BATON ROUGE — LSU senior associate athletic trainer Shelly Mullenix has been invited to speak at the National Athletic Training Association (NATA) annual symposium in New Orleans on Monday, June 20.
Mullenix will speak on behalf of the National Athletic Trainers Association in regards to the release of the guidelines for “Safe Weight Loss and Weight Maintenance Practices in Sport and Exercise.” She will discuss the benefits of promoting a healthy lifestyle within the world of collegiate athletics and the importance of educating parents, coaches, athletic trainers and young athletes on safe nutritional practices.
“As an athletic trainer at LSU, one of my responsibilities is to educate our student-athletes on proper nutrition and exercise protocols to ensure that they have the knowledge to make good nutritional choices,” said Mullenix. “With the right nutritional information, student-athletes leave LSU with a strong sense of self-esteem, self-confidence and are empowered so that they can live their lives healthy and well-balanced. Speaking at the NATA’s media event is a great opportunity for me to educate the public about this important topic.”
Mullenix is beginning her 14th year as part of the LSU Athletic Training staff. She joined the staff in 1997 and plays a key role in servicing the athletic training needs of the football team on a day-to-day basis. She is heavily involved in the education and development of nutritional programs for all of LSU’s sports.
Former LSU gymnast Ashleigh Clare-Kearney, a two time national champion in 2009, will also attend the symposium. She will share her experiences growing up in the world of gymnastics and discuss as a collegiate athlete and how the nutritional education she received at LSU helped her overcome obstacles with self-confidence and body image.
NATA is a professional membership association for certified athletic trainers and other allied health professionals who support the athletic training profession. Founded in 1950, the association now has more than 30,000 members and is helping to make great medical advances in the field of athletic training.