Merry Christmas!!!!!!!

On behalf of the entire SWATA Executive Board and from our families to yours, we would like to wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!!!

SWATA 2009 - A Year in Review

Well, we are that point in the year where we are barraged with everyone’s year in review. From People magazine to Sports Illustrated, you can find a list of the anything you want – from the best athletes, singers, top selling artists, most controversial figures, etc………while the following list might not be as controversial as some you can find in check out line magazines, I wanted to take a few moments to highlight some of the accomplishments and events that have made 2009 a great year for SWATA.

January
2009 got off to a great start as SWATA hosted its first annual competency workshop in Dallas. This two day workshop, highlighted by Keynote Speaker Marje Albohm, attracted 50 students from different programs to come together in preparation for the NATA BOC exam. It was a wonderful weekend for all involved and we look forward to the 2010 workshop, again being held in the DFW metroplex. For more information, you can go to https://www.signup4.net/Public/ap.aspx?EID=SWAT20E.

February
The SWATA Executive Board descended on the wonderful city of Lubbock for our Mid-Winter meeting. A welcome reception held during these meetings gave us a great chance to visit with a large number of members and students from the West Texas region.

March
National Athletic Trainers Month brought out numerous activities throughout our district – athletic trainers and students throughout District 6 came together to educate the public, promote our profession and take strides to further the understanding of what we do on a daily basis.

June
Athletic trainers from all over the world got a taste of SWATA as the 60th NATA Annual Meeting and Clinical Symposium came to San Antonio. Led by hosts Melinda Terry, Jerry Greeson and a wonderful group of volunteers, attendees had a wonderful experience as they got to experience everything that was planned for them. From baseball games to the wonderful welcome reception, everyone who attended the convention left with nothing but great things to say about SWATA and all of the members of District 6.

July
The 55th Annual SWATA Symposium returned to Arlington with too many highlights to list – a memorable meeting was experienced by the large number of attendees as they got to experience some of these highlights:
• A great welcome reception that culminated in a fierce kick-ball game, won by the students with the benefit of trade deadline acquisitions of Executive Board members. The Young Professionals still have not recovered from this event – the announcement could come at any moment of a head coaching change for their squad.
• Kevin Everett was the Keynote Speaker, sharing a terrific story of how a possible tragedy could lead to a wonderful testament to hard work and determination and how much of an impact athletic trainers and team physicians can have on a situation.
• The Honors and Awards banquet continued to be a great event, highlighted by our extremely deserving award winners and the induction of your National Director Brian Conway to the SWATA Hall of Fame.
• A historic Constitutional Revision was proposed and passed during the SWATA Business Meeting. This vote was important as years of member input and committee work found that in order for our association to move forward, these changes needed to be made. The updated document will help this Association move forward and continue to grow as we look towards our future.
• Tremendous support from our vendors and a terrific program made the entire Arlington experience special for all involved.

SWATA does not shut down after the annual meeting each July – the Executive Board and all of our wonderful committee chairs and members have been working hard to help SWATA continue to reach its goals and work for our members. We are in the process of collecting reports and items to address at our 2010 Mid-Winter meeting, being held in El Paso on February 6 – 7. We have tried to highlight a lot of the work our committees have been doing on this blog – but please know that this Association is constantly working to get more members involved and make us stronger as we venture into the next decade.

So what does 2010 have in store for SWATA? As previously mentioned, we look forward to a wonderful turnout at our 2nd Annual Competency Workshop in January. We are excited about taking Mid-Winter to El Paso in February and having a reception to get to know the Sun City area athletic trainers a little better. Our membership will have the opportunity to vote for some firsts on the Executive Board – the District Secretary and our first 2 year term Vice President. SWATA returns to Arlington and we get the opportunity to assemble our first SWATA Student Athletic Trainer Senate, something that I am personally excited about.

It has been a wonderful year for District 6 – as we launch our Association into the next decade I want to express how privileged I feel to be a part of your Executive Board. The future is bright and I look forward to another year full of milestones and success.

Please never hesitate to let us know what your Executive Board can do for you!

SWATA Secondary School Athletic Trainer Committee Update

This is the latest in the series of SWATA Committee updates that we have chronicled on this blog throughout the course of this year. Todays' update is on the Secondary School Athletic Trainer Committee or SSATC. This committee is chaired by David Edell who works at Stafford HS on the southwest side of Houston.

At the national level the SSATC finished up the "Day in the Life" PPT and sent it to NATA for approval and publishing on the web. At the District Six level they are working on a project to locate all collegiate athletic training programs where high school athletic training students could apply so as to continue down the road to a career in athletic training.

If you would like more information about this hard working committee, would like to check out some past projects completed by the SSATC, or would like to see a list of the committee members you can find all of that information on the SWATA SSATC webpage which is located at http://www.swata.org/committees/ssatc.php

Competency Workshop sponsored by SWATA

Your professional organization believes in the future of athletic training and also this association. Because of that we have once again sponsored a competency workshop for student members. If you work with any collegiate athletic training students please encourage them to attend this workshop. It will be held January 29 - 30, 2010 at the DFW Wyndham.

Dr. Gretchen Oliver of the University of Arkansas is the Workshop chair and has put together a great program that is designed to aide the individuals as they prep for their professional tests.

Dates: January 29-30, 2010

Location: Wyndham DFW North Hotel (use code #380271) in Irving, Texas (up to 4 people per room)

Bring your laptop with wireless internet access (if applicable): The examinations will be offered in scantron format again. Or students can also take these exams in an online format similar to the new BOC exam.

This Competency Workshop is a complement to your CAATE athletic training program. It is a two-day workshop to prepare you for professional credential examinations in athletic training (both state and national exam formats). The twelve different multiple choice examinations covering the six domains will be scored to provide you a baseline of your cognitive knowledge. Our other highlighted features are:
1. NATA President Marje Albohm
2. Dr. William Prentice, author of multiple athletic training content textbooks (i.e, Principles of Athletic Training, Therapeutic Modalities, Rehabilitation Techniques, and others)
3. Orthopedic surgeon led pro-section cadavers of the knee
4. Clinical decision making scenario sessions
5. Evening hands-on sessions of joint mobilization and manual muscle testing. Early Registration is open until December 30, 2009. Please register early to guarantee your place! Looking forward to seeing you there.

For more information please go to https://www.signup4.net/public/ap.aspx?EID=SWAT20E&OID=50

A time to be thankful

As we enter the Thanksgiving week and our schedules are becoming more and more busy with personal and work projects it is important to attempt to slow down and remember the things that we are thankful for in life. That is the case with me and also the SWATA Executive Board.

Personally I am thankful for many people who are working tirelessly to improve this association for all members (past, present, and future). A few of those people are Parliamentarian Lorna Strong and Student Leadership and Development Chair Kelley Henderson. As many of you know we passed a new constitution at last summer's annual meeting. This constitution was worked on tirelessly by Lorna and her committee. Because of this document our association can grow and change in the upcoming years and it will not be hindered by a document that must be amended at every turn. Lorna is also currently working on a project so that we can have a bio of each SWATA Hall of Fame member on our website. These bios should be up by the end of the year. I'm also personally thankful for SLDC chair Kelley Henderson and the student chair Kelley Menefee. The two Kelleys have done yeoman's work on a much needed revamping of the student side of our membership. Because of their work and also that of the Student Senate Task Force the student side of SWATA will once again become viable and prepare our younger members for the future. As president I am also thankful for all of the members of the SWATA Executive Board. They all work on a daily basis to make District Six the best in the NATA. Without all of these people (both elected and appointed) this association, YOUR association, would not be as outstanding as it is.

As spokesman for the executive board I can say that we are thankful for our volunteers. Our committee chairs are second to none and our committee members give up hours of their minimal free time just to make sure that their committees and this association are benefiting the general membership. The SWATA EB is also thankful for you the member. Without you there would be no inspiration to improve our association and our profession. We look forward to meeting athletic trainers all across the state because we know that with every meeting either planned or chance that there is an opportunity for an interaction that could spark an idea that will eventually lead to a better association for all.

Finally I would like to say that I am thankful for my wonderful family and I encourage each of you to do the same. As always if there is ever anything that I can do for you or any SWATA EB member can do for you please don't hesitate to contact.

Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving.

Everyone Deserves a Lifetime

Sometimes, it is amazing where one can find inspiration. I will be the first to admit that this quote was taped inside a port-o-let at the DFW 3 Day Breast Cancer Walk, held this weekend.

"You can't live a perfect day without doing something for someone who will never be able to repay you" John Wooden

To everyone who volunteered their time this weekend to help the walkers make it to their goal, you lived some perfect days this weekend. They repayed you this evening when they crossed the finish line. I am proud to be a member of this wonderful profession.

SWATA Blog is international!

Happy November fellow SWATA members and other readers of our Executive Board Blog. As we move towards Christmas and the end of the year I wanted to take this opportunity to thank those of you who have been consistent visitors to our blog site.

We on the Executive Board have made it a priority to update this blog with items of interest to not only SWATA members, but athletic trainers in general. It has shown in both the number of readers and also the locations that the readers are when they click on our link. Here are a few stats from our readership. Since August the largest number of readers have obviously come from the United States and the majority of them are from Arkansas and Texas. Wisconsin, surprisingly enough has the most hits outside of our own district. Internationally we've had readers from India, France, Japan, Brazil, the United Kingdom, United Arab Emirates, and Moldova. The most international hits are from India.

If you are in a foreign country or another NATA District and you are reading our Executive Board Blog I and the rest of the SWATA Executive Board thank you. If you are one of our own and a SWATA member the Executive Board and myself would also like to thank you and congratulate you for taking time out of busy schedule to read what is going on with your association.

Good luck to all and if you ever need anything from your Executive Board please do not hesitate to contact any of us.

SWATA announces new award - Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer

The SWATA Executive Board is pleased to announce that a new award has been created to help honor our hard working members for a lifetime of service to the profession and the association. This award is the SWATA Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer.


The SWATA "Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer" was developed for the purpose of recognizing a member of District VI whose dedicated service, past achievements, and professional contributions have furthered the advancement of the SWATA and the athletic training profession. Any SWATA member may nominate any other SWATA member provided that the person being nominated meets all of the criteria set fourth by the SWATA Honors & Awards Committee for this award.

To be eligible for this award the candidate must meet the following criteria for consideration of selection:
· A minimum of fifteen (15) years of professional service to the profession
· Certified or Associate member in good standing
· Be or have been a member of District VI, working, retired, or deceased
· Elected, appointed, or volunteer service or significant contributions to the SWATA
· SWATA Hall of Fame Members are not eligible for this award

This award was conceived with the idea that there are many athletic trainers that have provided a career of service to SWATA that should be recognized for that service. If you know someone who you think is worthy of receiving this award please consider nominating them. The first recipients of the SWATA Most Distinguished Award will be recognized at the Honors & Awards luncheon at the SWATA Annual Meeting next July in Arlington.

The Most Distinguished Award nomination packet is on the SWATA website in the Honors & Awards section at the following link

http://www.swata.org/pdfs/Honor_Awards/Distinguished_Athletic_Trainer.pdf

Athletic Trainer Otho Davis on Pro Football Hall of Fame Ballot

Fellow SWATA members we have the opportunity to help do something historic. Otho Davis was the longtime athletic trainer for the Philadelphia Eagles. He was born, grew up, and was educated in Texas as he attended high school in Beaumont and college at Lamar University. The public is being given the opportunity to vote on those individuals who are on the ballot. The final selection will be made by the Pro Football Hall of Fame selection committee, but they will take into account the voting. Currently Otho is in the top ten. Every vote counts and you can vote once a day. The old phrase vote early and vote often definitely comes into play here.

The link to vote can be found at: http://www.fanschoice.com/

For those of you who may not be familiar with Otho I'll briefly summarize his amazing career. After getting his masters degree at Kent State he became their head athletic trainer. He later went to work for Duke University in the same position. After six years at Duke he joined the athletic training staff for the Baltimore Colts. After two years with the Colts he went to work for the Philadelphia Eagles where he stayed for 22 years until his retirement.

Otho is also a member of several other Halls of Fame including but not limited to the NATA and SWATA. He was the executive director of the NATA and the national office in Dallas has been renamed in his honor.

Once again let me urge you to vote often for Otho. http://www.fanschoice.com/

Billy Pickard day at Texas A&M

This past weekend at my alma mater Texas A&M University one of the greats of our profession was honored for a lifetime of service to not only athletic training, but also the school that he loves. It was Billy Pickard day at Texas A&M and this recognition couldn't have gone to a more deserving person. Over the past 50+ years there is no one who has spent more time in and around Kyle Field working for the Aggies than Mr. Pickard. In that same time there are very few people who have done as much for the profession of athletic training as well as the NATA. Mr. Pickard is a NATA and SWATA Hall of Famer. He got his start as a student trainer under Paul "Bear" Bryant back in the 50's where he was the one student who traveled with the team to Junction. If you ever get a chance to read "The Junction Boys" you not be disappointed. Mr. Pickard was one of the first secondary school athletic trainers in Texas before he returned to his beloved Texas A&M to work as the athletic trainer for many years before eventually moving into athletic administration. The University has also renamed the pedestrian walkway under Wellborn Road the Billy Pickard Pedestrian Passway or Pickard Pass for short.

As someone who learned so much about athletic training, the value of hard work, loyalty, and love of what you do I would like to salute you Mr. Pickard because I would most certainly not be what I am today without your insight, guidance, and love.

Mike Carroll '90

SWATA President

John Harvey Humanitarian Award 10th Anniversary

Dr. Luzita Vela of Texas State University was named the new SWATA Ethnic Diversity Chairperson last summer. At the EDAC meeting held in Arlington last summer they wanted to ensure renewed awareness of the John Harvey Humanitarian Award as it will be awarded for the 10th time at next summer's annual meeting.

SWATA is very excited that we will be marking the 10th anniversary of the award this summer. The past award recipients listed below were recognized because of their significant impact on ethnic minority athletic trainers or on physically active ethnic minority individuals. We are very proud of each recipient’s contribution and we look forward to recognizing more athletic trainers in SWATA.

The SWATA EDAC is working hard to increase the number of nominations for the award, but we are fighting an uphill battle. For one athletic trainers, by nature, are used to working without acknowledgement. A recent survey completed by SWATA attendees revealed that only 6% of respondents had nominated an athletic trainer for the John Harvey Award. Furthermore, many athletic trainers have the misconception that only minority athletic trainers can receive the award when that is not the case. Responses to the SWATA survey also indicated that many members felt that they did not know anyone that would be deserving of the award. Texas statistics show that the approximately half of state’s current population are ethnic minorities while nearly a quarter of the population in Arkansas’ are ethnic minorities.1,2 Given the potential for interaction with ethnically diverse individuals, it is hard to believe that not one athletic trainer is making a positive impact on an ethnically diverse athletic trainer, patient or student-athlete. Therefore, the SWATA EDAC needs your help. I would like to ask you to help EDAC in two ways: 1) speak to fellow SWATA members about the John Harvey Award to prevent any false impressions that they may have about the award and 2) consider nominating a fellow athletic trainer for the award this year. We would love to recognize athletic trainers that make an impact but we can’t unless they are nominated.

