Inglemoor High School’s athletic trainer Everett Henderson (he/him), was completing his internship with the Minnesota Vikings in 2016, when Teddy Bridgewater, the former quarterback, was going through a routine play at practice and suddenly dislocated his knee. This was a serious orthopedic injury capable of causing nerve damage, blood vessel injuries and long-term instability. Henderson immediately recognized its severity.
“When that happened, I just automatically sprung into action,” Henderson said. “ (I) immediately got the vacuum splints ready and set it out so that the professional staff could take over from there.”
Despite Henderson’s mentors telling the interns to sit back and not get in the way if anything major happened, he said it was just a natural instinct to jump into action when Bridgewater got injured. Rather than being scolded, Henderson said he was complimented by the staff on his quick thinking and assistance.
Henderson has been a certified athletic trainer since 2017 and has worked for Seattle Children’s Hospital since 2021, where he was assigned to Inglemoor through an existing partnership with the hospital in Feb. 2021. He has continued to work here ever since.
During high school, Henderson was very active in sports. However, these activities were always cut short by various injuries, and he was always going to his school’s athletic trainer for rehab. She helped Henderson discover the field of athletic training, and Henderson said that he’s always wanted to be an athletic trainer from that moment onward.
“Just working with her, doing rehab and things like that just so I can get back to sports and just seeing everything that she did, and all the help that she did with a lot of different athletes,” Henderson said. “That started to inspire me.”
Henderson said his role as an athletic trainer is to take care of all athletes with their healthcare, safety or any other health-related issues. After school ends, Henderson helps various athletes with things ranging from general taping to working with athletes with their rehabilitation processes. Henderson said he also goes to sporting events, sets up various amenities and helps with any last minute processes before those athletes play.
“During the games, that’s where I will be on the sidelines or on the field, just watching the game, being alert to everything that’s going on,” Henderson said. “If anything like injuries do happen, that’s when I jump into action and start working there.”
Starting his day around 2 p.m. and working till anywhere between seven and 10 p.m., Henderson said his unusual working hours can be a downside, preventing him from spending as much time with his friends and family as he would like. He also said it can be difficult when the school has multiple sports happening in different places at the same time.
“That can get really intensive — trying to figure out where I need to be to best serve student athletes, on the days where we have just a bunch of things going on with practices, games and things of that nature.” Henderson said.
Despite these difficulties, Henderson said he enjoys the large variety of skill levels present in high school sports. He enjoys seeing students grow and develop throughout their years in high school.
“A lot of my favorite experiences go back to being around student athletes, being around the coaches and things like that, in moments where they’re succeeding,” Henderson said.
Henderson views himself as a resource to students even outside of athletic injuries. He will often prepare an assortment of snacks or any other necessities in case any of his athletes ever need something.
“I put together little care packages of different things — deodorant, body wash, hair ties — just different things to help out students no matter what because I don’t know where everyone’s coming from,” Henderson said. “Whatever I can do to be a resource to help, whether it’s giving some food or giving them some basic toiletries, I just want to be there to help out.”
Henderson stressed how important it is that students are not afraid to reach out to him. Whether it’s for an injury or something else, he said his goal is not to prevent them from participating, but rather to assist in a quick recovery so they can continue playing.
“I’m here to help student athletes. I’m not here to try to hurt them or keep them out of athletics or anything like that,” Henderson said. “I want everyone to be successful and have fun.”
