Have you ever noticed the person running on the field when your favorite athlete is down? He may have a fanny pack around his body, a bottle of water in his hand and a towel on his shoulder. This individual is a sports trainer. Athletic trainers are dedicated to helping athletes. For a sports trainer to perform at their best, they need an athletic training room suited to their needs. To start an athletic training facility, a few things need to be determined, including policies and procedures, procurement budget, athletic training facility design, legal considerations, and documentation. The first step in starting a sports training program is to determine why a program is necessary and what the program's goals should be. Once this step is complete, an athletic training program must develop policies and procedures outlining what the program's daily tasks are. Policies are written statements that identify the basic rules used to make decisions. The procedures provide specific interpretations of the progressive steps that direct the most important stages of the sports training program (Sport Development). The best way to communicate policies and procedures is to write a manual that contains them. This serves as the legal basis for action as it builds on current guidelines and research. Some examples of policies and procedures include insurance, drug testing, concussion, inclement weather, and emergency planning protocols. The National Athletic Trainers' Association has numerous position statements that support the need for a large number of research-based policies and procedures (Anderson). ...... middle of document ......Athletic Training 37(1), 99-104.Quandt, EF, Mitten, MJ and Black, JS (2009) Legal liability in the coverage of sporting events. Sports health. 1(1), 84-90. 10.1177/1941738108327530Development of a policy and procedure manual for an athletic training program. (nd). Retrieved May 1, 2014 from http://www.nata.org/education/ece/developing-athletic-training-program-policy-and-procedure-manual Prentice, WE (2011). Organization and administration of health care in sports training. (Ed. 14) Principles of sports training: A skills-based approach. (pp. 36-66). Chapel Hill, NC: McGraw-Hill. Prentice, W.E. (2011). Legal issues and insurance issues. (Ed. 14) Principles of sports training: A skills-based approach. (pp. 67-80). Chapel Hill, NC: McGraw-Hill. Ray, R. and Konin, J. (2011). Management strategies in sports training. Champaign, Illinois: Human Kinetics.