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Aaron Nelson, ATC, LAT, PES, CES

Aaron Nelson, ATC, LAT, PES, CES

Aaron Nelson was hired by the Pelicans in 2019 as the VP, Player Care & Performance. Prior to that, Aaron worked with the Phoenix Suns for 26 seasons, leaving the team as the Head Athletic Trainer and SVP of Athlete Health & Performance. He was only the second Head Athletic Trainer in team history. Nelson, who was the second youngest head athletic trainer in the NBA when he was promoted by the Suns in 2000 and was originally hired as the Suns’ Assistant Athletic Trainer in 1993.Nelson, who was named the Joe O’Toole NBA Athletic Trainer of the Year by the National Basketball Athletic Trainers Association for 2009, is certified and licensed as an athletic trainer, performance enhancement specialist (PES) and corrective exercise specialist (CES).

He is a member of the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA), Louisiana Athletic Trainers Association (LATA) and National Basketball Athletic Trainers Association (NBATA). In May of 2019, he began his 2-year reign as Chairman of the NBATA. In the Spring of 2010, Nelson was appointed by Arizona’s former Governor, Jan Brewer, to serve on the Arizona Board of Athletic Training where he served his final two years as Chairman, before fulfilling his obligation in 2015. Nelson served as the athletic trainer for the USA Basketball Men’s Select Team that helped prepare the 2007 USA Senior National Team for the FIBA Americas Championship in Las Vegas.

Following graduation from Iowa State University in December 1992, Nelson spent the spring1993 semester as a graduate assistant at Arizona State University. While an undergraduate, he was a student athletic trainer for four years under NATA Hall of Famer, Frank Randall. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Education with an emphasis on Athletic Training and a minor in Health. Nelson, who serves on the Science Advisory Board for Fusionetics, received his Master of Science degree in Exercise Science from California University at Pennsylvania. 

In the summer of 2004, Nelson completed a two-week volunteer internship with the United States Olympic Committee (USOC) in the sports medicine department at the Olympic training facility in Chula Vista, Calif., working primarily with track and field and Paralympic athletes. Nelson participated as the athletic trainer for the NBA’s Basketball Without Borders in Ljubljana, Slovenia in the summer of 2011 and in Johannesburg, South Africa in the summer of 2014.

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  • Sports Science Module 1 - Athletic Training and Sports Science: Building a Successful Organizational Model
    Contains 6 Component(s), Includes Credits

    There has been a shift in organizational models which impact ATs over the past several years. From the introduction of the Medical Model to the High Performance Model initiated in the English Premiere League, organizations have expanded staff sizes and repositioned responsibilities. In professional sports, the adoption of the High Performance Model has increased, resulting in the utilization of Sports Science and Sports Scientist in hopes of leveraging performance data and physical measurables to help guide decision-making relating to the training and prevention of injuries in elite athletes. To date, no quantifiable data exists, but informal conversations and discussions with ATs who have direct knowledge, have identified scenarios in which ATs have been bypassed as organizational leaders. This was in part due to either ATs were not familiar with the High Performance Model or because the decision was made to replicate the model exactly as it is utilized in Europe. Due to this shift, the AT role has often been relegated to simply injury management. Return to play decisions and other medical decisions are now being made by the Vice President of High Performance or equivalent positions, held by non-medical personnel. These titles have grown exponentially and the only logical conclusion is all major professional teams and collegiate athletic departments will have these roles among their management structures in the near future. How might this impact amateur sports? How might this impact ATs at all levels? Therefore, the purpose of this presentation is to help fill the knowledge gap regarding different practice models in professional sports and provide recommendations on how ATs can lead successful organizational change.