We appreciate your help in getting the word out about the John Harvey Humanitarian Award.
Past Award Recipients:
2001 John Harvey
2002 Elicia Leal
2003 Mike Vara
2004 Jim De La Cruz
2005 Raul Zamarripa
2006 Phil Francis
2007 Robert Ramos
2008 Scott Galloway
2009 Robert Gonzalez

For more information about the award, please visit the SWATA website at http://www.swata.org/honors_awards/john_harvey_award.php

SWATA Competency Workshop

Being a volunteer organization, much of the work that our wonderful committee chairs put into the success of SWATA goes unnoticed. I wanted to take a few moments to talk about the hard work of the Student Leadership and Development Committee and one of the programs they have created to help the students within SWATA.

Last February, approximately 50 students from District 6 (and some from neighboring states) descended upon the DFW metroplex for the inaugural workshop. They spent two days working towards a common goal: making preparations to pass the BOC certification exam. With the success of that workshop behind them, Dr. Gretchen Oliver and her committee set out to make the 2010 competency workshop even better.

On January 29, the 2010 SWATA Competency Workshop will be held at the Wyndham DFW North hotel. Over the span of two days, student athletic trainers will have the opportunity to:

* Take 12 different multiple choice exams covering the 6 domains
* Participate in an orthopedic surgeon led pro-section cadaver dissection
* Participate in clinical decision making scenario sessions
* Participate in an evening hands on session focusing on joint mobilizations and manual muscle testing

The Competency Workshop is open to current juniors, seniors and graduate students who want to better prepare for success on the BOC exam. The keynote speaker for the Workshop is Dr. Bill Prentice, NATA Hall of Famer and noted author in our field. Other information and registration steps can be found at https://www.signup4.net/Public/ap.aspx?EID=SWAT20E or under the student link at www.swata.org.

If you are a student preparing for the exam or are part of a program that includes these students, I hope that you encourage your students to participate. Let's work together and make this years Competency Workshop a success.

I hope each of you have a wonderful weekend and never hesitate to let us know what your Executive Board can do for you.

DT
SWATA Vice President

Wear a Little Pink This Month!!!

Well, it is hard to believe that is already October. It is slowly cooling down outside. Football teams are getting deep into district play. Basketball coaches are starting to salivate at the thought of late nights at the gym and screeching whistles filling the air. As the pumpkins start to pop up on front porches and the leaves start their colorful change indicating the holidays are right around the corner, October also serves a reminder of the fight that is going on each and every day in some people’s lives.

October has been designated as National Breast Cancer Awareness Month – while this disease may not have affected you, chances are it has had a strong impact on a family member, a friend or a member of their family. According to the Susan G. Komen website, 192,370 new cases of breast cancer will be diagnoses in 2009. While the mortality rates for this disease continue to fall due to better awareness and screening methods, it is still imperative that funding and research continue to reach the ultimate goal of a cancer free world.

Last year I used this blog to tell the story of the Think Pink game between Central HS and Keller HS – that game raised over $12,000 to go to breast cancer research. Those two teams played the same game last night with the goal being $17,000 – well, they raised $20,000. Not able to travel to Keller for the game and donate to their fundraiser? Well, you’re in luck because I know exactly how you can help.

The Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer 3 –Day walk is right around the corner. On November 6 – 8, thousands of walkers will set out from Plano to walk 60 miles to their eventual goal of Fair Park. 20 miles a day. Passing freeways, parks and hospitals. Sleeping in tents at night. All with one goal……to eliminate breast cancer. I have had the opportunity to work the 3-Day over the past two years and it has changed the way I think about the human spirit and what a true athlete is. These ladies and men sacrifice their bodies, the skin off the bottom of their feet and every ounce of strength they have to reach the final pit stop. Mothers, fathers, daughters, grandchildren, nieces, nephews…..the list goes on and on. Each one walking in the memory of a loved one who has passed away or been affected by breast cancer. Parents walking with the goal of their children never having to worry about the disease. One of my good friends, Jessica, is walking in the 3-Day……I have been following her journey of fund-raising and training on her website. Each year I see some of our colleagues in the athletic training profession who are out there walking for a family member or a good friend. Don’t know anyone walking? By the end of the 3 Day, you will have hundreds of new friends – I promise.

The 3–Day needs you. As Health Care professionals, you have the ability to impact more lives in a 3 day period then you might in a full year at your place of employment. There is a medical station set up at each pit stop where you will have the ability to stretch walkers, care for the worst blisters you have ever seen or simply patch a walker up just so they can make it to the next pit stop. All that is required of you is your time and your willingness to share a few minutes and hear the walker’s stories. There is nothing that has been more fulfilling in my professional career as watching the walkers march past you at the final march in – tears in their eyes, faces glowing and the triumph of helping reach that ultimate goal in their minds. Can't help out that weekend? The meidcal staff can alway use supplies to help care for the walkers.

To sign up as a volunteer, just log on to the following website. Pick a shift or two or spend the whole day, either way you will experience great rewards.

http://www.the3day.org/site/PageServer?pagename=Volunteer_Opportunities.

Contact Cindy Trowbridge (mailto:ctrowbridge@uta.edu) or Ted Perry (ted.perry@gpisd.org) if you have any questions. Ted, Cindy, Mike Stokic, Mike Pruitt, Tysha Beaty, Kelley Henderson, Betsy Nadler, and Lou Fincher will be there all three days. Hall of Famers Brian Conway and Ken Locker never miss out and even serve as the Sports Medicine official sponsors. Students from UT-Arlington and Texas Christian always come out in force too. My wife and I will be there, also – if at all possible, you should consider joining us.

Arkansas Update

During our summer meeting in Arlington we talked with many members that were not aware of all of the great things that go in SWATA. So in a continuing effort to keep our members informed about what goes on with the committees and state associations from time to time in this blog we will be highlighting SWATA committees and also the state associations of Arkansas and Texas. Today we will be highlighting the Arkansas Athletic Trainers' Association.

The Arkansas Athletic Trainers’ Association or AATA is still in the process of getting the Legislative task force put together which will study the impact as well as benefits of athletic trainers in the secondary school setting. This task force will be comprised of three members of the General Assembly appointed by the Chair of the Senate Committee on Education, three members of the General Assembly appointed by the Chair of the Senate Committee on Public Health, Welfare, and Labor; three members of the General Assembly appointed by the Chair of the House Committee on Education; and three members of the General Assembly appointed by the Chair of the House Committee on Public Health, Welfare, and Labor. There are also nonvoting members who include a single member from each of the following departments or associations: the Department of Workforce Education, the Department of Education, the Department of Higher Education, the Arkansas Athletic Trainers Association, the Arkansas School Nurses Association, the Arkansas Activities Association, the Arkansas Rural Education Association, the Arkansas Association of Educational Administrators.

The AATA is also proud to have won the Dan Campbell Legislative Award which was presented at the NATA Annual Meeting in San Antonio last summer and would like to thank Tim Atkinson for his hard work on this.

Also the AATA has their Hall of Fame Display up in the Arkansas Sport and Hall of Fame at Verizon Arena in Little Rock. Finally to wind up the year the AATA will be having the Mid-Winter Board Meeting on December 12.

For more information on athletic training in the state of Arkansas and the Arkansas Athletic Trainers’ Association please visit http://www.swata.org/aata/index.htm

A New Direction

One of the things that really energizes and encourages me as a SWATA Executive Board member is working with the students within our association. I get to see on a first hand basis how bright our future is and the passion each of these student athletic trainers has for the profession. Earlier in the year I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to visit with the District 4 Student Senate – I flew to Ft. Wayne, Indiana and spent a few days with them at their annual symposium. The purpose of my trip was to observe how they operated and how they fit in with the GLATA Executive Board. Based on the observations from this trip as well as a lot of brainstorming session with SWATA leadership, the idea was hatched to take our student program within SWATA in a different direction.

