Dr. Joseph Beckett has been named to the 2019 class of the Mid-Atlantic Athletic Trainers’ Association (MAATA) Hall of Fame, which is the highest award presented by the MAATA. Beckett is the third person from West Virginia ever selected for the MAATA Hall of Fame and the first from Marshall University.
The MAATA is District III of the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA). District III includes West Virginia, Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina and Washington D.C.
This hallmark award of the MAATA recognizes individuals who have a minimum of 25 years certified membership in the association and who have significant service at the district and national level representing District III of the National Athletic Trainers’ Association. This award reflects a lifetime of dedication and exceptional and unique impact to the MAATA and the field of athletic training on the national and district levels.
Beckett’s work in the advancement of athletic training was noted by several professionals from various universities and NATA-associated organizations across the U.S.
Dr. Edwin Welch, president emeritus of the University of Charleston, said during Beckett’s time at UC, he was a clear leader for the university’s athletic training program.
“Dr. Beckett was the first certified athletic trainer in the Kanawha Valley when he began at UC in 1985. He led athletic training to become an anchor program for the university as it recruited an expanding number of students, supported a growing intercollegiate athletic program and served as an institutional signature in the community,” Welch said. “Dr. Joseph Beckett is the father of what is now the movement science program at the University of Charleston. He has led athletic training programs at various institutions and contributed to the profession in multiple ways across the United States.”
Dr. Jim Kyle, team physician for Concord University, said Beckett’s influence is extensive in the education of athletic trainers.
“Dr. Beckett’s vision of excellence has provided the framework for success at academic programs in three locations in southern West Virginia. Over the last two decades, athletic trainer students at University of Charleston, Concord University and Marshall University have benefited greatly and continue to represent their undergraduate institutions with high performance and strong character in multiple disciplines and locations,” Kyle said. “Joe’s example of taking care of ‘the little things’ in order to promote ‘big picture success’ has value and worth to the educational philosophy so necessary in providing quality health care for the student athlete.”
Dr. Tom Cappaert, a member of Beckett’s first graduating class of sports medicine students at the University of Charleston in 1988 and a professor of biostatistics at Rocky Mountain University said, “Joe is an outstanding mentor who truly cares about and celebrates his student’s achievements. Joe is a builder; he has developed numerous programs from the ground up or rejuvenated programs that needed help and made them very successful and sustainable. This has been a tremendous contribution to the profession of athletic training.”
Other achievements include his recent recognition as Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer by the Mid-Atlantic Athletic Trainers’ Association in 2016; recipient of the West Virginia Athletic Training Educator of the Year in 2013; and recipient of the NATA Service Award in 2008.
The formal induction ceremony for the MAATA Hall of Fame will occur during the MAATA Clinical Symposia in Ocean City, Maryland May 18.
To learn more about the Marshall University athletic training program, visit www.marshall.edu/athletic-training.
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Photo: Dr. Joseph Beckett has been named to the 2019 class of the Mid-Atlantic Athletic Trainers’ Association (MAATA) Hall of Fame. The MAATA is District III of the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA).