Former Greenville High athlete Larry Cooper of Penn Trafford High School has been selected as the 2016 recipient of the National Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer Award.
Given by the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, the award will be presented during the organization’s annual clinical symposium this summer. Cooper is one of only 15 members to be selected to receive the award this year.
NATA’s second highest award recognizes members who have demonstrated exceptional commitment to leadership, volunteer service, advocacy and distinguished professional activities as an athletic trainer. The MDAT exclusively recognizes NATA members who have been involved in service and leadership activities at the national and district level and have been active members for more than 20 years.
Throughout his career, Cooper has been actively involved within the athletic training profession at the state, district and national levels. He currently serves as the Chair of the National Athletic Trainers Association Secondary School Athletic Trainer Committee and has also served the association as a District 2 representative of the NATA SSATC.
Cooper has been very active at the state level holding various positions within the Pennsylvania Athletic Trainers Society including serving on the board of directors, parliamentarian, membership chair and the secondary school committee chair and long range planning committee.
Cooper has also served as a speaker and presenter at numerous state, district, and national conferences and has been the author or contributing author of numerous nationally published articles, position statements and best practices documents.
Cooper, son of Robert and Jo-Anne Cooper, is a native of Greenville and a 1983 graduate of the University of Pittsburgh. He has been the head athletic trainer at Penn Trafford High School since 1991. In addition, he teaches sports medicine, health and physical education.
Prior to coming to Penn Trafford, Cooper was the head athletic trainer at Washington Lee and Wakefield high schools in Arlington, Va., from 1983-1991.
He currently resides in Harrison City, Pa., with his wife Lisa. They have three daughters, Sara, Molly and Delaney.