BY BOO NEWSOME
MOUNTAIN CITIZEN
INEZ — Those attending the Cardinals’ 7-on-7 passing games at Paintsville last week might have noticed a new face on the sideline, as Martin County High School student-athletes have an athletic trainer working with them this season.
Athletic trainer Karin Alley came on board toward the end of the school year last season. She began working with the high school fall sports teams after the July dead period.
The new service is provided through an outreach program by King’s Daughters Medical Center to place athletic trainers in high schools.
Alley will be at varsity practices and games in all sports. She will be traveling with the football team to away games.
The athletic trainer was busy administering impact concussion testing to all football players last week. Impact concussion assessment is a baseline test that will serve as a benchmark for the athlete’s cognitive abilities and concussion symptoms before them suffering a concussion.
Alley said she is excited about the opportunity to work as an athletic trainer in Martin County.
“I am thankful to KDMC for placing athletic trainers in the high schools,” said Alley. “We can provide a valuable service for the schools and the athletes to ensure they get the best care possible, whether it is a pulled muscle or an injury requiring surgery.”
Alley is married to Bobby Alley. She and her husband have a daughter Chloe, who will be a junior at Martin County High School and a son Jonah, a sixth grader at Warfield Elementary School.
Alley graduated from Clarksville High School in Clarksville, Tennessee, in 1996. She attended Austin Peay University and has a Health and Human Performance degree. She became a certified trainer in 2001 and is certified in basic life support through the American Heart Association. She received her master’s degree from East Tennessee University in Sports Science in 2002.
Alley worked at the University of Virginia’s College at Wise from 2002-2008. She started as an assistant trainer and became head trainer in 2005, working with over 200 athletes in 11 varsity sports. After the birth of her first child, she worked as a medical transcriptionist for orthopedic doctors. She maintained her certifications in athletic training and found out about this opportunity through a friend.