NATCHEZ — Caleb Authement and Tyler Huls just moved to Natchez two weeks ago, and are already working to make a difference for local children.

When the Dart landed on St. Charles Street in Natchez, Authement and Huls were spending a rare day off getting ready to watch the NFL playoffs at a local bar.

The duo recently came to Natchez to begin their careers as athletic trainers after recently attending Southeastern Louisiana University.

Just starting out, the two are eager to help student athletes at local schools prevent or recover from sports injuries.

“You know the guy that runs out on the field when somebody gets hurt? That’s us,” Huls said.

The pair currently serves many of the local high schools and Alcorn State University.

“We do taping, treatment, and teach kids injury prevention,” Authement said. “We help them get to the point where they’re participating in sports and not getting injuries.”

Most of their days include traveling to schools to meet with student athletes from a variety of sports teams and attending sporting events, where they are on the field or court to treat injuries as they occur.

The team works 12-hour days regularly, and often on weekends, but they said they don’t mind.

“It’s about helping kids, and making sure the kids are ok,” Authement said.

Huls agreed. “The best part is seeing a student athlete coming back from an injury,” he said.

And when the duo gets some time away from the job, they don’t leave the sports world far behind.

“We watch sports on TV,” Authement said. “It’s what we do.”