Dr. Joseph Beckett of the Marshall University College of Health Professions has been chosen as the recipient of the Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer Award from the Mid-Atlantic Athletic Trainers’ Association (MAATA).
Beckett, program director of the college’s Department of Athletic Training, is the only athletic trainer in West Virginia to receive a MAATA award in 2016.
The MAATA Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer Award is a prestigious honor that recognizes qualified MAATA members for their exceptional and unique contributions to the athletic training profession, according to Marty Bradley, associate athletic director for sports medicine at Old Dominion University in Virginia.
Bradley, a longtime friend and colleague, said he nominated Beckett for this award because of Beckett’s tremendous work ethic, commitment and loyalty to the field of athletic training.
“Joe should have been nominated for this award years ago if you look at what he has done to advance and give back to our profession,” Bradley said. “I wanted him to be recognized within the district, but also within his own institution because he is so deserving of this honor and the recognition it brings.”
Beckett received the National Athletic Trainers’ Association’s Service Award in 2008 and he was named the West Virginia Athletic Training Educator of the Year in 2013, but this is the first award he has received from MAATA in his 35 years as a member.
“It’s a very humbling feeling to be recognized by my peers and it validates my work as an athletic trainer,” Beckett said. “My only hope is that my current and prospective students realize how hard work can pay off and they will be inspired to make a sustainable contribution to the field.”
The MAATA District includes universities in Virginia, Washington, D.C., Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina and West Virginia. For more information about the MAATA and its upcoming awards symposium, visit www.maata.org. To learn more about Beckett and his work with Marshall’s Department of Athletic Training, visit www.marshall.edu/athletic-training.
