How To Become An Assistant Athletic Trainer: What It Is and Career Path

What is an assistant athletic trainer and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Quoted expert

Saori Hanaki

As the assistant athletic trainer, you will work under the guidance of a head trainer within the athletic program. Your work will be similar to the head trainer, but there will be little administrative work. You will help provide the services for the assessment, treatment, and training of athletes. You will assist the daily activities of the athletic training department.

As the assistant athletic trainer, you will be required to cover all athletic events and be prepared to rehabilitate injured players. You will travel to assigned games and provide supervision to athletes on your team. Qualifications include a bachelor's in athletic training, sports medicine, or a related field.

You need to be certified by the National Athletic Trainers' Association Board or NATABOC. Desired qualifications include one to two years of experience as a certified athletic trainer in a competitive sport environment. You should also be dependable, knowledgeable, be able to communicate effectively, and meet training and background checks and qualifications. With these qualifications, you can make a good annual salary of $42,000.

What general advice would you give to an assistant athletic trainer?

Saori Hanaki

Program Director & Associate Professor of Exercise and Sport Science, Weber State University

Those who are going into fitness and/or coaching-related areas definitely want to consider getting certifications from respected organizations such as the American College of Sports Medicine and the National Strength & Conditioning Association. I would specifically recommend getting certifications that require a college degree and/or exercise science-specific coursework since many fitness certifications including personal training certifications can be obtained without a college degree. Additionally, extensive practical experiences in health and fitness assessments, exercise prescriptions, and client/patient interactions through internships would be a plus.

ScoreAssistant Athletic TrainerUS Average

Salary

3.7

Avg. Salary $47,132

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

8.1

Growth rate 17%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

6.9

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.53%

Asian 8.35%

Black or African American 9.31%

Hispanic or Latino 14.91%

Unknown 4.00%

White 61.90%

Gender

female 55.68%

male 44.32%

Age - 38

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 38

Stress level

8.1

Stress level is high

7.1 - high

Complexity level

10.0

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

2.4

Work life balance is very poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an assistant athletic trainer

Explore assistant athletic trainer education requirements

Most common assistant athletic trainer degrees

Bachelor's

63.9 %

Master's

15.8 %

Associate

9.4 %

Start to develop specific assistant athletic trainer skills

Skills	Percentages
Rehabilitation	16.78%
Student Athletes	13.31%
CPR	9.03%
NCAA	6.34%
Sports Medicine	6.28%

Obtain the necessary licensing

Becoming an licensed assistant athletic trainer usually require a college degree. However, you need to pass an exam to become a licensed assistant athletic trainer in most of states. 42 states require assistant athletic trainers to have license for their work. You can see the list of states below.

State	Education	Exam	License url
Alabama	Degree required	State exam required	Licensed Athletic Trainer
Alaska	Degree required	Third-party exam required	Athletic Trainer
Arkansas	Degree required	Third-party exam required	Athletic Trainer
Colorado	-	-	Athletic Trainers
Connecticut	Degree required	State exam required	Athletic Trainer

Research assistant athletic trainer duties and responsibilities

Apply, manage and instruct patients on the use and care of orthopedic appliances such as splints and braces.
Provide athletic training to all men's and women's soccer, volleyball, women's basketball, and softball teams.
Sport responsibilities include men's and women's cross country, volleyball, women's basketball, and softball teams.
Provide athletic training service for volleyball and women's basketball team.

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