Athletic Training includes preventing, recognizing and evaluating athletic injuries, managing and administering the initial treatment of athletic injuries, giving emergency care or first aid for an athletic injury, and rehabilitating and physically reconditioning athletic injuries.
The Defiance College Athletic Training Education Program (ATEP) combines intensive course work with hands-on clinical experience to prepare a student for a career in athletic training. Students will gain clinical experience under the supervision of a certified athletic trainer. The clinical experience will be completed primarily on the Defiance College campus with additional experiences at off-campus settings such as a physician’s office, physical therapy clinics, and high schools. There is a low athletic training student-to-instructor ratio which allows for a tremendous amount of individual instruction.
Theory and practical applications of the athletic training principles are distributed through the student’s undergraduate career. The student must complete 65 hours of athletic training professional courses and the college’s general education requirements. The student must also complete clinical requirements under the supervision of a certified athletic trainer.
ATEP Mission Statement
The primary mission of the Defiance College ATEP is to prepare students to successfully complete the Board of Certification (BOC) examination and to prepare them for the contemporary professional and ethical challenges of employment and practice as an entry-level certified athletic trainer.
The Defiance College Athletic Training Education Program (ATEP) shall endeavor to prepare athletic trainers of recognized excellence in the context of small, private, liberal arts, coeducational, residential, undergraduate learning environment. The ATEP shall strive to be a program of recognized excellence by virtue of preparing athletic trainers who will: (1) continue to learn after graduation, (2) make significant contributions to the profession, and (3) serve their communities with distinction.
ATEP Goals
The Defiance College ATEP mission will be accomplished by the following goals:
- Provide the student with a quality undergraduate, liberal arts education.
- Provide the student with the didactic and clinical experiences to thoroughly obtain the competencies and proficiencies established by the National Athletic Trainers Association (NATA) Educational Council (4th edition, 2006).
- Offer quality clinical experiences for students in a variety of clinical sites.
- Provide the student with opportunities to develop into a quality citizen who will be active in the community and the profession.
Accreditation
The academic program is accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE). Graduates of the ATEP are eligible to take the Board of Certification (BOC) exam. Successful completion of this exam leads to the credentials ‘ATC’ (Certified Athletic Trainer).
Clinical Requirements
All clinical assignments are determined on an individual basis by the Program Director and the Clinical Education Coordinator upon consultation with the athletic training staff. The athletic training student is directly assigned to an approved clinical instructor (ACI) on campus. This ACI is responsible for the supervision and progression of the student.
To enhance the athletic training students’ clinical education, every attempt is made to place students in a variety of situations. While a student in the Athletic Training Education Program, each student is assigned to a primarily upper extremity sport, a primarily lower extremity sport, an equipment intensive sport as well as numerous exposures to general medical situations. All students accepted into the professional program are assigned to clinical experiences based on the student’s skill level, maturity, outside commitments (e.g. work), and level of responsibility. Students are assigned a mixture of high and low risk sports, a male and female team, and at least one sport that requires travel to away games. Students can expect to return to campus approximately two weeks before fall semester classes begin to participate in pre-season football camp.
Admission into the Athletic Training Program
Admission into the Athletic Training Education Program is a two-step process. Students enter Defiance College as pre-athletic training majors and must complete the first year consisting of general education degree requirements and athletic training prerequisites. The pre-professional phase is completed in their first two semesters on campus.
Applications for admittance into the professional phase of the program are completed and submitted by March 1st. Completion of the ATEP requires six semesters in the professional phase of the program.
View more detailed program admission information.
Athletic Participation Policy
Major Brochure | Courses | Sample Plan of Study | Forms
The Defiance College ATEP consists of several clinical rotation requirements. Some of the rotations are completed at off-campus athletic training settings such as the Defiance Clinic. In order to fulfill the requirements of these rotations, which are completed throughout the three-year pre-professional athletic training sequence, a student in the ATEP must have access to transportation.
Clinical Hour Requirement – All students who are assigned to a clinical rotation are required to attend all practices, games, and travel as discussed with the clinical supervisor (ACI/CI). If you are unable to attend, please notify the clinical supervisor ASAP. Students should average around 20 hours per week in the clinical setting and have at least one day off. All clinical hours should be recorded on the ATS Clinical Hour Sheets as well as documentation of physician exposure. Hour sheets should be signed by the supervising ACI/CI and turned into the Clinical Education Coordinator at the end of the month. Clinical hours will be monitored by the Clinical Education Coordinator. If you have a concern with the clinical hours, please contact the Clinical Education Coordinator.
