NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Titans assistant athletic trainer Don Moseley was chosen as the AFC winner of the Tim Davey NFL Assistant Athletic Trainer Award last week in Indianapolis.
Moseley was presented the framed honor and a monetary award during a meeting of the Professional Football Athletic Trainers Society. Moseley was nominated for the award by Titans head athletic trainer Brad Brown and Houston Texans head athletic trainer Geoff Kaplan, who previously worked with Moseley and Brown for the Titans/Oilers franchise.
"Everybody in that group is more than deserving of the recognition, Moseley said. "It's really nice when they single you out like that. It's obviously a very humbling experience, but also very appreciated when your peers select you for an award like that. That's what makes it so special."
This is the third year of the award, which is named in honor of an employee who worked with the New York Jets and NFL for a total of 33 years. Davey was an assistant athletic trainer with the Jets from 1969-77, when he joined the team's operations division. Davey stayed with Jets operations until 1991 when he became the NFL's coordinator of stadium operations. The award honors Davey's commitment to doing the best job possible, his dependability and his sense of humor by recognizing other assistant trainers with similar qualities.
Moseley met Davey when he worked as a liaison between team athletic trainers and the league. At that point, Davey was in charge of AFC/NFC championship games and the Pro Bowl operations.
"He had a lot of passion and concern for everybody, but he was a really interesting, colorful character that really did look out for the athletic trainers because he had a soft spot for us because he was one of us," Moseley recalled.
Moseley and Brown are preparing for their 27th season with the Titans organization. Brown joked that anyone who could work for him that long "deserves an award."
"I don't look at him as much as an assistant as I do an associate," Brown said. "We've worked side-by-side and done this together for that long. It's an award they present every year, and I just felt like he was certainly as worthy about it as anybody that's put in his time and been a great assistant to me. I'm very proud of him for getting it and honored to nominate him for it."
Brown said Moseley's qualifications, organizational skills and personality were reasons he nominated Moseley.
"He's kind of everybody's friend in the building, is very respected for what he does and is very respectful of everybody in the building," Brown said. "Everybody thinks a lot of him. That's kind of his personality. You've got to have a personality where you can deal with people, and he fits that mold very well."
Moseley and Brown said it's been great to see the evolution in athletic training that's been brought by medical advancements.
"When we first started, it was just Brad and myself. Now, we have (assistant athletic trainer) Casey (Carter) and the two athletic trainers from Baptist Hospital (Jon Takahashi and Jerome Reid), and it seems like we still don't have enough hands to take care of all the athletes," Moseley said. "It's really evolved. The athletes expect a lot more from you, and the whole process has evolved where it's a lot more proactive type of treatment and therapy. The surgeries have advanced. It's a lot more progressive rehab process.
"Casey and Jon and Jerome are just as much of the award as anybody," Moseley added. "They selected me, but it could have easily gone to any of them. It's a team effort."
Titans athletic trainers have been busy this offseason working with many players who suffered season-ending injuries last year and others who had surgery when the season ended. The combine offered a chance for athletic trainers to log continuing education credit hours in seminars, attend meetings and help with the medical exams of the more than 300 football prospects that were invited to the annual showcase.
Moseley said the athletic training staff will stay busy between now and April 22, when the Titans are scheduled to begin their 2013 offseason program, and that's great with him.
"The best thing about my situation is I'm working for one of my best friends," Moseley said. "That doesn't always happen and is a very fortunate situation when you get to do what you love to do in the environment you love to do it. You feel very blessed and privileged for that situation."
