Originally published by Nolensville Town Life —

Williamson Health, your Williamson County-based healthcare system, has a deep connection to Nolensville with five locations in our community. But did you know they also provide a full-time, certified athletic trainer to Nolensville High at no cost to the school? 

Megan Klein is a certified and licensed athletic trainer who covers varsity sports at Nolensville High and provides care to prevent and treat athletic injuries. She is one of the athletic trainers employed by Williamson Health to work at Williamson County public high schools. 

Lately you may have seen her sprinting along the sideline at a Knights football game. Whether bandaging cuts, massaging muscle cramps or simply cheering for the players, Megan is a constant and comforting presence for the school’s young athletes. 

“What I love about working in a high school is I get to help with all of the sports all year long, whether they’re non-contact or full contact,” she said. “We have a decent number of multi-sport athletes at Nolensville who are always around the training room.” 

Megan began work at Nolensville High in 2022 and has been a certified athletic trainer since 2016. She and the other Williamson Health athletic trainers work with Bone and Joint Institute team physicians to offer a comprehensive sports medicine program, free of charge, to Williamson County Schools. These doctors generously offer their time and talents as part of their commitment to care for local athletes. 

Additionally, high school home football games have Williamson Health Emergency Medical Services (EMS) standing on the field for quick transport to the emergency room if a situation requires. 

Besides providing medical support to the teams they serve, Megan and her colleagues get to know these student-athletes on a personal level, too. 

“I try to make the athletic training room someplace safe that the kids can come visit not only when they’re injured, but when they have a bad day and need to vent or want someone to talk about what’s going on in their lives,” she said. 

The thick of Nolensville’s football season finds Megan quite busy during a typical Friday home game. By 2 pm she is glad to see about 10 student volunteers come in to fill numerous water jugs, mix up Gatorade and scoop mounds of ice into tubs for injury needs. Then all of them cart this mass of necessities to the field, plus first aid supplies, crutches, tables, and an AED. Around 3:30 pm Megan is taping up players until warm-ups. 

“Then, hopefully by 7 pm I’m watching the players win a game and stay healthy!” she said. “I have students who help me on the sidelines for games, which is a huge help to keep the players hydrated and assure I know what’s happening on and off the field when I’m taking care of someone else.” 

The Williamson Health athletic training program, which costs $825,000 per year, is provided free of charge to Williamson County Schools thanks to the support of the health system’s charitable arm, the Williamson Health Foundation. For information or to donate, click here.