Three athletic trainers with Riverside Health have received honors for their work with local students and partnerships with community physicians, all aimed at helping young athletes be physically and mentally ready for competition.
Jonathan “Andy” Taylor was named the Virginia Athletic Trainers’ Association (VATA) Dr. Vito Periello Secondary School Athletic Trainer of the Year award, becoming the first person in VATA history named as the top AT in two practice settings.
Taylor, AT for Queens Lake Middle School and Bruton High School in York County since 2018, previously worked 18 years as an Associate Athletic Trainer at the College of William & Mary. He was named VATA’s AT of the Year in the College and University category in 2017.
John Knaul, based at York Middle School, is being inducted into both the VATA and Mid-Atlantic Athletic Trainers’ Association (MAATA) Hall of Fames. The latter organization covers Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina, South Carolina, West Virginia and Washington, D.C.
Knaul, also a W&M Associate Athletic Trainer for 18 years, is the first person to be selected for the two halls in the same year. At the VATA level, he joins a fellow Riverside trainer, Steve Cole, who was inducted in 2011 and is currently based at Bruton High School.
Speaking of Steve Cole, he was named as Bruton’s Support Staff Member of the Year for the 2024-25 academic year.
The trainers are known for guiding young athletes and their parents on managing acute and overuse injuries – the latter often linked to rapid growth spurts – with expertise and compassion, while teaching injury prevention practices and the importance of reporting pain.
The three also have educated medical residents and physicians on providing athletic healthcare and sideline coverage at sports events, mentored fellow ATs and AT students, and served in leadership roles for state and national AT associations.
“I’m so proud to have such phenomenal leaders in the profession right here at Riverside,” says John LaRue, Director of Sports Physical Therapy & Performance for Riverside Health. “They demonstrate not only a high level of quality in their clinical skills but dedication to their profession and the student-athletes they all serve.”