MAAC Celebrates National Athletic Training Month
EDISON, N.J. (Mar. 25, 2021) – The 2020-21 athletic season has been filled with numerous obstacles brought forth by COVID-19. The support provided by athletic training staffs from across the membership of the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) has been pivotal in the conference’s return to play.
During this National Athletic Training Month, the MAAC would like to thank the many athletic trainers who have worked tirelessly to give every student-athlete a chance to play the sport they love in an unprecedented year.
“Some of the hardest working, well trained and caring individuals in any MAAC athletic department are the athletic trainers,” notes MAAC Commissioner Rich Ensor. “This difficult academic year of the pandemic has seen the conference trainers take on added responsibilities of administering department wide COVID-19 protocols, testing and supervising the return to competition procedures for the teams on pandemic pauses. A huge task only complicated further by the fall and spring sports all competing in the spring semester. Thank you for all your service on behalf of the MAAC member schools and conference staff.”
Among the various responsibilities athletic trainers have taken on in the past year include working with local and state health officials to ensure the continued well-being of student-athletes. They have also been critical in the promotion of risk mitigation activities, such as frequent hand washing, daily health checks, mask wearing, social distancing, and other protocols as recommended by CDC, state, and local health authorities.
“The unsung heroes of the pandemic and its impact on MAAC sports are the trainers who have worked with us since last summer in developing return to play protocol, evaluated testing options and organized safety measures around the MAAC championships,” says Ensor. “In particular I would like to single out the following trainers: Andy Smith, Canisius College; Greg Dashnaw, Siena College; Jeff Carter, Marist College; John Munro, Niagara University; Sam DeRosa, Iona College; and Simon Rosenblum, Monmouth University.”
National Athletic Training Month is celebrated every March to spread awareness on the work athletic trainers perform to support student-athletes everywhere. The 2021 slogan is “Essential to Health Care.”
About the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference:
With 11 institutions strongly bound by the sound principles of quality and integrity in academics and excellence in athletics, the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC) celebrates its 40
th year of competition during the 2020-21 academic year. Current conference members include: Canisius College, Fairfield University, Iona College, Manhattan College, Marist College, Monmouth University, Niagara University, Quinnipiac University, Rider University, Saint Peter’s University, and Siena College.