Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer
Kaminski honored by National Athletic Training Association
2:02 p.m., July 24, 2014--Tom Kaminski, professor in the Department of Kinesiology and Applied Physiology at the University of Delaware and director of UD’s Athletic Training Education Program, has received the National Athletic Trainers’ Association’s 2014 Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer (MDAT) award.
The award recognizes NATA members who have demonstrated exceptional commitment to leadership, volunteer service, advocacy and distinguished professional activities as athletic trainers. MDAT exclusively recognizes NATA members who have been involved in service and leadership activities at the national and district levels.
Honors Stories
National Medal of Science
Warren Award
This award acknowledges outstanding dedication and service to the profession. Candidates for the award must have held the certified athletic trainer (ATC) credential, conferred by the Board of Certification, and have been NATA members, both for at least 20 years.
“We are always excited to recognize the dedication, excellence, inspirational outlook and commitment of our honorees, and this year is no exception,” said Chuck Kimmel, NATA Honors and Awards Committee chair.
“These recipients serve as role models to their peers and represent some of the best of the best of the athletic training profession. We know they will continue to contribute to their place of work and their community at large in ensuring quality of care and optimal health moving into the years ahead.”
The awards were presented at NATA’s 65th Clinical Symposia and AT Expo in Indianapolis on June 27.
Kaminski, who was one of 16 people across the nation to receive the award, joined the UD faculty in 2003. He received his master’s degree from the University of Arizona and his doctorate from the University of Virginia.
His research interests include ankle instability, mild traumatic brain injuries in women's soccer, and functional performance assessment of the lower extremities.
Kaminski received NATA’s Sayers (Bud) Miller Distinguished Educator Award in 2010 and the Presidential Award from the Eastern Athletic Trainers’ Association (EATA) in 2012.
He is a fellow of NATA, the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), and the Research Consortium of the American Alliance for Health, Physical Education, Recreation and Dance (AAHPERD), now known as SHAPE America.
Kaminski is also the inaugural editor of a professional journal launched in 2009, Athletic Training and Sports Health Care: The Journal for the Practicing Clinician, and a member of the editorial board of the Journal of Athletic Training, the executive Committee of the International Ankle Consortium, and the research committee of the EATA.
Article by Diane Kukich
Photos by Kathy F. Atkinson and courtesy of Tom Kaminski