June/July 2023 - 19

Most Valuable Athletic Trainer
S
ince high school, Heather Arabitg knew she wanted
to be a physical therapist. An avid soccer player at
an all-girls high school, she was introduced to the
idea of athletic training by her soccer coach.
" My soccer coach said to me, 'You play soccer, you
love sports, and you live emergency medicine. Why
aren't you going to school for athletic training,' " said
Arabitg, heath athletic trainer and senior women's
administrator at Caldwell University.
Her school didn't employ an athletic trainer at the time,
but she quickly found that the athletic training profession
checked all the boxes of how she wanted to spend
her time.
" It took all the things I was truly in love with at the
time and put them together, " she said. " So I decided to
go to King's [College] and get into the program. And I've
loved it ever since. "
It's been said that when you do what you love, you'll
never work a day in your life. And even with the long
days that come with being an athletic trainer, that
mindset has allowed Arabitg to excel at her position.
Megan Bratkovich, assistant athletic director at
Caldwell University, describes Arabitg's presence within
the NCAA Division II athletic program as " instrumental "
in terms of organizational structure and developing
upgrades for her department.
Her love for the profession and dedication to helping
others is just one of the reasons Arabitg stands out as
Training & Conditioning's 2023 Most Valuable Collegiate
Athletic Trainer of the Year.
PROMINENT PROJECTS
As a leader in the school's Student-Athlete Advisory
Committee (SAAC), Arabitg embraced the notion of
not just being a student, and not just being an athlete,
but taking those experiences and putting them forth
towards community service. " Community service is very
important to me, " she said.
Coming out of the COVID-19 pandemic, Arabitg was
looking to get her student-athletes reengaged with the
local community. That's where the Jared Box Project
came into view.
For more than 20 years Jared Boxes have delivered
countless smiles, laughter, and hope to children in
hospitals across the country. Jared Boxes are a great
way for individuals, schools, or organizations to bring the
gift of play through toys in a box to young patients as
they navigate through their hospital experience.
She decided to take the money raised from their
annual gift basket auction during 'Super Saturday' -
roughly $1,500 - and used it to buy kids toys. The
SAAC group put together about 70 boxes of toys,
separated by age and gender, each complete with a
handwritten note from a student-athlete to the receiving
child at a nearby hospital.
" The notes had positive messages to the kids, " Arabitg
said. " I think our student-athletes responded really well
to it and I think it was good for our community. "
NAME: HEATHER ARABITG
HOMETOWN: CRANFORD, NJ
OCCUPATION: ASSISTANT ATHLETIC DIRECTOR
FOR SPORTS MEDICINE/HEAD ATHLETIC
TRAINER/SENIOR WOMEN'S ADMINISTRATOR,
CALDWELL UNIVERSITY
COLLEGE: KING'S COLLEGE, B.S. IN ATHLETIC
TRAINING, CUM LAUDE; EAST STROUDSBURG
UNIVERSITY, M.S. IN ATHLETIC TRAINING
COMMITTEES & AWARDS: CALDWELL
UNIVERSITY'S SENIOR WOMEN'S
ADMINISTRATOR; CALDWELL RETURN TO
CAMPUS TASK FORCE, CALDWELL BEHAVIORAL
INTERVENTION TEAM, CACC CHAMPIONSHIPS
COMMITTEE; STUDENT-ATHLETE ADVISORY
COMMITTEE; 2021 MISSION IN ACTION
AWARD RECIPIENT; 2021-22 CACC COMUNITY
ENGAGEMENT AWARD WINNER; FINALIST
FOR 2023 NCAA DIVISION II AWARD
OF EXCELLENCE.
training-conditioning.com | 19
http://www.training-conditioning.com

June/July 2023

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of June/July 2023

Table of Contents
Editor's Letter
Therapy Topic
Earning the Grade
Leading the Way
For Love of the Game
Best of the Rest
Extraordinary Extensions
Nutrition
Beat the Heat
Product Marketplace
Ad Index
June/July 2023 - 1
June/July 2023 - 2
June/July 2023 - Table of Contents
June/July 2023 - Editor's Letter
June/July 2023 - 5
June/July 2023 - Therapy Topic
June/July 2023 - 7
June/July 2023 - 8
June/July 2023 - 9
June/July 2023 - Earning the Grade
June/July 2023 - 11
June/July 2023 - 12
June/July 2023 - 13
June/July 2023 - Leading the Way
June/July 2023 - 15
June/July 2023 - 16
June/July 2023 - 17
June/July 2023 - For Love of the Game
June/July 2023 - 19
June/July 2023 - 20
June/July 2023 - 21
June/July 2023 - Best of the Rest
June/July 2023 - 23
June/July 2023 - 24
June/July 2023 - 25
June/July 2023 - 26
June/July 2023 - 27
June/July 2023 - 28
June/July 2023 - 29
June/July 2023 - 30
June/July 2023 - 31
June/July 2023 - 32
June/July 2023 - 33
June/July 2023 - Extraordinary Extensions
June/July 2023 - 35
June/July 2023 - 36
June/July 2023 - 37
June/July 2023 - 38
June/July 2023 - 39
June/July 2023 - Nutrition
June/July 2023 - 41
June/July 2023 - 42
June/July 2023 - 43
June/July 2023 - Beat the Heat
June/July 2023 - 45
June/July 2023 - 46
June/July 2023 - 47
June/July 2023 - Product Marketplace
June/July 2023 - 49
June/July 2023 - Ad Index
June/July 2023 - 51
June/July 2023 - 52
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