NATA Now

September 11, 2025 by Beth Sitzler

NATA Beat: Fall 2025 Advocacy Updates

Every day, NATA and the NATA Government Affairs Department are working on behalf of the athletic training profession. With staff members experienced in all aspects of the legislative process, the NATA Government Affairs Department is the sole department focused on advocacy for the profession. NATA’s goal is to ensure that all ATs can work to the fullest extent of their education and skill set.

April 20, 2015 by NATA Staff

The Pre-participation Packet: A Vehicle for Communication

By George Wham, EdD, ATC, SCAT

Communication with parents is a key issue for the athletic trainer in the secondary school.  Whether it’s information about the role of the athletic trainer and the services we provide, procedures when an injury occurs, educational information regarding common medical conditions in athletics or the dreaded mound of signed forms that must be collected – making sure parents and athletes get your message is vital to a successful athletic training program.
 

April 20, 2015 by NATA Staff

Boston Strong, Two Years Later

As the medical team prepares for the 2015 Boston Marathon today, we are remembering the tragic bombing that shocked our country two years ago. More than 130 athletic trainers and AT students volunteered as part of the medical team for the 2013 race, coordinated by Medical Coordinator Chris Troyanos, ATC. Those ATs and AT students inspired us all with their heroic actions afer the blast, reacting quickly and decisively in the face of extreme danger. As first responders, they ran toward the bomb scene while everyone else was running away.
 

April 17, 2015 by NATA Staff

NATM 2015 Wrap Up and Winners

Another edition of National Athletic Training Month is in the books and 2015 was an outstanding year. The event was recognized in venues, offices and on campuses across the country and even showed up multiple places on television, including Good Morning America, the Today Show and Wheel of Fortune. Thanks to all the ATs who participated.
April 16, 2015 by NATA Staff

Awareness of Student-Athlete Mental Health Growing For ATs

This month, HBO’s award-winning “Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel” is featuring a segment that focuses on “the growing mental health crisis of student-athletes.”   Mental health issues among student-athletes is a worthy topic to be sure. However, this is no “growing” crisis. It is a longstanding one (remember Jimmy Piersall?) that has been too easily avoided by too many for too long.  
April 13, 2015 by NATA Staff

Favorite #NATM2015 Poster Photo Goes To...

After a flurry of votes over the last few days, we have a winner for the NATM 2015 poster contest! Congratulations go out to Cumberland Valley Athletic Training (@CVeagles_AT) for receiving the most votes in the poll. As the winner of the contest, they will be awarded a $100 Amazon gift card and a $50 credit to the NATAGear merchandise store. You can see the top ten entries below but be sure to check back here this Friday when we reveal the winners of our #NATM2015 Social Media Contest. 
 

 
April 13, 2015 by NATA Staff

Gatorade Sports Science Institute's Nutrition in Sport Series

The Gatorade Sports Science Institute (GSSI) has created the Nutrition in Sport series which combines practical advice with relevant supporting research by leading sports nutrition scientists and practitioners in the field to provide sport-specific expertise.
 
GSSI has appointed a group of experts, the American Football Task Force, to share research and recommendations pertaining to American football.
 

April 9, 2015 by NATA Staff

New Running Study in Journal of the American College of Cardiology

With the turn of the calendar page should come a turn — for the better — in the weather. Runners, I can promise you, are celebrating. They can get off the treadmill, get out of the health club and resume running outside.   Could anything be healthier?   Unfortunately that depends on how far and how hard one is running, or so says a study published last month in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology (JACC).

April 7, 2015 by NATA Staff

Help Us Choose the #NATM2015 Poster Contest Winner!

The response to our NATM Social Media Contest was impressive once again this year. We are collecting all the photos right now and will be announcing the prize winners next week. But another option available was to post a photo of the NATM poster we included with the February NATA News. Because we had such great entries for this, we need your help to choose the winner. We have narrowed it down to a top 10 and they are posted below.
April 2, 2015 by NATA Staff

Collaborative Solutions for Safety in Sport

NATA and the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine recently hosted “Collaborative Solutions for Safety in Sport,” a meeting designed to bring key stakeholders together to discuss sports safety in secondary schools across the country.
 

March 27, 2015 by NATA Staff

Only A Few Days Left For NATM 2015

The end of National Athletic Training Month is almost here. There are still a handful of days left to promote ATs and the profession, though, and we’re looking for a strong finish!