Tag: National Athletic Trainers’ Association

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NFL Looks To Help The Nearly 30 Percent Of U.S. High Schools That Don’t Have An Athletic Trainer

Article reposted from Forbes
Author: Blake Williams

It’s hard to think of the NFL these days without thinking about player safety. It looms over every Sunday of action and is reinforced as players enter concussion protocol or are lost for the season due to injury.

Football has always been a violent game, and while the league has taken strides to increase safety, injuries are simply a part of the sport. The emphasis, then, should fall to proper treatment.

NFL players, certainly, have the best medical care money can buy, but the lower levels of the sport don’t. The league is taking strides to address that problem.

Through a grant program that began two years ago and is expanding this year the NFL Foundation in conjunction with the National Athletic Trainers’ Association has expanded efforts to put more full-time athletic trainers in high schools around the country.

“People probably don’t appreciated how underserved high schools are,” NATA President Scott Sailor said. “I think over the years they are becoming more aware of the importance of athletic trainers.

“Were already doing educational programming and things like that, but (The NFL) was able to put some money behind it and get boots on the ground.”

The program began in 2014, replicating a program the Chicago Bears started in 2013, and 20 NFL teams have participated to improve athletic trainer programs that work with 160,000 high school students. This year the Expanded Pilot Program will be awarding 150 grants to high schools in Arizona, Oklahoma, Illinois and Oregon – states chosen based on need and demographics – allowing those in areas that don’t have an NFL team to benefit.

“We have been very pleased with the creativity and the interest and excitement that we have seen in a lot of those communities,” said Amy Jorgensen, NFL Director of Health and Safety Policy.

“We’ve been very pleased with what we have seen. This year the pilot program is a way for us to look at how the NFL might be able to expand our efforts. We really are looking for this pilot program to provide us with some important learning as to how we can have an impact in more communities.”

Each grant is for $35,000 over three years to fund an athletic training program with a Dec. 16 deadline for schools to apply.

The grant looks to address a drastic need as two thirds of high schools across the country don’t have a full time athletic trainer and nearly 30 percent don’t have any access to an athletic trainer.

“The challenge is providing healthcare to the people that need it most and those are the kids. I think (the NFL) realized how few high schools have athletic trainers,” Jacksonville Jaguars Head Athletic Trainer Scott Trulock said. “Specifically some of the inner city schools that aren’t as well funded have sports programs but don’t have athletic trainers.”

The Jaguars were one of the first teams to get on board with the program and partnered with Jacksonville Sports Medicine Program, a local nonprofit, to place athletic trainers in seven of the 17 schools in the area. Five more schools will be added to the program next season with the goal of all 17 Duvall County Public Schools having athletic trainers by 2020.

Bob Sefcik, the executive director of the Jacksonville Sports Medicine program, said he has been impressed with the NFL’s commitment to a long-term solution.

“The NFL helps us leverage the schools in really making a firm commitment,” he said. “So essentially the NFL wanted something in writing from the school district that they in fact were going to sustain the program beyond what the NFL funding would be taken care of.”

The work in Jacksonville is just one of the success stories to come from the grant, something the NFL is surely elated with after years of player-safety related backlash and declining participation numbers for football at youth levels.

For the NFL, Jorgensen said, the focus is on moving forward and the work with the NATA is a part of that.

“There is a lot of interest and concerns to safety in sports and we are looking at solutions. Medical efforts have said that at the high school level this is one way you can make sports safer.”

Regardless, all the league can do now is move forward and the NFL Foundation grant is doing just that to increase safety in youth sports.

“I do feel like I have an obligation to be a caretaker for the game,” Minnesota Vikings Head Athletic Trainer Eric Sugarman said.

“I think athletic trainers are a very important piece of the puzzle when it comes to athletics at all levels and this grant is about providing care to student athletes. It was never presented as having an agenda. It’s really just to help kids.”

