North Montgomery athletic trainer Isaac Hook was recently honored by the Indiana Athletic Trainers Association with a Professional Excellence Award.
“It’s great to be recognize from the IATA for the work that I’ve done,” Hook said. “What I thought was just doing my job, perceived to others as excelling and showing excellence in the profession.”
Hook, a Purdue graduate, came to North Montgomery in 2005 and serves as the high school athletic trainer through Franciscan Health.
“It’s the kids,” Hook said about what makes his job special. “Especially when you’re able to see them at their worst when they get injured and see them and their excitement when they return to their sport. With it being as simple of an injury as an ankle sprain to a complex of an injury with rehab as an ACL.
“That’s definitely the rewarding part. To see them back out on that court. And I like to think I played a part in returning them back to the sport they loved.”
Over the years Hook has become more involved around the state, including through the IATA.
“I’ve sat on a couple of different committees,” he said. “One was the history and archives committee, where we document the entire history of the IATA from our inception as a professional organization.
“A fellow athletic trainer asked if I would help out on the weekends and I saw the benefits of how it helps the profession in getting involved.”
The National Athletic Trainers Association implemented a peer-to-peer support program in 2014 called ATs Care to help offer crisis management training opportunities for athletic trainers dealing with the aftermath of a critical incident. Hook says this initiative has been particular important in the last year as athletic trainers have together navigated uncharted waters during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The job of an athletic trainer is always changing though, and Hook’s ‘kid-first’ mindset has followed the ever-changing path.
“Medicine is always evolving and athletic training has definitely evolved in the last 16 years,” he said. “When you think about how we treated head wounds and injuries like concussions when I first started to how publicly acknowledged we are and cautious we are, and rightfully so with our student athletes now.”
And he’s done so with his peers. Embracing new technology and new methods — and always putting with the best interest of his student athletes.
“Without my peers, I wouldn’t be where I am today,” Hook said. “My mentors that have encouraged me and challenged me from my education days at Purdue to my professional involvement and continuing to learning and striving to provide the best care for student athletes. It’s humbling to be recognized.”
