History of Athletic Training
...ajor part of athletic training was in 1950 when the National Athletic Trainer’s Association (NATA) was formed. From there athletic training had much advancement. In the early 1990’s the American Medical Association recognized Athletic Training as an Allied Health Profession. Today athletic training is a recognized profession in all sports, and almost every sport has a Certified Athletic Trainer with them. Everyone asks, what is a Certified Athletic Trainer (ATC)? The Ohio Athletic Trainer’s Association, (OATA) says the Certified Athletic Trainer is a highly educated and skilled in professional specializing in athletic health care. In cooperation with physicians and other allied health personnel, the athletic trainer functions as an integral member of the athletic health team in secondary schools, colleges and universities, sports medicine clinics, professional sports programs and athletic injuries care settings. Certified Athletic Trainers have a minimum of a bachelor’s degree, usually in athletic training, health, physical education, and exercise science. They also study human anatomy, and human psychology. Athletic Trainers are concerned with injury prevention, recognition and evaluation, and the management, treatment, disposition, rehabilitation, organization, and administration, education, and counseling of the injured. (Arnheim, Pg 31) An athletic trainer should have many good personal qualities. Some of them are good physical and mental health, a sense of fairness, maturity and emotional stability, good appearance, leadership, compassion and empathy, intellectual capacity, sense of humor, and competence and responsibility. (Arnheim, Pg 33-35) There is a very special relationship between the athletic trainer and the athlete. There is a lot of interaction between the two. The athletic trainers serves as an educator as to what is going on with the athlete, and gives an aspect of a parent in many situations. Women play an intricate role in athletic training. Women were not a part of Athletic Training in the beginning. In 1950 Dotty Cohen became known as the first woman in athletic training. She was also the first woman to join the NATA. After that point many women began being recognized as athletic trainers, and joined the NATA. In 1970 the first white woman to be certified by the NATA was Doris Wickel. In 1972, President Nixon signed the Higher Education Act, which prohibited sex discrimination in school and college athletic programs. Throughout the years many more women became involved in athletic training and the NATA. In 1996 44% of the NATA’s membership was women. In 2002 Ariko Iso became the first femal...