As the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) Maryland State Director and a high school football coach, I believe it is imperative for strength coaches and football coaches to collaborate with the other professions in the sports and fitness industry. It is also imperative that, regardless of our level of interest in politics as a whole, we as strength coaches and football coaches must stay abreast of federal, state, and local politics and organize and parter with other sports and fitness industry associations to advance good legislation pertaining to sports and defeat terrible legislation that would cripple our sports and kill our jobs.
The Maryland Athletic Trainers Association, along with its mother organization the National Athletic Trainers Association, is ahead of the game when it comes to legislative action. The MATA employs an all-star lobbyist I know who does great work to organize their campaigns. The athletic trainers spend time every year in Annapolis during the legislative session to educate the Senators and Delegates along with their staff on the issues that are important to the athletic training profession.
As a former Communications Director in the Maryland Senate in a past life, I was able to connect my fellow athletic trainers to a large number of Senators, Delegates, and staff yesterday for the MATA Lobby Day. We had a very productive day and laid the groundwork to propose legislation in 2020 that will update the law to allow athletic trainers to work in industrial settings; thus creating jobs, improving corporate health and wellness, and continuing to make Maryland a great place to do business.
I want to thank the MATA for their assistance in killing HB 1106 sponsored by Delegate Terri Hill (D – Howard County) that would have the state severely regulate youth tackle football and would have killed jobs and small businesses. I look forward to future collaboration between the Maryland Athletic Trainers Association and the Maryland chapter of the National Strength and Conditioning Association.