While improving player safety at lower levels of football isn’t an obligation for the NFL, it is in the best interest of the league and good for the sport in general. Getting athletic trainers in more high schools will improve safety for all high school athletes, not just football players.

That’s clearly the NATA’s stance, but without the help of the NFL that has been difficult.

“We really feel like if we can get athletic trainers in place and provide the normal services that we do, what we are trying to do is expose them to the important role that the athletic trainer plays and once they see that they will realize they went way to long without an athletic trainer,” Sailor said.

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Amani Jackson receives John A. Mayes Scholarship

Article reposted from State
Author: JAMINA TRIBBETT

While athletic training was not officially recognized as a health profession until the 1990s, the practice has been around for more than a century. In that time, Indiana State University has secured an esteemed place in history — one that made the university the No. 1 school to attend for Amani Jackson.

Jackson, a senior from Flossmoor, Ill., discovered her passion for athletic training after she broke her hand playing basketball in high school. Experiencing the care and treatment from an athletic trainer interested her in learning more about the field. When it came time to apply for colleges, Indiana State was at the top of her list.

“Indiana State was the first in the nation to have an accredited bachelor’s and master’s program in athletic training,” Jackson said. “Now, we are the first have a Doctorate in Athletic Training program. We are the pioneers for the profession, and I can’t think of anyone who wouldn’t want to be part of the tradition of excellence here.”

State is also among the best programs, turning out graduates who regularly help their teams win championships. Dice Yamaguchi, ’05, helped lead the San Antonio Spurs to an NBA title in 2014 — the same year head athletic trainer Chris Kingsley, GR ’95, helped the Los Angeles Kings hoist the Stanley Cup. (Actually, it was the second time in three years they’d won a championship.)

Amani Jackson decided to attend Indiana State because of its athletic training program's reputation.

Amani Jackson decided to attend Indiana State because of its athletic training program’s reputation.

Indiana State’s history with athletic training began in 1962 when the university hired its first athletic trainer, Mel Blickenstaff. Not only was the university the first to offer accredited undergraduate and graduate programs in athletic training, but also it was the first to graduate a woman into the profession. In 2016, Indiana State continues that legacy with the new doctorate — bringing with it hopes to raise the salary for athletic trainers.

“The biggest problem in athletic training is that the need is growing, but the salaries are not,” said Program Director Lindsey Eberman. “Right now, about 70 percent of athletic trainers have their master’s degree, but they are not necessarily gaining advanced practice skills or clinical expertise in those programs. What we are trying to do with our new doctorate is drive the skill set and leadership up to drive the value and worth of athletic trainers up.”

The Doctorate in Athletic Training is a 24-month continuous enrollment program that requires students to complete 57 credit hours, two research projects and clinical experience. There are currently 41 students in the program, and it maxes out at 50. Currently, only about half of applicants are accepted into the program.

“Some of the most influential people in the athletic training profession have graduated from Indiana State,” Eberman said. “These are the people who are pushing the profession forward by developing certifying exams and conducting research about the field. It has been really cool to be a part of that history.”

Jackson hopes to one day be a part of that history, as well. With her passion and an education from what she believes is “the best in the country,” there is no limiting her potential for success.

“She has demonstrated some serious passion for the profession — seeking out internships and trying to find ways to expose herself more in the profession,” said Eberman. “I think she represents future leadership, particularly as it relates to the diversity of our profession. The field is not necessarily diverse. Less than five percent of athletic trainers are not white.”

Jackson was awarded the John A. Mayes Ethnic Diversity Advisory Committee Scholarship by the National Athletic Training Association in May. This scholarship provides an annual scholarship of $2,300 to a qualified entry-level athletic training student from a diverse ethnic background.

“I was so honored and proud to receive this scholarship,” Jackson said. “John Mayes doesn’t know me personally, he just knows what I wrote on a piece of paper, but he felt strong enough to invest in me and encourage me to stay the path, even if I am the minority in the field.”

Jackson plans to further her education by obtaining a master’s and doctorate in athletic training. She has a special interest in studying aquatic therapy, foot and ankle pathologies, as well as the role of nutrition in healing. Food has an impact on injury prevention, performance enhancement and injury recovery, she says. Jackson’s dream clinical setting would be in women’s collegiate athletics, but she also wants to be open to other opportunities.

“Because I go to Indiana State and I feel that I am getting the best education in the world,” Jackson said, “I feel like there is no limitation to what I could do.”

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KSI Leads National Grant Program for High School Athletic Trainers

Article reposted from UConn Today
Author: Colin Poitras

UConn’s Korey Stringer Institute is overseeing a national pilot program intended to encourage the use of athletic trainers in public high school football programs across the country.

The program is sponsored by the NFL Foundation, Gatorade, the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA), the Professional Football Athletic Trainers Society (PFATS), and the Korey Stringer Institute (KSI).

The NFL Foundation is awarding up to 150 grants to high schools in four pilot states – Arizona, Illinois, Oklahoma, and Oregon. The $35,000 grants will be awarded over a three-year period to support an athletic training program. The number of grants issued will be at the discretion of an appointed review panel.

The Korey Stringer Institute at the University of Connecticut’s main campus in Storrs is overseeing the program and will conduct research to assess the its impact and the effect athletic trainers have on student athlete health outcomes.

Named after a former Minnesota Viking professional football player who died from exertional heatstroke in 2001, the KSI is dedicated to conducting research, education, advocacy, and consultation to maximize performance, optimize safety, and prevent the sudden death of athletes, soldiers, and laborers.

“The massive responsibility of keeping many hundreds of athletes safe at a particular high school should never be the responsibility of a sport coach or the athletic director, they have no training to properly handle this task,” says KSI Chief Executive Officer Douglas Casa. “We are very proud to partner with this grant program that has a primary goal of increasing the number of schools serviced by an athletic trainer and to enhance the amount of medical care for those that already have some.”

An athletic trainer is a licensed medical professional who has specific expertise in preventing, recognizing, treating and rehabilitating athletic injuries. However, nearly two-thirds of high schools across the country lack a full-time athletic trainer and almost 30 percent of high schools do not have any athletic trainer at all.

“The NFL is committed to enhancing the safety of football at all levels,” says NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell. “We are proud of the important work that athletic trainers do on the sidelines and in training facilities nationwide. We look forward to testing this pilot program as part of our effort to increase access to athletic trainers in local communities and improve sports safety for many more young athletes.”

The pilot program builds on the NFL Foundation’s athletic trainer grant program established two years ago to help NFL teams increase access to athletic trainers in their communities. To date, 20 NFL clubs have utilized these grants to support local schools and leagues.

“The NFL Foundation is proud that this athletic trainer pilot program, one that originally developed at the club level, is expanding to serve more young athletes,” says NFL Foundation Chairman Charlotte Jones Anderson. “NFL teams have long seen the value of athletic trainers’ knowledge and experience when it comes to health and safety and this program will help provide that same expertise at the high school level.”

Says Scott Sailor, NATA president: “The National Athletic Trainers’ Association is committed to enhancing the quality of health care that young athletes receive through access to athletic trainers. Together, we can ensure best practices are put in place in underserved schools to reduce the risk of injury and make sports safer for all communities.”

Jeff Kearney, head of Gatorade sports marketing, said the company was excited to build on the success of its 2015 efforts.

“For more than 50 years, we’ve been committed to athletes’ safety, performance, and success – and based on this experience – we know how important athletic trainers are to our mission,” Kearney says. “This program is an important part of our overall commitment to helping ensure the safety of the more than eight million high school athletes in the U.S.”

Says Rick Burkholder, PFATS president and head athletic trainer of the Kansas City Chiefs: “The Professional Football Athletic Trainers Society is proud to partner with the NFL Foundation, NATA, and Gatorade to increase the number of athletic trainers available to high school students across the country.

More information about the new grant program can be found at www.athletictrainergrant.com.

 

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Marietta College Grad Receives Athletic Training’s Top Research Award

Article reposted from Marietta College
Author: Tom Perry

Tom Kaminski writing on erase board

Tom Kaminski ’84 was a serious student who made a strong impression on Paul Spear, the longtime chair of Marietta College’s Athletic Training program.

“He was a bright student. He was one that challenged what we were teaching back then,” said Spear, who retired in 2000. “I can remember that he was always very interested in research, and he loved how we brought the medical aspect to our program back then, which was called Sports Medicine.”

Kaminski’s penchant for quality research and hard work were recently recognized by the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA), which presented him the Medal for Distinguished Athletic Training Research — the organization’s highest honor.

“I was honored just to be nominated because it is such a prestigious award,” said Kaminski, Professor of Kinesiology & Applied Physiology at the University of Delaware. “What makes it even more special is that I share this honor with the past recipients, which include two Marietta College graduates and my mentor David Perrin (Dean of College of Health at the University of Utah), who was my academic advisor for my doctoral dissertation at the University of Virginia.”

Scott Lephart ’83 and Christopher Ingersoll ’85, also protégés of Spear, received the honor in 2002 and 2005, respectively.

“Seems kind of unique to me that three of the most prolific scholars in the athletic training field are Marietta College graduates,” Kaminski said.

Ingersoll, Dean of College of Health and Human Services at the University of Toledo, credits the tough curriculum that Spear demanded of students in the program, and the liberal arts base the College provided.

“Our opportunity to be at a liberal arts institution really helped us as we entered into professional life. As a dean, I have seen first-hand the students who have a broad liberal arts education are some of our best students,” Ingersoll said. “The other thing was the leader of the program, Paul Spear. He expected us to be better than everybody else. He was a pioneer in the field of athletic training. We used medical terminology. We had an exposure in that program that others around the nation didn’t have.”

Lephart, Dean of the College of Health at the University of Kentucky, called Spear a visionary and believes you can trace the success of Kaminski, Ingersoll and himself back to their start at Marietta.

“Paul saw Sports Medicine and Athletic Training as a multi-disciplinary field of study that needed to be comprehensive in nature and embedded in science and medicine, unlike most programs that evolved out of physical education,” Lephart said. “As such, he instilled the need for future educators and researchers to establish our discipline in the health continuum. It is not coincidental that many of us pursued careers in education and research that is reflected in the awards that have been bestowed on those Paul has mentored.”

Kaminski and Thomas Buckley, Assistant Professor at Delaware, are currently working on the landmark NCAA/Department of Defense CARE Grand Alliance study, which is investigating the longitudinal impact of concussions on an athlete’s health. With 38 million U.S. children playing contact sports and close to 3.8 million reported concussions each year, this research can have an important impact.

“Here at Delaware we have 600 student-athletes who have to be baseline tested,” Kaminski said. “We’ve heard the funding will renewed for two more years — it’s a big deal to be selected.”

Kaminski is also working with the National Soccer Coaches Association of America on purposeful heading education — with an end goal of limiting concussions.

“I’m really excited about this research and can’t wait to see how it plays out,” said Kaminski, who was an athletic trainer with the national championship women’s soccer team at the University of Florida in 1998.

Kaminski’s research expectations have mushroomed to the point that this will be his last year as Director of Athletic Training Education at Delaware.

“It’s time for someone else to take the lead and bring in some fresh ideas as our program transitions from and undergraduate to an entry level master’s degree program,” he said.

Kaminski remembers being the new guy at his alma mater when Spear hired him in 1995 as he was completing his Ph.D. at the University of Virginia.

“I’m very appreciative to Paul for giving me that chance and it was a great experience,” Kaminski said. “My Marietta College experience had a profound impact on my life and my career. I went to Marietta to play baseball, but found something special at this small, liberal arts college. I know Marietta continues to make this type of impact on students today.”