The SWATA Student Leadership and Development Committee, formerly the SWATA ATSA, was restructured this summer to encompass the Student Research and Education Committee, the Competency Workshop Committee and the newly created Student Senate. The SWATA Student Senate will closely mirror other districts within the NATA that have similar organizations. A group of 21 students were asked to be on the Student Senate Task Force and were able to meet in San Antonio and Arlington this past summer. From those meetings, the Student Senate by-laws, policies and procedures and senator application were developed – each of these can now be found at http://www.swata.org/. Currently the Task force is working on student programming and hands-on workshops for the 2010 SWATA Annual Meeting. Programming will include multiple days for students as well as hands on workshops for varying levels of student athletic trainers. Applications and requirements to serve on the SWATA Student Senate will be accepted in December and the inaugural Senate will convene in Arlington in July 2010.

I cannot stress how much I appreciate the hard work of some of the individuals who have tirelessly worked to bring this idea to life within the past year – they were given a large task to undertake in April and had all of it completed by the end of July. The SWATA Student Senate task force was chaired by Kelley Menefee, the District VI Representative to the National Athletic Training Students’ Committee. The chair of the SWATA Student Senate is Kelley Henderson, Clinical Coordinator for the TCU Horned Frogs Athletic Training Education Program. We truly appreciate the “two Kelleys” and all of the hours and hard work they have put into this task.

If you do not believe me in how exciting the future is for our profession, I invite you to come and visit one of the Task Force meetings or a Student Senate meeting next summer. There are so many opportunities in our association for our students to step up and be leaders – I encourage you to look at your student staff and identify someone who might be a good fit for the Student Senate. Go to the website and submit their application – they are the future leaders of SWATA and NATA.

Next week I am going to spotlight another great opportunity our students have to utilize within District 6 – the SWATA Competency Workshop. Until then, I hope you have a wonderful weekend and you are enjoying a bit of the cooler weather.

As always, never hesitate to let us know if your Executive Board can do anything for you.

DT
SWATA Vice President

NATA & APTA reach settlement

NATA and the American Physical Therapy Association have agreed on terms that will settle the federal court antitrust lawsuit NATA initiated in 2008. NATA President Marje Albohm, MS, ATC, says the successful outcome is tremendously positive for the profession. "The settlement will allow us to continue to advance the profession while ensuring patient safety," she said. "This success means that we can put the Fair Practice Lawsuit behind us, knowing we have made great strides through it." The settlement centers on a Joint Statement on Cooperation, a public declaration that will be posted on NATA and APTA Web sites, said NATA counsel Paul Genender of K&L Gates. Full text of the Joint Statement will be released soon, but highlights include: - The APTA acknowledges that athletic trainers are health care professionals who are authorized to provide interventions within their scope of practice and that the scopes of practice of both professions overlap to some extent; - The APTA agrees that PTs are not the exclusive providers of manual therapy and that ATs are qualified to perform some forms of manual therapy; - The APTA acknowledges that ATs are required, per their academic education, to be competent in some forms of manual therapy. Counsel for NATA and APTA have notified the Court that the case has been settled, and final documents and details will be posted as they become available

What's Driving You?

Well, it is that time of year once again. The time of the year where there are not enough hours in the day, you drag yourself out of the house before the sun comes up in the morning and you drag yourself home after the sun has gone down in the evenings. Let’s not even get talk about the hours you put in on game days!! What gets you through the day? What makes you go that extra mile when something goes across your desk and your first thought is “that’s not my job – why would I waste my time on that?” What makes this profession so important to you that you give up time with your families, your schedule is dictated by coaches last minute practices and games and you are a walking zombie on the weekends?


That question is asked a lot by athletic trainers this time of year – I hope that if that question does come across your mind, your number one answer is that you truly care for the profession of athletic training and you really enjoy taking care of the kids. I will be honest with you – I have that thought a few times in any given school year. I look at some of the athletic trainers that I consider mentors and wonder how in the world they can possibly still be doing this after 20+ years at the same school. Then I realize one thing : they truly care for the kids they are working with. They have past athletes come in and introduce them to their spouses and children because they had such an impact on their lives when they were in high school. They tear up when they hear about accomplishments of former athletes or student athletic trainers because that is truly why they go to work each day – to make an impact on a young person’s life and to be blessed by the results of their hard work.


So what drives you? What gets you out of bed in the morning? When the days get long and the “stuff” keeps piling up on your desk, just remember that you are part of a unique profession. Our jobs do not rest on the win and loss columns. Our jobs do not involve whistles and watching film. We may be one of the only people on a campus that an athlete trusts when something is wrong with them. We may be one of the only people in that athletes life that they can share their problems with. Cherish the profession you have chosen and try to positively impact as many people as you can each and every day you walk into that door, no matter what setting you are in.

I hope each of you has a wonderful week -
DT

NATA Presidential Election

I wanted to take a few minutes to remind you that the polls are open for the NATA Presidential Election. Both candidates are very worthy and I encourage you to go and read their bios at www.nata.org. The candidates are current NATA President Marje Albohm and former NATA National Director for District Two Joe Iezzi. Both candidates were at our SWATA Annual Meeting in Arlington last July as well.

Regardless of which candidate you feel should lead our national association I strongly encourage you vote prior to the polls closing on September 30. The NATA has made it incredibly easy to vote now with e-ballots. It literally takes less than a minute to vote. For more information on the candidates or if you didn't get your electronic ballot visit www.nata.org

SWATA Committee Spotlight - Young Professionals

From time to time throughout the next year we will be spotlight one of our hard working committees that we have in SWATA. We on the executive board feel that there are great things being done by our commiteees for you the member and we want to give them some positive exposure.

The first committee that we will be spotlighting is the Young Professionals Committee. This committee is chaired by Carissa Spraberry (cspraberry@sheldon.k12.tx.us) of CE King HS in the Greater Houston area. Carissa is the 2009 recipient of the James Dodson New Horizon Award.


The Young Professionals Committee (YPC) was created to offer the growing number of young athletic trainers an opportunity to get involved in the future of our association and continue to grow as professionals and leaders. Their mission is to identify and address the interests, needs and concerns of young athletic training professionals, while developing the future leaders of our association and facilitating open communication to and from all members of SWATA. While they may be an exclusive group because they have a specific age demographic, they are definitely not exclusionary, so thoughts, perspectives and input from everyone are always welcome.

Some of their current projects…

The SWATA mentor list-they have put together a fine group of athletic trainers willing to offer advice and counsel on issues facing athletic trainers. You can find the list here: http://www.swata.org/committees/mentor_list.php

If you are interested in becoming a mentor: http://www.swata.org/committees/mentor_form.php

They are currently developing ideas to improve this excellent resource, so be on the lookout for that.

ATEAM: HR 1137- They collected over 200 postcards in support of our legislation at SWATA. If you are interested in continuing this project at your workplace you can find the postcards and instructions here: http://www.nata.org/members1/youngprofessionals/yppostcards.cfm

Other things They are working on…
National Athletic Training Month Promotions
SWATA 2010 programming for students and professionals as well as social and networking events for the meeting. (Did you like the flair?! Want more?)

You can also find out more at our blog www.swataypc.blogspot.com or on Facebook.

Welcome Back!

On this first day of school for the 2009 - 2010 school year most of our SWATA members should be completely back to work in their settings, or very close. I would like to take this opportunity to say that the SWATA Executive Board wishes you a successful year.

Please be looking to not only this blog, but also the SWATA website (http://www.swata.org), and the occasional e-blasts for information regarding your association. On this blog we will not only inform you of important deadlines, opportunities, and general news items we will also use it to spotlight our hard working committees as well. If you have changed employers over the summer please take a few minutes to update your contact information with the NATA so that we may better communicate with you.

It is an honor to serve you as President and I will strive to keep the current level of value for your membership dollar, but also to increase the value beyond your current levels. Do not ever hesitate to contact me or any of our executive board members if you have any problems, questions, ideas, or random thoughts regarding your association.

Thanks,
Mike Carroll M Ed, ATC, LAT
SWATA President

What is in the future for the SWATA executive board?

