John Smith, 43, begins his ninth year with the University of Delaware athletic training staff and his first as the Blue Hens' head athletic trainer for the 2009-10 season. He works extensively with the UD football program as its head trainer and has day-to-day responsibilities at practices and all games.
Smith, who served as an assistant since joining the UD staff in 2001-02, took over the head athletic trainer position this summer for long-time trainer Keith Handling, who was appointed as a full-time professor in the UD College of Health Sciences effective September 1, 2008. Smith becomes just the fourth person to serve as head athletic trainer at Delaware, joining Gus Seaburg (1940-46), Dr. C. Rylander (1946-88), and Handling (1988-2008). Handling served as an assistant and as head athletic trainer for 36 years.
Smith earned his bachelor’s degree in human development in 1988 from Penn State University and his master’s degree in physical education from West Virginia University in 1989.
A member of the National Athletic Trainers Association, Eastern Athletic Trainers Association, and Delaware Athletic Trainers Association, Smith worked for three years as a student athletic trainer at Penn State. He began his career as a graduate assistant trainer at West Virginia University in 1988-89.
He served as an athletic trainer at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tenn. from 1989 until 1995, working the Commodore football, basketball, and golf programs. In addition, he served as coordinator of the Vanderbilt University Sports Medicine Student Athletic Training Program.
Smith returned to Penn State in 1995 and served six seasons as assistant trainer, working with the Nittany Lions nationally-ranked women’s volleyball, men’s basketball, and baseball squads.
A native of Philadelphia, Smith and his wife, Beth, have two children, Meghan (17) and Sean (11). Beth is an associate professor in the College of Health Sciences at the University of Delaware.
Smith's daughter, Meghan, will be a freshman at Villanova University this fall (2009) and will compete for the Wildcat cross country and track & field teams as a distance runner.
Head Athletic Trainer John Smith