7/26/2010 3:48:57 PM
Rock Hill, S.C.----The Wingate University athletic training staff, under the direction of Leigh Ann Caldwell, has been selected as the 2009-10 Athletic Training Staff of the Year in the South Atlantic Conference. Wingate earns this award for the first time. The award is voted on by the head athletic trainer at each of the member institutions in the South Atlantic Conference.
Caldwell is entering her 12th year at Wingate University, eighth as head athletic trainer. Her primary sporting assignments are men’s basketball and softball. She oversees the entire Wingate athletic training department. Caldwell and her staff are responsible for the staffing and medical coverage of 20 sports and approximately 530 student-athletes.
She directly supervises five staff members and 35 athletic training students. Her duties include all doctor appointments, daily treatments, rehabilitations, practice and game coverage. Caldwell is responsible for the department budget, all institutional and NCAA drug testing and inventory/supplies/scheduling coverage for three athletic training rooms.
Caldwell is an instructor for two classes in the Wingate University athletic training education curriculum. She organizes and mediates all physicians on-campus clinics, including on-campus physicals.
A member of Wingate’s eight-person Athletic Management team, Caldwell assists with strategic planning, policies and procedures for the entire athletic department, along with organizing events and functions on campus.
Caldwell is certified by the National Athletic Trainers Association (NATA) and is licensed through the state of North Carolina. She is a certified examiner with the National Athletic Trainers’ Association Board of Certification and is an approved clinical instructor with the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education.
Caldwell received her undergraduate degree in Health Promotion with a minor in Athletic Training from Appalachian State University. She earned her Masters of Business Administration (MBA) from Wingate University.
Also on the Wingate Athletic Training Staff in 2009-10 were assistant athletic trainers Erin D. Thornton and Tim Singleton and graduate assistant athletic trainers Devon Smith, Misty Tate and Trey Tyler.
“We have an outstanding group of certified athletic trainers and athletic training students,” Wingate University vice-president and director of athletics Steve Poston says. “Their commitment to our student-athletes is unparalleled.”
“Leigh Ann Caldwell is a true professional,” Poston says. “She is well-respected by her peers, her contemporaries and her students. We are grateful for the leadership she provides.”
“The number of hours our athletic trainers work is amazing,” Poston acknowledges. “They work hard to insure the physical needs of our student-athletes are met.”
WINGATE UNIVERSITY
Founded in 1896, Wingate University is a private four-year co-educational institution of 2,159 students offering active learning opportunities through personalized instruction, world travel, career discovery and community service.
Wingate offers 34 undergraduate majors in arts and sciences, business, communication, education, fine arts, music and sport sciences. It also offers graduate degrees in business, education, physician assistant studies and sport administration. In addition, the school awards the doctor of pharmacy and the doctor of education degrees.
Bulldog student-athletes compete in 19 NCAA Division II sports. Wingate University has won the South Atlantic Conference Echols Athletic Excellence Award for the past four years.
Wingate University is ranked number three among NCAA Division II Academic All-America® producing schools in the 2000’s with 36 honorees during this millennium. Only Pittsburg State (Kan.) University and Truman State (Mo.) University have produced more Academic All-America® honorees during this time period. Wingate’s 45 Academic All-America® honorees (lifetime) is tops among all SAC schools.