Clovis West athletic trainer in the running for national award

Joshua Adame, head athletic trainer for Clovis West High School, is up for a national honor. (Contributed)

Joshua Adame, a certified athletic trainer at Clovis West High School, has been named the regional nominee for The 2017–2018 Newell National Athletic Trainer of the Year Award.

As the regional nominee, Adame will join other candidates from across the nation to be considered for the honor, which will be awarded later this month.

“I’m extremely humbled and grateful to be a part of this opportunity,” said Adame, in his third year at Clovis West.

In partnership with Sierra Pacific Orthopedics, The Newell Award recognizes athletic trainers for the service and leadership they provide local athletic communities. Based on examples of service, leadership, and shared experiences from community members, nominees like Adame are selected regionally to be considered for the national award to potentially win $2,500 for their school and $10,000 as the recipient.

“The outpouring of support from community members on Mr. Adame’s behalf has been tremendous and certainly well-deserved,” said Richard Lembo, Director of Sports Medicine at Sierra Pacific Orthopedics. “We feel honored to acknowledge his efforts by partnering with The Newell Award to recognize the region’s top athletic trainers for the service and leadership they display while treating our community’s athletes.”

A native of Visalia, Adame graduated from College of the Sequoias with an associate of science degree in sports medicine before moving onto Fresno State for his bachelor’s degree in athletic training. Since graduating in 2015, Adame has been actively involved in the sports medicine community, caring for injured athletes and educating future athletic trainers through his work.

Nearly 100 shared experiences from community members were received in support of Adame’s regional nomination for the award. Adame, however, doesn’t feel like he’s doing anything special. He goes into work every day with the mindset of doing his job the best way he knows how.

“I just show up and do my job every day,” said Adame. “There’s that old saying: ‘it’s not work if you enjoy what you’re doing’ and I couldn’t agree more. I don’t feel like I’m at work when I’m there. Those kids, they make the job worth it. Our coaches and my administration are fabulous to work with. They have my back and they understand where I’m coming from when I’m trying to explain an injury. Showing up to work every day is what put me in this position. I don’t feel like I do anything different than any other athletic trainer out there.”

 

A native of Woodlake, Daniel Leon is a recent graduate of Fresno State with a degree in Mass Communication and Journalism. Daniel served as Sports Editor at The Collegian, Fresno State’s student-run newspaper, prior to joining the Roundup. Got a story idea? Email him at editor@clovisroundup.com