NATA Announces 2016 Hall of Fame Class

Athletic trainers often work off the field or court and behind the sidelines alongside physicians at games and in clinics and hospitals. They are not noticed by fans unless an injury occurs during play, but their presence looms large in the lives of athletes in their care. The National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA) recognized seven outstanding athletic trainers who have worked with high school and college athletes, professional sports teams and Olympians, during its 67th Clinical Symposia and AT Expo in Baltimore on June 24.

The Hall of Fame is the highest honor an athletic trainer can receive. Honorees were recognized for their significant, lasting contributions that enhance the quality of health care provided by athletic trainers and advance the profession. Since inducting its first class in 1962, the Hall of Fame now has 303 members. NATA represents and supports 43, 000 members of the athletic training profession.

“This honor is reserved for those who have contributed above and beyond their jobs to support the profession and association, ” said Chuck Kimmel, ATC, NATA Honors & Awards Committee chair. Two of those Honorees Michael Goldenberg and Eric McDonnell have advanced the association through their communications and legislative activities.

Two Honorees Share Their Stories

Honoree Michael Goldenberg, MS, ATC, is the athletic trainer at the Lawrenceville School in New Jersey where he has served since 1989. He has affected the athletic training profession through his efforts to integrate technology to improve and promote the profession.

At his elite, private college prep school, athletes like Joakim Noah (New York Knicks) and Bobby Sanguinetti (former New York Rangers) began their careers. “We have great athletic facilities and provide care for 61 teams, Goldenberg said. “It’s a fantastic profession.”

As webmaster for District Two of the NATA since 1998, Goldenberg introduced listservs, text and voicemail campaigns, online voting and various online tools, and established many state and district websites. As district director, he launched the Communicate, Activate, Serve program to increase communication, as well as membership involvement in district programs.

In 2000, he founded and chaired the NATA Webmaster’s Advisory Group. As a member of the NATA board of directors, he was heavily involved in major decisions that improved the association and profession.

Eric McDonnell, MEd, LAT, ATC, is an athletic trainer at the University of Missouri, where he has served athletes for more than 30 years. A leader at the local and national levels, he has committed his career to the advancement of the athletic training profession.

McDonnell has served as a member of the NATA board of directors and chaired the organization’s Governmental Affairs Committee, Annual Meeting Host Committee and NATAPAC board of directors. In addition, he served on various task forces and workgroups. Through his governmental affairs efforts, states under regulatory control increased from 28 to 49, and funding for state legislative activities increased. An activist for the association’s federal legislative agenda, McDonnell regularly advocates on behalf of the profession.

“It’s quite an honor to be recognized, ” said McDonnell, who received a jacket and ring for his efforts and involvement. “To meet these other athletic trainers and be in that small circle is quite neat and very surreal.”

Like many professional athletic trainers who entered the field 30 or more years ago, McDonnell didn’t really know about athletic trainers. The field was just developing. McDonnell’s high school football coach was a family friend who asked McDonnell if he wanted to help with athletic training after he learned that McDonnell wasn’t planning to play football. McDonnell said he would give it a try and was sent to summer courses and workshops. “I got to work directly with physicians, ” said McDonnell. “As soon as I went to the course, I could see that I got to help people.”

McDonnell became hooked on the profession. He attended the University of Missouri and was offered a full-time job with the campus upon graduation. “It’s not a job, ” he said. “It’s an adventure.”

Professional Education and Service

The rigor, training and professional involvement of athletic trainers has grown over the years. Athletic training is an academic major or graduate equivalent major program that is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE). The current minimum entry point into the profession of athletic training is the baccalaureate level, however it was recently decided by the AT Strategic Alliance that the minimum professional degree level will be a master’s, a change to be implemented within the next several years. More than 70% of athletic trainers hold at least a master’s degree. Upon completion of a CAATE-accredited athletic training education program, students become eligible for national certification by successfully completing the Board of Certification, Inc. (BOC) examination.

