New NATA President To Be Welcomed At Annual Convention

Source: The National Athletic Trainers' Association

DALLAS, June 11, 2015 – The National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA) will welcome Scott R. Sailor, EdD, ATC, as its new president during the association’s 66th Annual Convention at the America’s Center in St. Louis, June 22-27, 2015. Sailor has 25 years of sports medicine experience and a passion and vision for his new role as he succeeds outgoing President Jim Thornton, MA, ATC, CES.

“It is a tremendous honor to lead the National Athletic Trainers’ Association and to help navigate the organization through the next three years as the health care landscape continues to evolve,” says Sailor. “Having worked in a wide variety of settings, I hope to bring to the job a universal understanding of the issues we face while balancing that with all that we have already accomplished,” he added. “I’m ready to take on new challenges and to work closely with our members and those they serve. We have so many new initiatives to champion on the advocacy, education and research levels and I know we will continue to attain great success.”

NATA Executive Director Dave Saddler appreciates Sailor’s enthusiasm and knows he has the right combination of experience, energy and commitment to move the profession forward. “Scott’s lifelong dedication to athletic training and his overall knowledge of the association and the legislators, educators, school administrators, researchers, media and others we work with make him a perfect fit for the job. We have every confidence that Scott will take us to new levels of opportunity.”

Sailor is currently chair of the Department of Kinesiology and program director of the Athletic Training Education Program at California State University in Fresno, California where he has worked since 1991. He is also co-director and founder of the Central California Sports Sciences Institute and an adjust professor at Fresno Pacific University. He was previously director of sports medicine at Cumberland University in Lebanon, Tennessee, and has worked in the high school and medical center environments. His depth and variety of experience also includes Pop Warner youth football and the San Francisco 49ers where he served as an NFL intern.

Sailor has held many leadership and committee roles with NATA as a vice president, district director and secretary. He is a recipient of the Far West Athletic Trainers’ Association (FWATA) Hall of Fame and Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer Awards, among other recognitions. He has served as director of FWATA and of the California Athletic Trainers’ Association. He is also a member of the Central California Concussion Care Consortium and Safe Kids Committee of Central California, Youth Injury segment.

Sailor received his Bachelor of Science degree from the California State University, Fresno; his master’s from the University of Arizona; and his Doctor of Education from the University of California in Davis/California State University, Fresno.

About NATA:
National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA) – Health Care for Life & SportAthletic trainers are health care professionals who specialize in the prevention, diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of injuries and sport-related illnesses. They prevent and treat chronic musculoskeletal injuries from sports, physical and occupational activity, and provide immediate care for acute injuries. Athletic trainers offer a continuum of care that is unparalleled in health care. The National Athletic Trainers' Association represents and supports 39,000 members of the athletic training profession. Visit www.nata.org