebraska (36%) fare better. NATA also reports that there are over 800 athletic trainers in Kansas.
Nationwide, only 37% of public schools have a full-time athletic trainer. Hawaii is the only state in the country to require athletic trainers be employed at public schools. In May, the Associated Press reported on a trainer shortage impacting the college level.
The four areas fueling the shortage, according to the AP, are compensation, organizational culture, burnout and increased work responsibility. Those issues compound at the high school level. “A lot of the shortage comes from athletic trainers feeling like they’re undervalued and the change in education requirements,” said Tanner Forrest, the athletic trainer at Parsons High School.
“There’s less people that want to commit to a master’s degree because they don’t know if they see themselves doing it long term. But then once you get into it, you realize the hours are less than ideal. It can be 60 hours a week, maybe .