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LSU Alumni Plays Major Role in Life Saving Event
Gage Trahan graduated from LSU's Athletic Training Program in December, 2006, and moved to Pineville, La. He attended graduate school at Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, and was involved in a Graduate Assistantship program through a local hospital doing outreach for several rural high schools. He began working at Pineville High School full time in August of 2008, and earned his Master’s Degree in Sports Administration in May 2009. He is currently in his second year of teaching health and sports medicine at Pineville High School and in his fourth year as Head Athletic Trainer. On December 12, at a basketball between Nachitoches Central and Pineville, 15 year old calvin Haynes collapsed with cardiac arrhythmia. His heart stopped for several minutes and he was unconscious for 30 minutes. When asked about the importance of having an athletic trainer present in secondary schools, he replied, “No matter the level of competition, a crisis like this can occur at any moment in sports. The young man who collapsed was an otherwise healthy high school freshman. This near tragedy could not have been anticipated. A registered nurse happened to be at the game to watch her daughter play in a game that was to follow the boys’ basketball game. She was instrumental in saving this young man’s life, but an athlete’s safety cannot rest on the chance that a medical professional will be in the stands. It is vital that a Certified Athletic Trainer is on campus during sports practices and games. This need cannot be overstated.” Louisiana is one state that has not yet had to resort to pay-for-play athletics programs at the high school level, where athletics user fees have been the norm for high school administrators, coaches, parents and students. When asked how LSU influenced his reaction to an emergency such as this one, he responded, “As a college student, I did not understand the importance of going through the CPR/AED training over and over before two-a-days began each summer. I am so glad now that the outstanding staff of Athletic Trainers at LSU thoroughly prepared me and the other athletic training students for any situation that we might face on the playing field or court. The last thing I expected at a freshman basketball game on a Monday afternoon in December was for this young man’s heart to cease functioning. When the unthinkable happened, though, I was ready to act quickly and effectively because of my LSU training.”
Gage Trahan graduated from LSU's Athletic Training Program in December, 2006, and moved to Pineville, La. He attended graduate school at Northwestern State University in Natchitoches, and was involved in a Graduate Assistantship program through a local hospital doing outreach for several rural high schools. He began working at Pineville High School full time in August of 2008, and earned his Master’s Degree in Sports Administration in May 2009. He is currently in his second year of teaching health and sports medicine at Pineville High School and in his fourth year as Head Athletic Trainer. On December 12, at a basketball between Nachitoches Central and Pineville, 15 year old calvin Haynes collapsed with cardiac arrhythmia. His heart stopped for several minutes and he was unconscious for 30 minutes. When asked about the importance of having an athletic trainer present in secondary schools, he replied, “No matter the level of competition, a crisis like this can occur at any moment in sports. The young man who collapsed was an otherwise healthy high school freshman. This near tragedy could not have been anticipated. A registered nurse happened to be at the game to watch her daughter play in a game that was to follow the boys’ basketball game. She was instrumental in saving this young man’s life, but an athlete’s safety cannot rest on the chance that a medical professional will be in the stands. It is vital that a Certified Athletic Trainer is on campus during sports practices and games. This need cannot be overstated.” Louisiana is one state that has not yet had to resort to pay-for-play athletics programs at the high school level, where athletics user fees have been the norm for high school administrators, coaches, parents and students. When asked how LSU influenced his reaction to an emergency such as this one, he responded, “As a college student, I did not understand the importance of going through the CPR/AED training over and over before two-a-days began each summer. I am so glad now that the outstanding staff of Athletic Trainers at LSU thoroughly prepared me and the other athletic training students for any situation that we might face on the playing field or court. The last thing I expected at a freshman basketball game on a Monday afternoon in December was for this young man’s heart to cease functioning. When the unthinkable happened, though, I was ready to act quickly and effectively because of my LSU training.”
