(Editor's Note: Montana Western athletics release)
DILLON -- University of Montana Western Head Athletic Trainer Kaleb Birney has received the New Horizon Award from the Northwest Athletic Trainers Association (NWATA). The New Horizon Award is given in recognition of Young Professionals of the NWATA for their unique or immediate contributions in service to the NWATA and the athletic training profession within District 10. This is an award that recognizes volunteerism, advancement of the profession, or service to the NWATA. One must be nominated by a peer in order to win the award.
Birney is currently the head athletic trainer at the University of Montana Western and is a member of the Montana Sports Medicine team with St. James Healthcare in Butte. He is currently finishing his third year with St. James Healthcare and his fifth year at Western.
A native of Sublette, Kan., Birney is the primary athletic trainer for the Bulldog football and men's basketball program, while also overseeing all sports. He was a member of four straight men's basketball national tournament teams (2015-18). Birney serves on the Montana Athletic Training Board of Licensure and is the Public Relations Chair for the Northwest Athletic Trainers Association.
To be eligible for this award, one must be in good standing with the National Athletic Trainers' Association (NATA) and the NWATA, must be considered a young professional (in the first 12 years of certification) at the time the member is nominated and must have made a direct contribution to the profession of athletic training.