Level 2 (Sophomore) - ATS are exposed to a variety of clinical assignments during their sophomore year. These clinical assignments will be under the direct supervision of an ACI or CI. Students are assigned three rotations each semester. One of these rotations is a General Medical Rotation at the Defiance Clinic. During this rotation, the student observes a physician assistant in family practice and physicians in the Urgent Care setting. During this year, the student will also have the opportunity to observe a PT/PTA in the Physical Therapy Clinic and/or an ATC at a local high school. Additionally during the fall/spring semester, the ATS will be assigned to an ACI/CI and clinical assignment with an individual sport. Students may be assigned an upper extremity or lower sport during the spring semester of their sophomore year. All students are required to return for pre-season football camp (equipment-intensive). Students not assigned a specific clinical assignment with a sport are scheduled 6-8 hours a week to continue progress on competency/proficiency mastery. By the end of the sophomore year, the ATS will have completed a minimum of 4 clinical assignments and acquired a minimum of 200 supervised clinical experience hours.
Level 3 (Junior) - Students are assigned two clinical assignments each year. These clinical assignments will be under the direct supervision of an ACI or CI. All students are assigned to an ACI/CI and clinical assignment with an individual sport during the fall season. Students are also assigned to an ACI/CI and clinical assignment with either a winter or spring sport. This includes attendance at all practices, games, and travel. This assignment will include continued exposure to the general medical category. During their junior or senior year, the student is assigned a clinical rotation with football, as an equipment intensive sport, as well as one male and one female clinical rotation. Students will be assigned a clinical rotation with an upper (if not completed in sophomore spring) and lower extremity sport during this junior/senior year. All students are required to return for pre-season football camp (equipment-intensive). Students not assigned a specific clinical assignment with a sport are scheduled 6-8 hours a week to continue progress on competency/proficiency mastery. By the end of the junior year, the ATS will have completed a minimum of 6 clinical assignments and acquired a minimum of 500 supervised clinical experience hours.
Level 4 (Senior) - Under the supervision of an ACI/CI, each senior athletic training student is assigned to work an intercollegiate sport for the entire season. This will include all practices, games, and travel. All students are required to return for pre-season football camp (equipment-intensive). If a student did not complete the equipment intensive rotation in the junior year, it must be completed during the Fall Senior Year. Students not assigned a specific clinical assignment with a sport are scheduled 6-8 hours a week to continue progress on competency/proficiency mastery. By the end of the senior year, the ATS will have completed a minimum of 7 clinical assignments and have acquired a minimum of 800 supervised clinical experience hours.
Level 4 (Optional Senior) - Athletic training student may complete an internship if they also have a double major in Wellness. Interns apply what they have studied at the College and apply it to real, on the-job situations prior to graduation. If the ATS is not a Wellness major also, they are assigned to an ACI/CI for clinical assignment and competency/proficiency mastery. Prior to beginning an internship, most competencies as listed in (Amato 2006) should be mastered and verified by an ACI and approved by the PD.
Certified Athletic Trainers can be found almost anywhere. Whether on the playing field or in the industrial setting, Certified Athletic Trainers are in place to help people avoid injuries, embrace health and wellness, and perform to the best of their abilities. Certified Athletic Trainers are employed in secondary schools, intercollegiate athletics, professional athletics, sports medicine clinics, the military, sets of the movie industry, professional dance settings, or industrial and commercial settings. Hospitals and health clubs are also venues that create job opportunities for Certified Athletic Trainers.
If you are interested in learning more about the program, please click here, print out the questionnaire, and send or email it to:
Director of Athletic Training
Defiance College Athletic Department
701 N. Clinton Street
Defiance, OH 43512
Email: MStockdale@defiance.edu
Myra Stockdale, D.H.Sc., ATC, Director of Athletic Training Education Program
/ Associate Professor of Exercise Science
419-783-2393 | mstockdale@defiance.edu
Kevin M. Tong, M.S.Ed., ATC, Head Athletic Trainer
Assistant Professor of Exercise Science
419-783-2340 | ktong@defiance.edu | Faculty Profile
Kathleen Westfall, M.A., ATC, Clinical Education Coordinator
Assistant Athletic Trainer
Instructor of Exercise Science
419-783-2345 | kwestfall@defiance.edu
Keith Christy, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Exercise Science
419-783-2422 | kchristy@defiance.edu
Timothy E. Rickabaugh, Ph.D., Professor of Exercise Science
Interim Academic Dean
419-783-2546 | trickabaugh@defiance.edu | Faculty Profile
David Kwan, MKine
Instructor of Exercise Science
419-783-2326 | dkwan@defiance.edu