According to Kimmel, athletic trainers work side by side with physicians, particularly orthopedic physicians. “I sleep at night because I know I have an orthopedic watching my back. My physician traveled with us and paid his own way. They are able to handle the most difficult situations because they’ve treated them. I’ve learned 90% of what I know from them. Orthopedics and family practice doctors are two of our tent poles that keep us anchored.”

The relationship is symbiotic. “We’re their eyes and ears, too, ” said Kimmel of the synergy between athletic trainers and physicians. “We can provide an athlete’s history for the doctors, so they are up to speed. It’s hand and glove between an athletic trainer and a team physician, which is most commonly an orthopedist.”

Kimmel said each year physicians also are chosen as award recipients through NATA.

Hall of Fame Honorees

Five additional 2016 Hall of Fame inductees include:

David Craig, LAT, ATC, owner of Craig Consulting in Indianapolis, spent 35 years as the Indiana Pacers’ head athletic trainer, working with the 1970 and 1971 ABA championship teams and the 2000 NBA Eastern Conference champions. In 1984, he was elected as the first president of the Indiana Athletic Trainers’ Association and contributed to the licensure and reimbursement of athletic trainers in his state. Craig served as an athletic trainer for the 2003 Pan American Games in Santo Domingo and the 2004 USA Olympic men’s basketball team in Greece. Craig has held countless leadership positions at the state, district and national levels and received numerous awards including the Joe O’Toole NBA Athletic Trainer of the Year Award and the NATA Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer Award.

Bob Gray, MS, ATC is the coordinator of athletic training community affairs at the Cleveland Clinic Sports Health, his employer since 1991. He is known for his passion for athletic training and his devotion to the growth of his colleagues and the profession as a whole. He was named the head athletic trainer for the NCAA Division I basketball regional finals in 2015, and is an ATC spotter for the NFL. Recognized at the local, district and national levels, he was awarded the NATA Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer Award in 1998, he was inducted into the Ohio Athletic Trainers’ Association Hall of Fame in 1999, and in 2010 he received the Golden Pinnacle Award from the Great Lakes Athletic Trainers’ Association. Gray currently serves on the NATA Research and Education Foundation board of directors.

Scott Linaker, MS, AT, ATC, is currently an athletic trainer and partner at Arizona Sports Care. An advocate for athletic trainers in the secondary school setting, he previously spent more than 20 years as head athletic trainer at Canyon del Oro High School. He has dedicated his career to advancing the profession of athletic training through his leadership and service. Linaker was elected president of the Arizona Athletic Trainers’ Association in 1990, and the Rocky Mountain Athletic Trainers’ Association (RMATA) in 1998. During his presidency, the RMATA Leadership Development Program was created to foster leaders within his district and the entire profession of athletic training. Linaker has held numerous positions at the national level, including on the NATA board of directors, Hall of Fame Committee and the Board of Certification.

Patrick Sexton, EdD, ATR, ATC, is the director and professor of athletic training at Minnesota State University, Mankato, and is a current athletic trainer director of the Board of Certification. He has served in numerous volunteer roles, including as a member of the Joint Review Committee on Athletic Training Education, a member of the NATA Committee for Education’s Professional Education Committee and vice-chair of the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education. Sexton was elected vice president of the Wyoming Athletic Trainers’ Association and president of the Wisconsin Athletic Trainers’ Association. He has also held several leadership positions with the Minnesota Athletic Trainers’ Association. He has received numerous awards including the Great Lakes Athletic Trainers’ Association Outstanding Educator Award, Minnesota Athletic Trainers’ Association Hall of Fame, and the NATA Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer Award and Sayers “Bud” Miller Distinguished Educator Award.

Gary Wilkerson, EdD, ATC, FNATA, is a professor at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga where he has taught since 2000. He is a renowned educator, researcher, clinician and respected expert in his field. Wilkerson is a leader in clinical effectiveness studies and predictive modeling for injury prevention. In 1990, he led a research study conducted at the United States Air Force Academy, and in 1996, he served as a member of the polyclinic medical staff for the Olympic Games in Atlanta. Wilkerson is celebrated by his peers and has received numerous awards and accolades. He was named a Fellow of the NATA in 2008, and was inducted into the Southeast Athletic Trainers’ Association Hall of Fame in 2010.