Athletic Training at Marietta
http://www.marietta.edu/athletic-training-department
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New Jersey Athletic Trainers Shine at National Convention

Article reposted from
Author:

David Csillan, athletic trainer at Ewing High School in Ewing, New Jersey received two major awards at this year’s NATA Convention: The NATA Athletic Trainer Service Award and the NATA Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer Award.

Each June athletic trainers from all around the country gather for five days in a different city each year to further their education, learn about advancements in their field, and celebrate colleagues who go above and beyond to better the profession of athletic training. This year, during the National Athletic Trainers’ Association’s 67th Annual Clinical Symposia and AT Expo in Baltimore, Maryland, two New Jersey individuals and one Athletic Trainers’ Society of New Jersey Committee were recognized for their exceptional work.

Michael Goldenberg, Athletic Trainer at The Lawrenceville School in Lawrenceville, New Jersey was welcomed into the National Athletic Trainers’ Association’s Hall of Fame. This honor, bestowed upon few individuals each year, is the NATA’s highest honor.

(Learn More, courtesy of ATSNJ and YouTube)

Induction into the Hall of Fame honors athletic trainers who exemplify the mission of NATA through significant, lasting contributions that enhance the quality of health care provided by athletic trainers and advance the profession. According to the NATA website, more than 250 athletic trainers have been inducted into the Hall of Fame. In order to be eligible for induction, an athletic trainer must meet the following criteria:

  • NATA member in good standing
  • 30 years BOC certification or Retired Certified with initial certification at least 30 years prior to award year
  • 30 years membership in NATA
  • No other award, NATA or otherwise, is a prerequisite for eligibility for the Hall of Fame

Michael Goldenberg exemplifies these criteria. He attended Plymouth State College in New Hampshire and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Physical Education/Athletic Training in 1984 before attending the State University of New York at Buffalo, earning a Master of Science in Exercise Science (1989). After graduating from graduate school, Goldenberg gained employment at The Lawrenceville School in Lawrenceville, New Jersey where he has been since and has held multiple roles within the Athletics Department.

Michael has been extremely active and influential on the State, District and National levels of athletic training. Michael served on the ATSNJ Executive Council from 2000-2004 and was elected to the ATSNJ Hall of Fame in 2005. While remaining active within the ATSNJ, Michael took on another role as an Eastern Athletic Trainers’ Association (EATA) Executive Board Member from 2004-2015. During that time, Michael also served as the NATA District 2 Director and on the NATA Board of Directors from 2011-2015.

Michael Goldenberg, Athletic Trainer at The Lawrenceville School in Lawrenceville, New Jersey was welcomed into the National Athletic Trainers’ Association’s Hall of Fame.
Michael Goldenberg, Athletic Trainer at The Lawrenceville School in Lawrenceville, New Jersey was welcomed into the National Athletic Trainers’ Association’s Hall of Fame.

During his career, Michael has presented at the Annual NATA Conference 12 times, been an author on 10 publications, and has contributed to many interviews and projects throughout the country. “I am extremely honored and humbled to receive this recognition.” says Goldenberg. “However, this honor also belongs to all the hard working individuals I collaborated with on committees, executive boards and work groups, as well as the membership for embracing and supporting my ideas and programs.”

David Csillan, athletic trainer at Ewing High School in Ewing, New Jersey received two major awards at this year’s NATA Convention: The NATA Athletic Trainer Service Award and the NATA Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer Award.

The Athletic Trainer Service award recognizes NATA members for their contributions to the athletic training profession as a volunteer at the local and state levels. Athletic Trainer Service Award recipients have been involved in professional associations, community organizations, grassroots public relations efforts and service as a volunteer athletic trainer.

No other award, NATA or otherwise, is a prerequisite for eligibility for the Athletic Trainer Service Award. The Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer award recognizes NATA members who have demonstrated exceptional commitment to leadership, volunteer service, advocacy and distinguished professional activities as an athletic trainer.

Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer Award exclusively recognizes NATA members who have been involved in service and leadership activities at the national and district level. No other award, NATA or otherwise, is a prerequisite for eligibility for Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer Award. To be eligible for either award, the following criteria must be met:

  • NATA member in good standing
  • 20 years BOC certification
  • 20 years membership in NATA

Both of these awards encompass what David Csillan has meant to athletic training, not just in New Jersey, but across the country. Serving as the athletic trainer at Ewing High School since 1991, David has made time to volunteer within all levels of athletic training.

David currently serves as the Secretary and Executive Board Member of NATA District 2, as the Secretary Vice-Chair of the NATA District Secretaries/Treasurers Committee, as the NATA Liaison to USA Football, and on the Medical and Science Advisory Board for the Korey Stringer Institute.

On a state level, David volunteers his time as the ATSNJ Liaison to the New Jersey State Coaches’ Association/New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Association (NJSIAA), on the NJSIAA Drug Testing Appeals Committee, on the NJSIAA Sports Medicine Advisory Committee, and on the ATSNJ Golf Committee responsible for planning and executing the Annual ATSNJ Charity Golf Outing. David was elected to the ATSNJ Hall of Fame in 2008.

When asked about what it means to accept these national awards, Csillan stated, “I am humbly honored to be a 2016 recipient of the NATA Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer Award and NATA Service Award. More importantly, above any award, I value each and every friendship I’ve developed along the way. Although the excitement of receiving the awards are gone, all of you still remain. And for that, I am grateful.”

The final major award received was the NATA Public Relations “Best State Association Effort” for their work during National Athletic Training Month 2016. The ATSNJ Public Relations Committee is made up of a group of athletic trainers within New Jersey who work together to promote the profession of athletic training. This is the 7th major NATA Public Relations Award the ATSNJ has received in the past 8 years.

ATSNJ logoThe ATSNJ Public Relations Committee had several initiatives they executed during the month of March to promote the profession of athletic training within the state of New Jersey. The PR Committee produced targeted advertisements with strategic placement on NJ.com, promoted the ATSNJ Annual Conference and Awards Dinner on social media, had athletic trainers visit NBC’s The Today Show with signs and graphics, promoted positive experiences with athletic trainers on social media through the hashtag #ThankAnAT, and even promoted that Governor Christie proclaimed March 6-12, 2016 “Athletic Trainer Recognition Week.”

Accepting the award for the ATSNJ PR Committee at the NATA Convention was Public Relations Chairman, Allan Parsells. “It is a distinct honor to receive this award from the NATA Public Relations Committee,” said Parsells. “New Jersey is fortunate to have a passionate group of volunteers who do so much to promote athletic training within New Jersey and I am thankful to be able to lead them. It is truly a blessing to be able to support a profession and a Society that has given so much to me – it only feels right to be able to give back.”

The ATSNJ would like to congratulate Michael Goldenberg, David Csillan, and the Public Relations Committee on their most deserved awards. It is an honor to have these individuals and group of volunteers working so hard for athletic training in New Jersey.

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Waters Earns Athletic Training Service Award

Article reposted from The Diboll Free Press
Author: Josh Harvard

It’s common for coaches to refer to their athletic trainers as one of the best in the nation. In Diboll’s case, the Lumberjacks really have one as Mike Waters recently took home a prestigious honor from a national athletic trainers’ conference.

Waters earned the Athletic Training Service Award, which was given by the National Athletic Trainers Association (NATA) at the NATA National Meeting & Symposium in Baltimore.

Waters was given the award thanks to 29 years of service in the profession, including work on several committees.

“I am honored as well as humbled by the recognition,” Waters said. “This award is probably the second or third highest honor I could receive from our national association.”

In 2015, Waters took over as the head athletic trainer in Diboll after several years at Lufkin High School.

He has worked on several committees and held officer positions in local, regional and state athletic trainer associations.

