NATA Hall of Fame

A Nebraska graduate, Jerry Weber returned in 1977 and worked at UN through his 2011 Hall of Fame Induction as Associate Director of Athletic Medicine and Head Athletic Trainer. On the field, he helped the Cornhuskers to three national football titles in the 1990s. Weber was the District Five director from 1987-90 and NATA VP in 1989-90. He was part of an NCAA task force that established new rules to protect football players during two-a-day practices.

After six years as an assistant at Washington State, Barrie Steele found a home at the University of Idaho in 1986 and served as head AT before becoming Director of AT Services. Even before joining the Board of Directors, he held numerous involvement positions at the national level, including spots on the Finance Committee, Investment Committee, CUATC and the Secretary/Treasurers Committee. Steele also served as liaison to CAATE.

One of the youngest head ATs in MLB history, Larry Starr was the first to be certified. He worked for the Cincinnati Reds from 1972-1992 and was part of four World Series championships. Starr is known for revolutionizing the profession in pro baseball, becoming the first to implement an extensive weight-training program. He worked for the Marlin before becoming adjunct professor at Nova Southeastern and President of Starr Athletic Solutions, LLC.

A graduate of East Tennessee State, Jerry Robertson returned to ETSU and helped start the state's first graduate athletic training education program. Robertson was elected president of the Southeast Athletic Trainers' Association in 1988 and served as three-year term as district director from 1991-94. Robertson left ETSU in 2003 and helped organize a secondary school outreach program at Watauga Orthopaedic in Johnson City, Tenn.

Andy Paulin mentored hundreds of students and student athletes while serving as Head Athletic Trainer at Mount San Antonio College in Walnut, Calif. He was extensively involved in NATA at the district and state level before becoming District Eight director, a position he held for six years beginning in 2002. Paulin worked the 1984 Summer Olympics and provided care for athletes at the Mt. SAC Relays, the world's largest track and field competition.

From the classroom to the basketball court, Larry Leverenz delivered intelligence, versatility and a global perspective to athletic training. He spent more than a decade working with disabled and blind athletes while making a name for himself as a clinician at Western Illinois and Iowa. He took a position at Purdue in 1991 and served as AT for men's basketball and ATEP Director. He was CAAHEP president from 1999-2002 and was extensively involved in WFATT.

Chuck Kimmel was elected NATA president in 2004 and helped the association grow despite one of the nation's worst recessions. Among his many accomplishments, the Involve & Evolve! initiative to grow young leaders launched during his tenure, and he helped develop NATA's Political Action Committee. Kimmel's career at Austin Peay State University lasted 25 years before he accepted a position as Injury Clinic Director at Appalachian State.

An authority on athletic training education, Marcia Anderson arrived at Bridgewater State University in 1981 and helped build its ATEP into one of the nation's most respected. She has been lead author on eight books, including Foundations in Athletic Training: Prevention, Assessment & Management. Anderson is a former Journal of Athletic Training reviewer and spent a decade developing questions for the BOC certification exam.

Many athletic trainers have fought for governmental recognition, but Keith Webster stands out in the crowd. Early on, Webster saw the value of legislative affairs and effectively lobbied NATA to make it a priority. He led the Governmental Affairs Committee for a decade and continues to push for legislative initiatives. Webster is an assistant professor and head athletic trainer at his alma mater, the University of Kentucky.

Brooklyn native Frank Walters learned a key lesson from his first athletic training mentor, Bill Chisolm: think big-picture. He has spent a career doing exactly that - and challenging others to do the same. He has impacted ethnic diversity in athletic training, education, job improvement, athlete health care. Well known for building the athletic training program in the District of Columbia public schools, Walters now runs an outreach program in Broward County, Fla.