NATA Now

By Murphy Grant, MS, ATC, PES

Chair, NATA Intercollegiate Council for Sports Medicine

Research has shown that 2-3 times more injuries occur during preseason practice than in the regular season of play. This increased risk is due to a number of factors - from student athletes reporting for practice after a sustained period of reduced physical activity to players suiting up without proper acclimatization to the extreme heat found in some parts of the country.

The NATA Ethnic Diversity Advisory Committee (EDAC) invites candidates to apply to be the EDAC graduate representative to fulfill a one-year term (renewable once).  EDAC strives to identify and address issues relevant to our ethnically diverse community, both in the health care arena and in the National Athletic Trainers' Association. We also strive to promote diversity in our membership and leadership.

By Larry Cooper MS, ATC, LAT
NATA Secondary School Athletic Trainers' Committee
District Two Representative

By Jason Cates ATC, LAT 
NATA Secondary School Athletic Trainers' Committee
District Six Representative

By Dale Grooms, ATC
NATA Secondary School Athletic Trainers' Committee
District Four Representative 

Dr. Zubin Damania felt a call to medicine—as well as a call to the standup stage. The doctor-comedian, known as ZDoggMD, shared his laugh-inducing journey from frustrated internist to YouTube sensation and proponent of “Health 3.0” during the 2017 NATA Keynote sponsored by Cramer Wednesday, June 28, in the George R. Brown Convention Center.

Damania grew up on the East Coast until his parents, both in the medical field and immigrants from India, moved the family to Clovis, California, a rural community very different from his previous home.

The July NATA News featured an article about new NATA board members Katie Walsh Flanagan, EdD, ATC, LAT, representing District Three, and Tony Fitzpatrick, MA, ATC, LAT, representing District Ten. In it, they discussed why they wanted to serve on the NATA Board of Directors, why volunteerism is important to them and what drew them to the athletic training profession.

By Beth Sitzler

As Ron Courson, ATC, PT, NRAEMT, Director of Sports Medicine with the University of Georgia Athletic Association, took to the stage to give the 2017 NATA Political Action Committee Breakfast keynote address Tuesday, June 27, the room fell silent, captivated by his message of purpose and inspiration.

NATA will recognize its national award winners during the Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony at 2 p.m. Wednesday, June 28, in George R. Brown Convention Center Hall C. Throughout the 68th NATA Clinical Symposia & AT Expo, NATA and its many committees have honored the hard work and dedicated of members who have made a lasting contribution to the profession.

Today’s NATA convention schedule is packed with content! From BOC-approved EBP programing to the keynote presentation, get ready for a day full of events in Hall C of the George R. Brown Convention Center.

The EBP programing, “Leaving the Lab and Stepping onto the Battlefield: Using 15 Years of Injury Prevention Research in the U.S. Military to Guide the Future,” is from 11:45 a.m. to 1:45 p.m. in the George R. Brown Convention Center Hall C. The session, moderated by Darin Padua, PhD, ATC, will feature presentations related to athletic training in the military, including: