President's Message:

I hope all is well with each of you!

What a year 2025 was! This A-Blast, while a little more lengthy than usual, is packed full of information so please read to the end!

SAVE THE DATE! 

Our annual Clinical Symposium and Members Meeting will be held May 29-30th at The Trussville Civic Center in Trussville, AL. This will be my last CSMM as President so I hope to see all of you there!

Know a deserving athletic trainer? Nominate them for an ALATA Award here!

Interested in an ALATA Opportunity Grant? Learn more and apply here!

Students! Apply for the ALATA Drew Ferguson Scholarship here!

Below my monthly ‘What You May or May Not Know, But Need to Know’ section you will find our plans for 2026.

Do not forget to follow ALATA on our various social media accounts for regular updates! There will be many as we prepare for changes and improvements in the near future.

As always, please let us know how your association can better serve you! Wishing you nothing but the best in 2026!

Your President,

Kyle Southall

SAVE THE DATE!

February’s ‘What You May, or May Not Know - But Need to Know!’

One new aspect that I am continuing  is sharing topics that are important to ATs in the state that may not be known widespread. I will elaborate on a topic monthly in my A-Blast. Let me know if you have a specific topic you’d like me to discuss in more depth! Please share this information with your peers!

Having covered Dry Needling and Emergency Access Intravenous Fluids, and Licensure and the structure and function of the Alabama Board of Athletic Trainers (ABAT) I will now move on to the Athletic Training Advisory Council. Feel free to reach out to me with any questions, concerns, or future topic ideas.

The Athletic Training Advisory Council (AC) that was created as part of our 2021 Practice Act Update is one of the major aspects that makes Athletic Training different than anywhere else in the US. At a very high level the AC is composed of 3 physicians from the Board of Medical Examiners and 3 Athletic Trainers from ABAT. Together they build recommendations to each board in respect to the practice of athletic training within the state. What makes this so special is that we have medical professionals making decisions about what the practice of athletic training is and is not, not politicians, lobbyists, and other professions, etc..

Our current Advisory Council Projects:

Administering Medications to Minors Update

Blind Insertion Airway Devices Update

Biennial CPR Certification Update

Biennial AL Licensure Update

Adding Electrical Stimulation to Current Dry Needling Practice (it is currently a practice act violation to use e-stim with dry needling)

Next month’s topic - The Athletic Training Alliance; what it is, and what it is not - and what it replaced.

ALATA 2026 Sponsors

Our ALATA initiatives throughout the year would not be possible if not for the outstanding sponsors and business partners that we have. We would like to extend our greatest appreciation to the following donors and sponsors who have made the educational aspect of the 2025 CSMM and initiatives beyond possible:

The National Athletic Trainers Association

The Southeast Athletic Trainers Association

The American Sports Medicine Institute

Gatorade Performance Partners

Encore Sports Medicine

Andrews Sports Medicine and Orthopaedic Centers

Henry Schein – Medical Sports Medicine

Medco Sports Medicine

Alert Services

Caliber Medical / DonJoy

ActiveArmour

The Kinematic Company

Southlake Orthopedics – Sports Medicine and Spine Center

The University of West Alabama Athletic Training Program

Jacksonville State University Athletic Training Program

Arthrex Alabama

SWAY

TherapySouth At Work

Nexus Sports Medicine

Avive

Northeast Orthopedics

Moore Wellness Systems

Champion Sports Medicine

Mueller

G-Force Medical

PowerPro Insoles

Atrium Health Floyd

Phoenix Physical Therapy

OS1- Orthopedic and Sports Injury Clinic

IncrediWear

For more information regarding or to contact any of our sponsors please visit our website at www.alathletictrainers.org.

Interested in becoming a 2026 sponsor or donor to ALATA and one of its many initiatives to support its members and stakeholders? We have many opportunities from the individual to corporate level and committee to CSMM scale. Please reply to this email or contact President Kyle Southall at president@alathletictrainers.org