As you all know by now at the SWATA Annual Meeting last month in July the membership overwhelmingly voted in favor for the new SWATA Constitution. Because of that the association will be able to grow, adapt, and change in the upcoming years because of the flexibility in this document.

One thing that is noticeably different in this new document is the make up of the executive board. Because everyone who has been elected to the executive board will serve out the term that they have been elected to the next few years the board will be morphing from the current make up to the new one. Currently the voting members of the executive board are made up of the National Director, President, Vice President, Second Vice President, Past President, and a state representative from both Arkansas and Texas. Also currently the President of the association only serves a one year term in that position. The membership overwhelmingly felt the president should be a two year term and that the number of voting members on the executive board should remain at seven and also that the state reps on the board should come from the state association boards. Because of that SWATA will be working off of a transition plan until 2013 when the executive board as described in the most recent constitution is finally in place. The new executive board's voting members will consist of the National Director, President, Vice President, Secretary, Member At Large, and representatives from each state associations executive boards. As you can see the positions of past president and second vice president have been eliminated and their duties will be taken over by existing board members.

The question then becomes what positions will we elect and when will we do it.

Below I have listed the positions and years that they will be elected:

2010 - Vice President (will become first two year president of SWATA under the new constitution and standing rules), Arkansas State Rep, Secretary (will be a non voting member of the executive board the first year on the board)
2011- National Director and Texas State Rep (will be chosen from TSATA BOD)
2012 - Vice President, Arkansas State Rep, Secretary
2013 - Member At Large

As you can see we will have several positions open this year and nominations are currently being accepted. If you would like to nominate a worthy SWATA member for either Vice President, Arkansas State Rep, or Secretary please contact SWATA Past President Dan O'Connor (oconnor_dan@sbcglobal.net) with the member's name and the position that they are being nominated to run. Nominations for all elected offices will close on February 15, 2010.

In the upcoming weeks and months we will use this blog and also the SWATA e-blast system to inform you about information that you as a member need to have.

Volunteer List - How do I get on a SWATA committee

One of the more frequent questions that I get from members since I was elected to the SWATA Executive Board is "I want to be involved. How can I get on a committee?" That's a great question and I want to make sure that everyone understands how they can be appointed to a SWATA committee, work group, or task force.

On the SWATA Executive Board we want to make every effort to make sure that hard working members who want to be involved in the leadership of the association have that opportunity. Because of that we established a volunteer list in the spring of 2007. Since that time well over 100 members have filled out the online form which can be found at

http://www.swata.org/committees/volunteer_form.php

Close to 90 of those have been appointed to committees in the last 2+ years. At the most recent SWATA Meeting we appointed approximately 45 members to committees. While there are still some people on the list that have been there for quite some time you can see that many members are getting appointed to committees and are being "put to work" so to speak. When a committee chair has an opening or several openings on their committee they will request the most recent volunteer list to check to see if there is someone who fits what they are needing on their committee. I do want to give some pointers on how and why people get appointed to committees:

• Most committee assignments are made around the time of the SWATA Annual Meeting. Occasionally committees need extra members during the course of the year, but that is the exception rather than the rule.


• To be appointed to a committee be flexible. If you check the box that says "any committee" you have a greater chance of being appointed quicker than if you specify one or two committees as they may not have openings every year.


• If your contact information changes please make sure that you up date it with us.


• Please understand that even with the new committee structure (members may serve no more than three years on a committee) that it still may take a few years to be appointed to a committee.

If you have any questions about how committee appointments or anything else in SWATA happens please don't hesitate to contact anyone on the SWATA Executive Board.

Thanks for a Great Symposium!!

First of all, I would like to echo the post Mike had yesterday. I am going to be honest with you - with NATA being held in San Antonio, many of us were curious to see what kind of turn out we had in Arlington last week. Well, after 700 of you attended and we had the largest number of exhibitors in the 55 years of SWATA symposiums, the nervousness is gone! What a terrific week - from the kick ball game in which we all learned you don't argue with the umpires, Mr. President (see picture above), to the wonderful keynote from the courageous Kevin Everett, to the wonderful speech by our newest Hall of Famer Brian Conway and the vote on Saturday to ratify the Constitution that will govern this great organization for years to come, what more can you say??

While we are on the topic of the SWATA convention, I wanted to take a moment to address the new format you will see in next years symposium. It was briefly discussed in the Town Hall on Thursday, but after alot of discussions throughout last week, some things are somewhat set in stone for SWATA 2010. Next year in Arlington, you are going to see a new schedule when you come to SWATA. Plans are underway for the same pre-registration cocktail reception on Wednesday night to coincide with committee meetings. Programming will begin bright and early on Thursday morning culminating with the Welcome Reception that evening. On Friday, we will take a break for lunch to have our Honors and Awards banquet. Once we have celebrated the award winners at the luncheon, we will resume programming for the rest of the afternoon. Friday evening will be designated as alumni night for our wonderful athletic training staffs throughout our district to get together for some fun and fellowship. On Saturday, we will hold our business meeting and plan on wrapping up the meeting in the early afternoon. Alot of planning is yet to come, but I think this new format will be advantageous to all of our membership as well as our exhibitors.

I am excited to serve on an Executive Board that is dedicated to serving each of you and this great profession. Each of you that attended the convention should have received a link to the SWATA symposium evaluation - this is a chance for you to tell us and our convention committee what we can do to make the symposium better for each of you. If you did not receive this email, please email me at david.traylor@kellerisd.net and I will send it to you.

As always, please never hesitate to let your Executive Board what we can do for you.

DT

SWATA Annual Meeting 2009

Last week in Arlington the annual meeting of SWATA was held and it was one of the more successful meetings in recent memory. We ended up with more than 700 athletic trainers in attendance and a great time was had by all. It was a historic week in more than one sense. Current National Director Brian Conway was inducted into the SWATA Hall of Fame. At the SWATA business meeting on Saturday afternoon we voted to ratify a new constitution in a near unanimous vote. This new constitution will allow for the association to grow and change in the years to come without constantly needing to amend the document. Because of the new constitution next year we will elect a vice president who will become the first SWATA two year president after their vice presidential term. We will also elect our district secretary next year as well as Arkansas State Rep. We will post more on that in the upcoming months.

We had a great welcome reception at the Texas Rangers little league ball park as the Student Committee played a kickball game against the Young Professionals Committee. If you were there you know what a great time everyone had. Newly elected executive board member Chris Hall should be commended for the execution of the game and reception.

Special thanks also go out to our two NATA Presidential candidates. Current NATA President Marje Albohm and also former district two national director Joe Iezzi were in attendance. Finally we had a very moving keynote address from Kevin Everett. Kevin, if you remember, played football for the Buffalo Bills and was paralyzed during the course of a football game. Given little chance to ever walk again he discussed his struggle and how hard work and faith allowed him to be able to walk again.

Special commendation should go to several people as we close the book on SWATA Annual Meeting 2009. Outgoing past president Melinda Terry for all of her hard work and dedication during her time as an elected member of the executive board. Past President Dan O'Connor should also be recognized for his tireless work as President. Because of his leadership we will have this wonderful new constitution to help guide us in the future. Last and certainly not least Parliamentarian Lorna Strong can not be thanked enough for her tireless efforts in the rewriting of not only the constitution, but also the new standing rules.

Be looking to this Blog in the upcoming year as we will keep you more informed and involved with SWATA than ever before. I am looking forward to serving you as president from now until our 2010 meeting.

Mike Carroll
SWATA President

Annual Meeting

The SWATA Annual Meeting is right around the corner! Please take a moment to register at the following link:

http://www.swata.org/annual_meeting/registration.php

All the info you need is at that page. It helps us to control and predict costs if we know how many people are coming, so please sign up today.

See you in San Antonio in 2 weeks, and in Arlington in July.