Some of those organizations include the Greater Houston Athletic Trainers Society (GHATS), East Texas Athletic Trainers Association (SWATA) and District 6 of NATA, which includes Texas and Arkansas. He also spent nine years on the State Advisory Board of Athletic Trainers (the governing body for athletic trainers in Texas), a position appointed by Gov. Rick Perry in 2004.Waters was also recently elected regional director for the Texas State Athletic Trainers Association (TSATA).
Receiving the most recent award was just a part of the recent meeting in Baltimore.

“One of the highlights of the national meeting was traveling to Washington D.C. and meeting with Rep. Louie Gohmert personally as well as meeting with Sen. Ted Cruz and Sen. John Cornyn staffers,” Waters said.

Waters was nominated for the award by Sandy Miller, the retired head athletic trainer from SFA.
Waters also thanked Lufkin athletic director Todd Quick, Dr. Linda Bobo, the graduate program director at SFA, and Diboll High School principal John Clements for their support in the award process. He also thanked his family, including his parents Bill and Sylvia Waters as well as his in-laws Harold and Betty Hogan, of Newton.
Waters is married to Renee Waters and is the father of Chelsea Christmas and Doug Waters. His son-in-law is Jarrod Christmas and his granddaughter is Alli Christmas.

This year at Diboll, Waters will start his 30th year as an athletic trainer.

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Lindley Elected Vice President of the NATA

Article reposted from Traverse City Record Eagle
Author: Traverse City Record Eagle

Suttons Bay native Tory Lindley has been elected vice president of the National Athletic Trainers’ Association.

Lindley has worked in the collegiate setting throughout his 23-year career and currently serves as associate athletic director, director of athletic training services and head athletic trainer at Northwestern University, where he has worked since 2002. He previously served as head athletic trainer at Eastern Michigan and Hamline University and as a staff athletic trainer at Michigan State.

Lindley was the recipient of the 2012 Illinois Athletic Trainers Association Hall of Fame and the 2012 NATA Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer Award. He received the GLATA Golden Pinnacle Award, the district associations’ highest honor, in March.

He was also recognized as the 2012 Division I Head Athletic Trainer of the Year. He is currently an associate editor for the journal Athletic Training & Sports Health Care and is the NATA liaison to the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education. Lindley has been an NATA board member since 2014.

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SFA Head Athletic Trainer Wins National Award

Article reposted from My EastTex
Author: My EastTex

http://www.myeasttex.com/news/local-news/sfa-head-athletic-trainer-wins-award

The head athletic trainer at Stephen F. Austin State University has won the division one head athletic trainer of the year award.
Jeff smith was nominated by his peers for this award, it was then judged by the national athletic trainers association.
SFA has won three national awards in sports medicine this year and jeff smith is honored to be a recipient of one of them.
“It feels good,” said Jeff Smith, SFA Head Athletic Trainer. “I’m a firm believer that it is as much a staff award as it is a personal award. We’ve got a great staff here at sfa in our sports medicine athletic training department. We all work hard, long hours, and spend a lot of time here working with our student athletes. So it’s great to be recognized for some of the service we do to our student athletes.”
It is always good to know you have an excellent training staff for your athletes even if you hope an injury will never happen.
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Wesleyan athletic trainer named to national committee

Article reposted from The Telegraph
Author: The Telegraph

Wesleyan College athletic trainer Kelsey Greenwald has been selected to serve on the National Athletic Trainers’ Association Governmental Affairs Committee and will be representing District IX as their Committee Chairperson.

The National Athletic Trainers’ Associate is the professional membership association for certified athletic trainers and others who support the athletic training profession. The Governmental Affairs Committee is composed of members with interests or expertise in state legislative or regulatory affairs. The purpose of this committee is to oversee the association’s governmental relations and regulatory efforts as well as locally and nationally advocate for regulation which is favorable to athletic training.

In being named the NATA Governmental Affairs Committee District IX Chair, it will be Greenwald’s duty to serve as the liaison between the states of the district — Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi and Tennessee — and the national committee to resolve any issues pertaining to the governmental affairs process.

