Latest news, weather and high school sports for Albany and Southwest Georgia

ALBANY, GA --
Phoebe Northwest offered free athletic screenings Saturday morning to the five Dougherty County middle schools and two of the high schools to prepare students for the upcoming sports seasons.

Students received blood pressure, heart rate, vision, height and weight, and orthopedic checks by trainers from 8 A.M. to 2 P.M. before an orthopedic surgeon signed off on the forms allowing them to participate in next year's sports.

Certified athletic trainers like Chauncey Keith believe this is a great step students can make to take care of their bodies.

"It is a whole lot easier to prevent something to happen than it is to treat it after it does take place."

Last year around 700 kids received screenings, but the staff believes they checked even more this year.