Aragon has recently hired a new athletic trainer, Fredy Cedillo Martinez. Originally from San Diego, Cedillo earned both his undergraduate and graduate degrees in kinesiology at San Diego State University. Cedillo chose this career because of his love for sports as well as his previous experience as a soccer player.
“I was an athlete my whole life,” Cedillo said. “And after I left the sport, I knew I wanted to pursue a profession that would allow me to provide healthcare services to high-functioning athletes.”
Though Aragon is his first job as a certified athletic trainer, his experience spans multiple sports and training environments. Before arriving at Aragon, Cedillo completed clinical rotations at both California State University San Marcos and University of San Diego, where he worked with a variety of collegiate athletes.
Cedillo’s day-to-day responsibilities include looking over documentation, doing injury evaluations, rehabilitation, taping athletes before practices and monitoring teams during games or training sessions. The documentation side of his job involves keeping detailed medical records on injuries, treatments and recovery progress, as well as communicating with coaches about player availability. During lunch, he sees athletes for prehabilitation — preventative exercises and stretches designed to reduce the risk of future injuries — along with injury evaluations or rehabilitation. His time after school is spent moving between fields and gyms, checking in with different teams and ensuring they have the resources they need. With high-contact sports like football, he is especially vigilant during games, traveling with the team when it is necessary.
“I have to travel with the football team all the time when they have away or home games,” Cedillo said. “I have to be there basically managing everything.”
For student-athletes, having someone like Cedillo around is reassuring. Even minor injuries, if not treated properly, can derail a season or sideline an athlete for many months.
“If you injure something, it basically follows you for the rest of your career if you’re not careful,” said senior Luke Novak. “I sprained my ankle in the middle of the cross country season. It took me out until the end, and because that ankle was weaker, I injured it again as the track season was beginning.”
Trainers make a significant difference not just in emergency response, but also in shaping the long-term wellness of athletes.
“They definitely help you when you go down with an injury, and they give you exercises to do at home,” Novak said.
Due to limited resources in a high school setting, Cedillo cannot meet with every athlete proactively the way college trainers might. Instead, most students visit only after an injury, at which point he does a full evaluation to identify both the immediate issue and any underlying risks, correcting muscle or body imbalances when he sees them.
At Aragon, Cedillo hopes to build a culture of awareness and prevention to help everyone succeed in their sport.
“I want to help the youth, empower them with knowledge, and help them participate in their sport in a safe manner,” Cedillo said. “It’s a reward that I would want to have forever.”
