Shady Side Academy earns national athletic trainers award

By: Michael Love
Monday, May 4, 2020 | 6:07 PM

The National Athletic Trainers Association has recognized Shady Side Academy with its Safe Sports School 2nd Team Award for its athletic training program under the direction of head trainer Chris Rose and assistant Brynn Mahoney.

The award honors secondary schools that have met the recommended standards to improve safety in sports and reinforce a top level of care, injury prevention and treatment.

“Shady Side Academy is honored to receive this recognition from NATA,” Rose said Monday in a school release.

“We remain committed to keeping our student-athletes safe during physical education classes, team practices and games so they can accomplish their own goals of great competition, winning records, fair sportsmanship and good health. Our goal is to lead our athletics program to the highest safety standards for our players.”

Standards athletic training programs must meet in order to be recognized include creating a positive athletic health care administrative system, coordinating pre-participation physical examinations, promoting safe practice and competition facilities, maintaining the proper function of athletic equipment, providing an appropriately equipped area to evaluate and treat injured athletes, and developing injury and illness prevention strategies.

WPIAL and City League schools to earn NATA first- or second-team honors in previous years are Gateway (first, 2013, 2014 and 2019), Peters Township (first, 2019), Avonworth (first, 2015 and 2018), Beaver Falls (first, 2018), Waynesburg (second, 2018), Connellsville (second, 2017), Keystone Oaks (first, 2014 and 2017), New Brighton (first, 2017), Butler (first, 2016), Carrick (first, 2015 and 2016), Penn-Trafford (first, 2013 and 2016), Allderdice (first, 2015 and 2016), Westinghouse (first, 2015 and 2016), Brashear (first, 2015), North Allegheny (first, 2015), Obama Academy (first, 2015), Perry Traditional (first, 2015) and Plum (first, 2013).

Michael Love is a TribLive reporter covering sports in the Alle-Kiski Valley and the eastern suburbs of Pittsburgh. A Clearfield native and a graduate of Westminster (Pa.), he joined the Trib in 2002 after spending five years at the Clearfield Progress. He can be reached at mlove@triblive.com.