2025 ATHLETIC TRAINER EXCELLENCE AWARD
Recognizing the Heroes in Sports Medicine
Meet our 2025 AT Excellence Awards Winner!
🎉 Eli Hallak 🎉
Why We Chose Eli as our AT Excellence Award Winner
He’s Building the Next Generation of AT Leaders
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🏅 He’s a founding member of the National Honor Society of Sports Medicine (NHSSM), promoting leadership and academic excellence in AT programs.
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📚 Through his leadership at American Academic Competition Institute (AACI), he’s made sports medicine competitions and seminars accessible to students nationwide.
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🌟 He empowers students not just to learn—but to lead, compete, and grow with confidence.
He Hosts a Podcast That Actually Matters
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🎙️ He created and hosts Wrap it Up: Sports Medicine & More, a podcast focused on giving athletic trainers the spotlight they deserve.
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🧠His episodes go beyond injury treatment—tackling big issues like mental health, heat stress, and athlete wellness.
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đź’¬ He sparked state-wide conversations across California ATs by breaking down CIF heat stress guidelines, helping peers collaborate on implementation.
He Makes Athlete Safety a Team Effort
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🎙️ His ability to translate regulation into real-world action has helped coaches, ATs, and administrators work together more effectively.
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🙌 He goes beyond the clinical—offering emotional support and building trust with young athletes when they need it most.
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🌟 He’s not just respected by colleagues—he’s remembered by athletes long after they’ve left the field.
Celebrating the Win: What Our Winners Get
🏆 Grand Prize Winner
âś…Â $2,000 to Eli’s chosen sports medicine scholarship fund
âś… 3Â Emergency heat stroke Cold Vests
âś… 1Â Nexus Deadbug DV2 Tactical Sling Bag
🎖Top 10 Runners-up Win
Previous AT Excellence Awards Winners
2024 AT Excellence Award Winner
Dustin is in his 13th year with Frenship ISD as Head Athletic Trainer. Before FISD, his previous stops include Lubbock Sports Medicine and Eastern New Mexico University.
- Dustin has a Masters of Athletic Training degree from Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center and a Bachelors of Health and Physical Education from Eastern New Mexico University.
- He holds professional certifications as a Board Certified Athletic Trainer, State of Texas Licensed Athletic Trainer, CPR/AED/Frist Aid Instructor, Stop the Bleed Instructor, Myofascial Decompression Certification and Graston M1Certification.
Dustin and his wife Kaylie have been married for 11 years and have 2 beautiful children, Brelynn and Kasin. Both attend school in Frenship ISD.
2023 AT Excellence Award Winner
David Csillan’s 37-year career in athletic training has made a significant impact on secondary school athletics, most recently in his role as Athletic Trainer at The Hun School of Princeton in New Jersey.
- – Beyond his primary role, David has collaborated and worked with organizations like the Korey Stringer Institute (KSI), Special Olympics, and USA Football, as well as state lawmakers to develop and implement health and safety policies into law.
- – David actively participates in various athletic training committees and advisory boards across the country. He co-authored essential NATA guides including the “Pre-Season Heat Acclimatization Guidelines for Secondary School Athletics”.
- These guidelines, along with his work on exertional heat stroke prevention, have no doubt saved many lives.
As a token of our appreciation, Perry Weather donated $1,000 to David Csillian’s preferred sports medicine scholarship fund, helping to foster the growth and advancement of this remarkable profession.
