For 28 years, athletic trainer David Csillan has been providing the student-athletes of Ewing with, in his own words, “the same athletic health care as those signing million dollar contracts.”
All those years of hard work and effort culminated in Csillan being awarded the 2019 Gatorade School Athletic Trainer of the Year Award.
Each year, Gatorade, in partnership with the National Athletic Trainers’ Association, recognizes 10 secondary school athletic trainers from around the country who provide outstanding athlete care and have had a profound impact on their students, colleagues and community.
“I am honored to be recognized by Gatorade and my peers with this award,” Csillan said in a statement.
Athletic trainers are highly qualified, multi-skilled healthcare professionals who collaborate with physicians to provide preventative services, emergency care, clinical diagnosis, therapeutic intervention and rehabilitation of injured and medical conditions.
Aside from his duties at Ewing, Csillan has worked with state legislators to pass the Athletic Training Practice Act, as well as serving on the National Federation of State High Schools Association Sports Medicine Advisory Committee, developing and implementing health and safety protocols for the nation’s secondary school athletes.
“I cannot overstate the value of Dave’s input and service to the Ewing High School Community,” school board president Anthony Messina said in a statement. “The Ewing High School Community and the greater Ewing Township Community are so very fortunate to have somebody of Dave’s professional caliber working day in and day out for the betterment of our kids.”
As part of the award, Csillan received a $1,000 grant toward his school’s athletic program, a Gatorade Sideline Cart, Gatorade product for his athletes, as well as complimentary registration to the NATA Conference in June in Las Vegas.
“Dave is an incredible asset to the student-athletes of the Ewing Schools,” athletic director Bud Kowal said in a statement. “He is an outstanding recipient of this award and we are proud of him, and appreciative of Gatorade for acknowledging what we all know; that Dave is an incredible trainer.”
