NATA Now

By Kim Diggs

After years of service as an athletic trainer – treating countless injuries, providing emotional support and guidance to hundreds of athletes – Larry Cooper, MS, LIAT, ATC, former chair of the NATA Secondary School Athletic Trainers’ Committee, is now retired.

But, he’s not ready to wrap up the gauze just yet.

“During my career as a teacher and [athletic trainer], I never had the free time to volunteer,” Cooper said. “So, I knew … when I retired, I would volunteer as much as I could.”

Athletes at both the secondary or collegiate level have been affected by bullying and hazing. Bullying is defined at any unwanted aggressive behavior that involves an observed or perceived imbalance of power and is repeated multiple times. Hazing, a form of bullying, is defined as any potentially humiliating or dangerous activity expected of someone to belong to a group, regardless of his or her willingness to participate.

Hello Students and welcome to the NATA Student Leadership Committee’s first career explorations blog post! This month, we are exploring athletic trainers working in the professional sports setting. Read on to learn more about four professional sport athletic trainers, their different leagues, their daily lives and work operations, and tips on how you can one day be in their shoes.

Our thoughts are with the NATA members and their families who have been affected by Hurricane Florence.

NATA provides resources for athletic trainers working with permanently sidelined athletes through a relationship with Sidelined USA.

Sidelined USA is a a nonprofit organization that supports athletes who have been permanently sidelined due to career-ending injury, health condition, or repeat concussion and inspires them to find a meaningful way forward. Sidelined USA supports these athletes with resources, connection and mentorship opportunities.

The LGBTQ+ Advisory Committee (LGBTQ+AC) has received funding from NATA to offer a grant to fund one professional level athletic training student to attend the upcoming 2019 iLead conference Jan. 25-26, 2019. This grant will cover iLead attendance costs up to $1,500 associated with travel, lodging, registration and meals.

By David Stricklin MS, LAT, ATC, Head Athletic Trainer of the Seattle Seahawks

Hello! My name is Savannah Knighton and I’m currently serving as the chair of NATA Student Leadership Committee. I’m a senior athletic training student at Louisiana State University. This is my second year serving on the committee, as last year I represented District Nine.

As with many of you, NATA has been following the death of Jordan McNair, a 19-year old football player at the University of Maryland. While NATA cannot comment on the specifics of the McNair case, this tragic event has brought a conversation on medical care models at institutions to the forefront of sports.

Pop Warner Little Scholars, the nation’s oldest youth football, cheer and dance organization and Go4Ellis, an online platform that connects athletic trainers with sports event operators, announced a partnership for the 2018 season. Kicking off with a pilot program in Pennsylvania and Florida, the partnership is designed to increase the percentage of Pop Warner practices and games that have licensed athletic trainers on-site to tend to young athletes.