NATA Scholarship Winners

Congratulations to the following SWATA student member winners of NATA Scholarships:

• Emily Jones, Hardin-Simmons University
• Laura Medaris, Texas Wesleyan University
• Akihito Tajima, Texas State College

The scholarships will be formally presented, along with other student awards, during the Pinky Newell Scholarship and Leadership Breakfast at the NATA Annual Meeting in San Antonio. The event is scheduled for 8:15 to 10:00 AM on Saturday, June 20, in Salon E & F rooms (3rd floor) at the Marriott Rivercenter Hotel. You can buy tickets through the NATA registration site.

Nice work, students, and congratulations again!

AATA@HotSprings.fun

A couple of weekends ago, Brian Conway, Mitzi Laughlin, Mike Carroll, and all three SWATA 2nd V.P. candidates (Chris Hall, Rick Redden, and Cathy Supak), and I attended the Arkansas Athletic Trainers' Association Annual Meeting in Hot Springs. What a beautiful area and setting! The meeting room was bordered by bay windows looking over placid Lake Hamilton. Wow! The weather was perfect, the hospitality was (as usual) outstanding, and the meeting was successful.

We were shuttled back and forth on the one-hour drive to the airport by student officers of the AATA student association. I was given a ride by the current (Sarah) and incoming (Lindsey) student presidents, and I appreciated the opportunity to talk with these future athletic trainers. It's nice to know our profession is in such good hands!

The meeting was the largest in the history of the AATA. The educational sessions and speakers were impressive, and the business meeting was well-organized and productive--they (like SWATA) were revising their constitution and rules.

And if you've never been to Arkansas, you've never experienced true hospitality. The officers and members of the AATA will make you feel like a family member. I highly recommend you experience their meeting and camaraderie if you get a chance (next year's meeting is in Little Rock...it's already on my calendar!).

I would like to thank my friends in Arkansas for making me feel so comfortable and welcome. I am planning on attending the Davis Mountain Sports Medicine Clinic in June (if I can get a room!), then NATA in San Antonio the weekend after, so maybe I'll see you at one of those meetings (if so, mention this blog!). I'm also going to the American College of Sports Medicine meeting in Seattle at the end of May, so if you'll be there give me a shout.

I look forward to seeing you all in Arlington in July, where we will have our own excellent educational program and business meeting, and I wish you a speedy and safe end to your school year.

Thoughts and Prayers to the Dallas Cowboy family

I just wanted to post a short note regarding one of our SWATA members who was injured over the weekend. Severe storms moved across the Metroplex and the state over the weekend. If you haven't already heard one of the more significant storms moved through Irving/Las Colinas area. This particular storm caused the failure of the structure of the Dallas Cowboys indoor practice facility. The Cowboys were having a rookie workout at the time of the collapse. No one was killed because of this building collapse but several Cowboys staffers suffered various degrees of injury. The most significant injury was suffered by a Cowboys scout who will be paralyzed from the waist down. One person who sustained one of the more serious injuries is Cowboys Assistant Athletic Trainer and SWATA member Greg Gaither. According to news reports Greg had surgery for a fractured leg. Please send your thoughts and prayers to Greg Gaither, the Dallas Cowboys athletic training staff, and the entire Dallas Cowboys family. We will update this post as more information becomes available.

Election

Hello, SWATA Members,
As you may be aware, we are in the middle of our annual election. If you are up to date on your dues and your contact info is up to date with the NATA, you should have received your election notification in your e-mail. That e-mail has a link and instructions on how to vote electronically.

Traditionally, SWATA elections have only about 250 ballots cast. I'd like to challenge the Membership to at least double that number this year. Please follow the link, review the candidates bios, and make an informed decision.

Casting a vote is the #1 way you can "be involved" in your professional Association. Please take the time to do so before the June 1 deadline.

Thanks, and have a great finish to the spring semester.

Constitutional Revision - IMPORTANT

Dear fellow SWATA Members,

Please visit SWATA.org to find a proposed revision to the SWATA Constitution, as well as the current Constitution for comparison.

More than three years ago, SWATA began reviewing the Membership regarding the governance structure of the Association. Using information gathered through a series of Member surveys, Task Forces, and work groups, totaling the input of over 200 Member responses, Constitutional Review Committee convened and drafted the Member's requested changes into the proposed document.

The SWATA Membership will be voting on this proposed Constitution at our Annual Business Meeting, Saturday, July 25 in Arlington, Texas. I ask that you review the proposed document in comparison to the existing document to prepare for this important vote.

Over the entire history of SWATA, the Constitution has been rewritten approximately every 10 to 15 years; it has been over 25 years since the last major rewrite. The Committee and the Board believe that this proposed revision is necessary to ensure SWATA's continued growth and success. The proposed changes will allow for an Association that is more flexible and responsive to Member needs.

Lorna Strong is the SWATA Parliamentarian and Chair of the Constitutional Review Committee, and Vice President Mike Carroll is the current Board liaison to that Committee as well as the former Chair of one of the task forces involved in the collection of information. They have undertaken a Herculean task, and I thank them both personally and as President. Please contact one of them if you have any questions about the proposed wording or rationale for this revision.

Thank you for your involvement in our Association. I wish you all a safe and happy spring, and I look forward to seeing you all in San Antonio in June and in Arlington in July.

Sincerely,
Dan O'Connor, ATC, LAT
President, SWATA

Flip Flops, Sunblock and Powerflex??

What are your plans this summer? As the school year winds down for many of us, the countdown has begun to summer vacation. I would bet that a good number of you know how many school days are left until summer break – if you don’t, just ask a senior. For many of us, a summer of beaches, fishing and relaxing is ahead and we can’t wait to enjoy the time with our families. A big part of many athletic trainers summer plans usually involves continuing education conferences and family vacations usually depend on these trips.

We are lucky this year in the fact that the NATA Convention is coming back to District 6 – athletic trainers in Arkansas and Texas get the rare chance to share the hospitality of SWATA to the entire nation as people converge on San Antonio. As plans to travel to San Antonio start to take shape, family trips to SeaWorld, Fiesta Texas, the Riverwalk, the Alamo and baseball games are going to entice many families to make the NATA conference their family vacation.

So now the big question : if I am taking my family to San Antonio for the NATA Convention, why do I need to go to Arlington for SWATA in July? As SWATA registration is currently on-line, I am going to give you a few reasons why the time honored trip to Arlington in July is worthwhile to every athletic trainer in District 6.

* More Bang for your Buck – SWATA registration fees have not changed for many years now. As a member, you pay $80 for registration to the symposium and have the opportunity to earn over 20 CEU’s. I don’t know of many continuing education conferences where you get so many CEU’s for that type of price.

* Diamond Dreams – While the Rangers are out of town, things are taking shape for a free evening of, shall I say, an interesting competition on a beautiful baseball field. You will probably not want to miss the welcome reception on Thursday evening – if there is a video camera running, you might be able to send in the tape to Americas Funniest Home Videos. More details to come.

* Early Registration Packet Pickup – A new addition to SWATA is the Wednesday evening packet pickup. If you have pre-registered and are in town, the exhibit hall will open on Wednesday night for an informal social to allow prime access to many of our great vendors. From 5 – 7, you can mingle, have a few cocktails and visit with the vendors who have continued to support our organization.

* Awards Banquet – If you have never attended the SWATA Honors and Awards Banquet, I encourage you to give it a try this year. A wonderful evening to recognize some of our peers always leaves us with priceless memories and wonderful speeches. It is a wonderful event and I encourage you not to miss it.

* Trailblazers Forum – This will be the third year of the Hall of Fame Roundtable and I think this is a session that all members should make an effort to see. Great stories, wonderful memories and a lot of laughter will accompany this session, I promise you.

* Arlington, Arlington, Arlington……..Six Flags, Hurricane Harbor, The Temple (the Ballpark in Arlington), the new Cowboys Stadium, the Stockyards, the West End………what else is there to be said?