Read more here: http://www.macon.com/news/local/education/article85742502.html#storylink=cpy
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Former Eagles Pro Speaks at NATA Convention

Article reposted from The Baltimore Sun
Author: Jake Lourim

The injuries still linger in Brian Westbrook’s mind. The high-ankle sprain about 10 years ago, when Westbrook missed maybe a week before rushing back and playing a step slow. The concussion in Washington in 2009, when Westbrook was knocked out in the first quarter of a Monday night game and wanted to resume playing two days later.

Now he has to wonder: At 36, when he forgets names, is it because he wasn’t paying attention when he heard it? Or is it because of hits like those that he sustained during a nine-year NFL career?

Westbrook, a two-time Pro Bowler with the Philadelphia Eagles, says now that if he could do it over again, he would still play football, just a bit more cautiously than he did. As a guest speaker at the National Athletic Trainers’ Association conference at the Baltimore Convention Center on Thursday, he used his own experience as a cautionary tale.

“Protect your athletes from themselves,” he urged the trainers in attendance.

Westbrook was a guest speaker on a panel with seven athletic training experts from various fields, including education, the workplace and the military.

Westbrook spoke highly of his experience with athletic trainers such as Rick Burkholder, his athletic trainer for all eight years he played for the Eagles. Burkholder urged Westbrook to take time to recover from his 2009 concussion. Westbrook ended up missing three weeks.

“Manage the expectations,” said Westbrook, a Fort Washington native and DeMatha alumnus. “So many coaches, if you have an ankle injury, it’s two days, [then] back out on the field. The truth is, sometimes it’s not a two-day injury. Sometimes it’s a two-week injury. So you have to manage those expectations.”

Sometimes, Westbrook acknowledged, athletic trainers can push players to return to the field, but often they have to hold players back. That’s a tall order for some athletes who, like Westbrook, want to be on the field relentlessly.

Westbrook played the same way — if you’re able to run and catch, you’re healthy enough to play. Though he says he’s doing well for the most part, as a retired player who already feels some of the consequences of a grueling career, he wants to teach those athletes the dangers of that mindset.

“All you can do is tell them the stories,” he said after the panel. “All you can do is try to educate them. All you can do is give them all the information that you possibly can, and allow them to make the decision and help them make the decision. That’s all you can do.”

Westbrook is one of a number of former NFL players who have spoken out about their past as the league’s problem with traumatic brain injuries takes up more of the conversation. But Thursday’s discussion wasn’t limited to concussions.

According to Dr. Douglas Casa, chief executive officer of the Korey Stringer Institute at the University of Connecticut, the four leading causes of death in sport are, in descending order of frequency: cardiac issues, head injuries, heatstroke and exertional sickling (decreased blood flow upon exertion for athletes with the sickle-cell trait). He said together, those four ailments make up more than 90 percent of deaths.

The Korey Stringer Institute, created and named in honor of the former Pro Bowl offensive lineman who died of heatstroke on the practice field in 2001, works with sporting entities to preserve player safety. The institute promotes measures such as slowly phasing in activity in hot weather and testing athletes for the sickle-cell trait before practice. Both reduce the incidence of sudden death on the field, and both are free to implement.

Casa also cited a study that athletes have a 90 percent survival rate from cardiac issues with an automated external defibrillator accessible within two minutes.

Meanwhile, Dr. Tamara McLeod of A.T. Still University labeled concussions as a public health concern. The Center for Disease Control estimates the annual incidence of concussions is between 1.6 and 3.8 million, with many going unreported. According to McLeod, sport-related brain injuries generate annual hospital costs of more than $6 million.

Those numbers can go down if athletes report concussions and take the proper steps to recover, a decision they must continue to make to be safe.

“At the end of the day, especially for professionals, they’re going to have to make that decision for themselves,” Westbrook said. “For the kids, it’s a little bit easier, because you can say, ‘OK, you’re not playing. Two weeks.’ But when you’re talking about in the big leagues, it’s a different world.”