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Akayla is a Certified and Licensed Athletic Trainer.  She graduated from Grand Canyon University in 2022 and brings a wealth of experience with her. Akayla joined O'Connor as a clinical 1 and 5 intern.  The student athletes enjoy her knowledge and humor.  

Cassey is a Certified and Licensed Athletic Trainer.  She graduated from Grand Canyon University in 2023.  She attended Highland High School in Gilbert, AZ and was very involved in the Sports Medicine program there.  Cassey completed her first clinical rotation at OC, and we are excited to have her on board.  

The Arizona Athletic Trainer’s Association and Arizona Interscholastic Association (AIA) require Certified Athletic Trainers (ATCs) to work in conjunction with, and under the supervision of a qualified physician while providing healthcare services to students and athletes. The intention of this requirement is to ensure reasonable standards of care are being practiced and to ensure student athlete safety during athletic participation.

While the paramount goal is optimizing student athlete safety, we also believe this working relationship serves several other key purposes:

- Protecting ATCs from liability issues;
- Being in compliance w/ AIA bylaws;
- Practicing national standard of care guidelines;
- Giving some latitude/discretion to individual or unique situations; and
- Giving ATCs/team physicians more control over return to play decision-making whenever it is felt a standard of care is not being met.

As volunteer team physicians, The CORE Institute believes it is our responsibility to offer easy
access and assistance to athletes when making medical appointments for reasons such as injury evaluation. In
some instances, a referral to one of our facilities may be recommended. However, we would like to make it
clear that athletes and families are NEVER REQUIRED to see a provider from The CORE Institute and may
always seek consultation with other unaffiliated healthcare providers.

Other aspects of being a volunteer team physician is providing sideline and event coverage for
specific sporting events. When a medical condition or injury is suspected, we are often called upon to provide
recommendations of care to the athlete, athlete’s family, coaching staff, and/or referees. Our medical personnel
will always make their best good-faith effort to provide accurate medical advice. However, some resources that
aid in making these recommendations or delivering care may not be available “in the field” or outside the normal
clinical or hospital environment.

In light of the above considerations, The CORE Institute’s team of board certified, fellowship level
trained sports medicine physicians have worked diligently alongside qualified ATCs in our community to
formulate the attached recommended, evidence-based protocols that we feel most significantly affect a student
athlete’s health and safety. In addition to reviewing and updating these protocols annually, it is also recognized
that this list is not entirely comprehensive and that other issues may be encountered. On-going communication
between the ATC and designated volunteer team physician will always be necessary, especially as new position
statements and/or standards of care evolve for any given problem.