* Socializing – Catch up with all of your friends and have a good time with your family as the summer winds down and 2-a-days are staring many of us in the face.

* The Name Game – You get the extreme pleasure of seeing what our host hotel is named this year…..Wyndham? Marriott? Sheraton? What is it this year? You have to come and find out!

I could go on and on with good reasons to come to SWATA. So, go to http://www.swata.org/ and register for the 55th Annual SWATA Symposium and I guarantee you will not be disappointed. I hope to see you in San Antonio in June as well as Arlington in July. Have a terrific spring and, as always, never hesitate to let us know what your Executive Board can do for you.

March Madness - Athletic Training Style

It seems that you can't watch TV or read the paper/internet these days without seeing or hearing about "March Madness". While most of the general population thinks that is referring to the NCAA basketball tournament we athletic trainers just know it as the madness that sets in from seemingly unending things that we have to deal with in our jobs. Regardless of your employment setting whether it be secondary school, collegiate, academic, clinical, or something else it seems like March is month that is "maddening" so to speak because the what seems like never ending events and issues to deal with. I'm here to tell you that there is a light at the end of the tunnel and no it's not an oncoming train. Hang in there and March will end soon enough.

I wanted to take this opportunity to ask all athletic trainers in SWATA to keep a few things on the front burner.

• There is still time to do something for National Athletic Training Month. For ideas go to the SWATA front page(http://www.swata.org/). In Stephenville we had the mayor and also our school board do a proclamation. After you do something in your local area be sure and let SWATA PR Chair Chris Shaddock know about it.
• There is an election coming up. This year we will elect second vice president. We have three very qualified candidates running. To fully participate in your association it is important that you vote. The SWATA Board in the past year has moved forward with technology and you can now vote electronically. It takes only a few minutes to cast your vote. I implore you to take the time and let your voice be heard when you receive your ballot.
• The annual NATA convention is being held in our backyard this year. June 17 - 20 are the dates and the location is San Antonio. We really need to make our presence known. If you can go please make every attempt to do so. Also if you go and would like to a.) help out and b.) save a little money on registration contact Melinda Terry melindat@admin.stedwards.edu or Jerry Greeson Jerry.Greeson@utsa.edu and they'll get you set up to help.
• The annual SWATA convention will be back in Arlington this summer. Please save the dates of July 23 - 26 so that you may attend. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone there.

As always it is an honor to serve the good athletic trainers of SWATA and if there is ever anything that I or any other Executive Board member can do for you please do not hesitate to ask.

ATEAM

Please take a moment to sign on to NATA.org Member's section and review the information about the Athletic Trainers' Equal Access to Medicare act (HR 1137). This bill has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The NATA Web site has more information and instructions for how to participate in this national legislative effort to improve our profession. I promise that your participation will be quick, easy, and painless! But your participation can make a difference in advancing recognition and respect for Athletic Training across the United States as well as in Arkansas and Texas.

"How can I get involved in SWATA/NATA?" is a question I'm often asked. Here's your chance.

Thanks!

Greetings from Indiana

Well, when I found out I was travelling to Ft. Wayne, Indiana, I thought of one thing. Road trip - if there are two places in Indiana I have always wanted to visit, it would have to be South Bend to see the Golden Dome or to French Lick (if you don't know why French Lick, ask your dad). Well, South Bend is 122 miles away and French Lick is 231 miles away, so the road trip was off the table. So, now what is one to do in FWayne when it is 23 degrees outside??? Let me tell you......

I had the privilege to fly up today for the GLATA (District 4) meetings. I made this trip with Anna McCain, who is a graduate student for the Razorbacks and the SWATA ATSA Chair. The sole purpose of this trip was to observe the District 4 Student Senate (their equivalent to our ATSA) and see if there were any pointers, tips or ideas that we could borrow and apply to our student organization. We were able to sit down today for five hours and observe their board meeting, take some notes and see how they handle their organization. But, to be honest, my favorite part of the trip was sitting with the 14 young people that make up the board at a reception tonight - we were able to ask them questions, share ideas and basically get to know each other a little better. I have posted it before on this blog and I will post it again - getting to spend some time with Anna as well as the folks from District 4 really energizes me. The passion that I see from them and the professionalism and love for this profession convinces me that the future of this profession is heading in the right direction.

So what did we accomplish after the 3:30 am wake up call, many weather and lightning delays and the cold, bitter wind of Indiana??? I think that between Anna and myself, we have a different perspective and some ideas on how to better engage and empower the youth of our organization. A little plagiarism never hurt anyone and I have to thank the folks from GLATA for allowing us to "spy" a little bit. I look forward to another few hours of meetings tomorrow before we return to the warm environment of home.....what, its cold again in Texas?????

P.S. Once again, I am yet to figure out how our NATA President has enough energy to do what she does and keep track of what city she is currently in? If you have never had the chance to talk with and get to know Marje, make a point to do so in the near future. You will not be disappointed.

10 Things I Think I Think

Any NFL fan has probably seen the monday morning column on the Sports Illustrated website by the great Peter King. In his weekly Monday Morning Quarterback article, he concludes with a section that has this title. So, in an effort to quick hit several points, I present you with the 10 Things I Think I Think:

1) Regional meetings are the life force of District 6 – I had the pleasure of attending the Central Texas Athletic Trainers’ Society symposium this past Saturday at Georgetown High School. I want to thank Joe Gonzalez and the rest of the CTATS board for having me and running a terrific symposium. While the professional meetings were terrific, one of the most exciting things about the meeting was the large number of students who were lined up to attend the meeting. Between CTATS, GHATS, NTATS and all of the other regional organizations, the things that they do for athletic training as well as inspiring students to attend and become excited about our profession makes me proud to be an athletic trainer.

2) HD television is one of the greatest things ever invented!!!! Here in Keller, we are currently working to create a concussion policy to assure that we are taking care of our athletes with head injuries in the proper way – we have begun to utilize the ImPACT program in dealing with head injuries, which used properly can be a tremendous tool in the evaluation and management of these injuries. One of the channels I now have because of HD television is called HD Net which has a terrific show called Dan Rather Reports. This week DRR is focused on concussions in sports – the first half hour is devoted to head injuries in adolescent athletes and their effects and the second half hour is dedicated to former NFL stars that have horrible ailments stemming from head injuries suffered when they played. If you have HD Net, I encourage all athletic trainers to watch this show. If you do not, you can buy it for $1.99 on iTunes. All athletic trainers should watch this show and all coaches should have to watch the first 30 minutes.

3) Registration is on-line for the 60th Annual NATA Meeting and Clinical Symposia. I encourage each one of you to attend and volunteer to help show the hospitality of District 6 to our colleagues from all over the world.

4) Not going to spill the beans, but you are not going to want to miss the Keynote Speaker at this summers SWATA Meeting in Arlington. More info to come…….

5) Soapbox moment – voting is one of the most important things you can do as a SWATA member to help get your voice heard. We have three extremely qualified candidates running for the SWATA Executive Board in this year’s election, which is scheduled to open on April 2nd. Please do some research as you prepare for the election, make informed choices and encourage your colleagues to take the time to vote – it doesn’t take any longer than 2 minutes, I promise you.

6) Kudos goes to the ATSA Advisory Committee and the 53 students who attended the Competency Workshop in Dallas last month. It was a wonderful weekend and the turnout was great.

7) For all the secondary school AT’s out there (not that you’re counting), but less than 60 school days left

8) 28 days until Opening Day – many of you know what I am talking about (sorry, had to throw that one in there)

9) Good at trivia? If you want to try your hand at some athletic training trivia, take a trip over to the Young Professionals blog.

