A physical day

VILLE PLATTE -- The 2019-20 LHSAA season is getting ready to get under way in a few short weeks.
But before anyone of the athletes that wish to participate in any one of the sports sanctioned by the LHSAA, they first must be deemed physically fit by a physician.
Athletes throughout the state have a choice when it comes to getting themselves checked out and cleared to give their sport a go. Either the athlete goes to their own family physician, physician’s assistant or nurse practitioner or they can do what a number of Evangeline Parish athletes do; go to a one stop shop of multiple medical professionals.
For the last 15+ years, Healthworks Rehab, located in Ville Platte, has provided, free of charge, a location where the local athletes can come to get checked out by numerous medical personnel so their LHSAA physicals are complete and up to date.
Healthworks Rehab gathers general and specialized physicians, optometrists, dentists, physician’s assistants, nurse practitioners and physical therapists to give each individual athlete the thorough going over that is required by the LHSAA.
According to David Vidrine, part owner of Healthworks Rehab, this event is an amazing opportunity for the athletes, coaches and medical personnel to all come together for a common purpose.
“Not only do the athletes have a free resource to get themselves ready for the upcoming year, but this event also allows the medical professionals to make eye to eye contact with the athlete,” Vidrine stated. “Most of these medical professionals that donate their time are from around here and want to see their community athletes taken care of before they step out on the field. The men and women that show up here to do this event do an amazing job and are so invested in the surrounding area.”
As is every year, three of the schools in the parish benefit from the event held at Healthworks Rehab; Sacred Heart, Ville Platte and Pine Prairie. Mamou and Basile athletes are seen at a similar event held at Savoy Medical Center.
“We are fortunate to have this event take place every year,” said Ville Platte head coach Jorie Randle. “It takes a big burden off of me and my staff not having to track down athletes and their physicals. Because of the way this is run, each athlete now can hand me their physical right when they leave the building.”
Pine Prairie head coach Yves Prince was also grateful to the medical professionals that come every year to make sure that the Panther athletes are seen about.
“If one of the athletes shows something out of the ordinary, we as coaches want that athlete to be seen about before they start playing their sport,” commented Prince. “With all of these medical people here, they can let us know what exactly is going on with our athlete and what the next step is to get them ready to play.”
Co-owner of Healthworks Rehab and physical therapist Andy Poche knows that having an event like this is important to the medical professionals as well.
“Having this not only allows the medical personnel to see the athletes and get them ready for the season, but it also allows them to communicate and network with each other,” state Poche. “That is not always easy to do because of their schedules. It also allows them to stay on top of an athlete and see problems through even though they may not be their regular patient.”
Athletes from every sport can attend.