10) Now, to end this blog, I am going to venture off and try to explain the picture above. On March 12, 2008, my brother-in-law was deployed to serve 15 months in Irag with the United States Army. My daughter and I went to Home Depot and bought a flag set to put on the outside of our house with one goal : to fly the flag every day until “Uncle Andrew” came home. Other than a few bad weather days, this flag has flown outside our house so that we can think about him and the other soldiers serving our country. It has taken a lot of windy days and a bit of a beating, but it has flown proudly outside our house for 363 days now. Well, Uncle Andrew is set to come home this week and we are extremely proud of him and what our soldiers do for us each and every day. If you are related to or know some soldiers serving our country, know that our family prays for them every day. What will we do with the flag? Probably take it down and retire it. But I can guarantee you that we will replace it and continue to fly a flag in support of the great men and women of the military. We’re proud of you Andrew and welcome home!!!!

National Athletic Training Month

March is National Athletic Training Month: what are you doing to showcase our profession?

On March 16th, I will be attending a proclamation by the mayor of Pearland, where I live, at Dawson H.S., which was arranged by Chris Shaddock, the SWATA PR Chair--who, not coincidentally, is the Head Athletic Trainer for Dawson.

Please visit NATA.org for more information, a toolkit, sample media releases and proclamations, images (like the one to the left), and a lot of other stuff to help you celebrate and promote athletic training in your local community.

I'd love to hear about activities in Texas and Arkansas, so feel free to "comment" on this post (hit that comments link next to my name below) and share your experiences with your fellow SWATA Members.

Have a great and safe National Athletic Training Month!

NATA Hit the Hill Day, iLead, and Airplane Fires

Last weekend was the annual NATA Hit the Hill day in Washington DC. Combine that with several NATA committee meetings, the athletic trainer education conference, and the new program iLead for promising young students and there was a great deal of activity in and around our nation’s capitol that involved athletic training. This year at Hill Day we had the largest attendance since its inception.

First let me tell you my saga getting there. It’s funny now. It wasn’t then. If you’ve ever flown out of DFW airport you know that departure times and your gate assignment is really only an estimate and they are never really set until you get on the plane. My first flight was cancelled so I got put onto another flight that was to leave about nine hours later. As I tried to go stand by on an earlier flight I got bumped to a different flight going to a different airport. After boarding that plane we were quickly off loaded because the oven in first class caught on fire. If you’ve ever been on a plane and the flight attendant says the word “FIRE” over the intercom in reference to where you are currently sitting it’s kind of unsettling. We then proceed to sit in the terminal for about two hours until the airline locates a plane which was less incendiary in nature. The flight was uneventful and I get to my new airport which is an hour from the NATA hotel. As I go to the Super Shuttle desk the cashier tells me that it’s “your lucky day” because my shuttle would be leaving immediately. If he only knew. Eventually I arrive at the hotel and proceed directly to have a high level meeting with SWATA President Dan O’Connor in the public gathering establishment located within the confines of the hotel.

On Sunday I was privileged enough to help with the execution of the iLead conference. I led a roundtable discussion on the secondary school setting in the morning and did speed interviewing in the afternoon. District Six was well represented during this time. TSATA Board Chair Cathy Supak, National Director Brian Conway, former National Director Pete Carlon, and CEPAT member Terry DeWitt were just a few of the participants in the conference from our great district and they all represented you all very professionally. There were many students from Arkansas and Texas at this conference and I was very impressed with their knowledge of the profession and also their passion for the association. The future is very bright for all of us.

Monday was game day so to speak. We loaded up the buses and took off for Capital Hill. There were around 40 athletic trainers from SWATA in attendance. The SWATA Executive Board was represented by National Director Brian Conway, SWATA President Dan O’Connor, and myself. We all met with the offices of our representatives and our Senators. I felt very positive about my meeting in particular. In each meeting the athletic trainer asked that the elected official do three things. They were asked to co-sponsor the Athletic Trainers Equal Access to Medicare (ATEAM) Act or HR 1137. We also asked that they sign on with the Congressional Fitness Caucus, and finally we asked if they would read a statement into the official record regarding the profession of athletic training. I ask that if you were unable to attend that you please contact your representative to ask for the same three things that we did in person. Please go to http://www.nata.org/ and click on the “Alert Center” in the upper right part of the page.

After a long couple of days I loaded up at Reagan National Airport and headed home. No cancellations, no gate changes, and most importantly NO FIRES! I feel lucky to have been able to attend this important day in the year of the association and the profession. I am honored to be able to represent all SWATA members in this quest.

Productive Midwinter Meeting

Greetings Fellow SWATA Members,

The Board met in Lubbock over SuperBowl weekend and accomplished quite a bit.

We had a reception for the local athletic trainers in the Lubbock area, and about 35 people attended. A very special thanks to Buzz Chisum for helping organize the event, and to Grant Stovall and Lubbock Sports Medicine for sponsoring the reception. I very much enjoyed meeting Members from west Texas that I didn't know. Camaraderie is one of the best things about our profession.

Of course, we also did some work. We met with the Convention Committee about this summer's Annual Meeting in Arlington, Texas, as well as future meetings. Program Chair Tina Bonci has assembled an outstanding program consisting of a number of symposia with related talks. Make plans to register and attend--you won't regret it!!

We set the registration fee to the same amount as last year, $80 for Members who register ahead of the meeting. Watch swata.org for more info, coming very soon.

We voted to have the Annual Meeting at the Intercontinental Hotel in Addison (Dallas) in 2012; more details on that in the future. One meeting at a time!

The same weekend the Athletic Training Students' Association committee hosted an educational workshop for college juniors and seniors in Texas. They had 53 students from Texas, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Lousiana attend. The highlights of the workshop were a keynote lecture by NATA President Marge Albohm and a cadaver lab.

Before the SWATA meeting, I attended the Greater Houston Athletic Trainers' Society student workshop in Katy, Texas. I attended part of the TSATA Board meeting in Austin the weekend after the SWATA Board meeting. Myself and several of your Board officers also went to the Texas Capital for the TSATA Hit the Hill Day the following Monday. We're off again this weekend to Washington D.C. to speak with our national legislators. I have several more trips to athletic training meetings planned between now and Arlington in July, including the NATA Annual Meeting in San Antonio, where SWATA is hosting the golf tournament. If you see me on one of my road trips, please make sure and say "hello".

As you can see, the business of SWATA never stops, as Vice President Mike Carroll pointed out in a blog posting last week. We are working throughout the year to improve your Association and our profession.

Stay safe, and I hope to see you all soon!

Be SWATA

When I make a blog post it’s typically a long one and while these posts contain what I feel are important information I think that some people may quit reading just because of the sheer length. Since one of my 2009 resolutions was to try and be a better communicator I’ll try and make this one a little shorter and more to the point.

This morning at the First Baptist Church of Stephenville our minister talked about how to "Be the church". He said that while it’s important that for the overall church to have programs aimed at the various groups and needs that it’s more important for the individual church member to represent the church and their faith in their everyday life using what they gather from their church experiences. That got me to thinking and the more that I thought the more I came to the realization that we should all look at SWATA in a similar fashion. It is important for your elected and appointed leadership of SWATA to do what they feel is important for not only the long term stability of the association and the profession and also to give the member some value for their membership dues. That being said it is just as important for the hard working general membership of SWATA to represent themselves and their profession in everyday life. While the Executive Board helps to guide policy and projects to benefit the association and the profession what each member should do where they live and with their employer and community are just as important.

Examples of what the general member can do to insure the long term growth and improvement of the profession and SWATA would be to ask your employer to recognize National Athletic Training Month. Members that are knowledgeable about the candidates that are running for 2nd Vice President this year will be able to make the most educated decision when then vote in the upcoming election. And in the upcoming weeks I also ask that each SWATA member take a few minutes to read the proposed new constitution that will be voted on at the business meeting at the annual convention.

It’s important to remember that SWATA is more than just a four day convention every July. Don’t just go to SWATA. Be SWATA.