Athletic Trainer Job Description: 6 Templates
Free athletic trainer job description templates: general, high school, college, clinic, fitness, and per diem. BOC and license fields. Download as DOCX.
Athletic Trainer Job Description Templates
6 free templates: general, high school, college, clinic, fitness, and per diem. Download as DOCX or copy-paste.
The athletic trainer job description sits in a different category from most hiring postings, because the role is a licensed healthcare profession, not a general support job. Whoever writes it, a school athletic director, a small clinic owner, a sports-organization lead, has to get the credentials right and name the setting clearly, because a sideline athletic trainer at a high school and a rehabilitation-focused athletic trainer in a clinic do very different work under different supervision. The generic templates online tend to blur all of that into one block and treat certification as an afterthought.
At FirstHR, we build for small teams that hire without an HR department, and this page covers the role the way organizations actually staff it: six templates, general, high school, college and head AT, clinic and outpatient, fitness and performance, and per diem and event. Each names the setting and treats BOC certification and state licensure as the hard requirements they are. Fill in the brackets and post. For the principles behind any posting, the guide to writing a job description covers the fundamentals.
What Is an Athletic Trainer?
An athletic trainer is a licensed healthcare professional who prevents, evaluates, treats, and rehabilitates injuries and illnesses, working under the direction of or in collaboration with a physician. The work spans injury prevention, on-site and emergency care, evaluation and return-to-play decisions, and rehabilitation. The Bureau of Labor Statistics classifies athletic trainers in healthcare and reports the role typically requires a master's degree, and the O*NET profile centers the work on evaluating and treating activity-related injuries. The market is specialized: federal data counts about 33,900 athletic trainer jobs, with employment projected to grow 11 percent over the decade and roughly 2,400 openings each year.
It is important not to confuse an athletic trainer with a personal or fitness trainer. An athletic trainer is a credentialed healthcare provider who can manage an on-field emergency, make a return-to-play decision, and run a rehabilitation program; a personal trainer leads general fitness and conditioning and does not provide medical care. The setting writes the daily job, and the six templates on this page split along exactly those lines.
Athletic Trainer Responsibilities
Athletic trainer responsibilities span four areas: prevention and evaluation, care and emergency response, rehabilitation, and documentation and communication. The setting shifts the emphasis, but the four hold across schools, clinics, and facilities. These are the responsibilities grouped the way the templates use them.
A strong posting grounds these in specifics: the emergency action plan, the return-to-play protocol, the documentation system, and the physician-direction relationship that defines the AT's scope. For a structured way to scope any role before posting, the guide to defining job responsibilities walks through the process.
Requirements, Certification, and Licensure
Athletic trainer requirements are different from most roles because the credentials are legal necessities, not preferred lines. The SHRM job description tools describe a good posting as a plain-language summary of a position's tasks and duties, and for a licensed healthcare role plain language also means stating the certification and license clearly. Here is how the credential stack works.
| Credential | What it is | Posting line |
|---|---|---|
| CAATE-accredited degree | Degree from an accredited athletic training program, often master's | Required; increasingly master's level |
| BOC certification (ATC) | National Board of Certification credential | Required, hard requirement |
| State license / registration | State regulation of athletic training practice | Required in the state of practice |
| CPR / AED / First Aid | Current emergency-care certification | Required and kept current |
| Setting-specific clearances | Background check, minor clearances for schools | Required for school and youth roles |
The national credential is administered by the Board of Certification for the Athletic Trainer, the accredited education path runs through CAATE, and nearly every state regulates the practice through a license or registration per the BOC state regulation resources. Write these as hard requirements: hiring someone without the proper credentials to perform athletic training services creates regulatory and liability exposure. Keep every other line job-related and neutral, since the EEOC rules on job advertisements prohibit postings that express preferences based on protected characteristics.
Which Template Should You Use?
Pick the template by setting; the credentials are the same across all six, but the scope, supervision, and schedule differ enough that the matched version reads more credibly to the candidates who work in that setting. Use this guide to choose.
6 Free Athletic Trainer Job Description Templates
Download all six as a single Word document or copy individual templates. Each follows the same structure: organization context, job summary, responsibilities across the four areas, credential requirements stated as hard requirements, compensation, and how to apply. Fill in the brackets before you post.
Template 1: General Athletic Trainer
The universal certified-ATC version: injury prevention, evaluation, emergency care, rehabilitation, and documentation, with BOC and state-license fields built in.
Template 2: High School Athletic Trainer
The school version: practice and game coverage, on-field emergency care, return-to-play under state concussion law, and clearances for working with minors.
Template 3: College / Head Athletic Trainer
The collegiate and head version: clinical care plus program leadership, supervising assistant ATs and students, and coordinating physician and governing-body requirements.
Template 4: Clinic / Outpatient Athletic Trainer
The clinic version for a small practice: working alongside physicians and PTs on evaluation and rehabilitation, plus any contracted outreach coverage.
Template 5: Fitness / Performance Athletic Trainer
The facility version: injury prevention, return-to-activity, and performance programming for members, member-facing and within professional scope.
Template 6: Per Diem / Event Athletic Trainer
The assignment-based version: on-site coverage and emergency response for events, with classification handled carefully for per diem or 1099 arrangements.
How the Role Changes by Setting
The single most useful thing an athletic trainer posting can do, after getting the credentials right, is name the setting, because the supervision structure, schedule, and population served change the job substantially. Here is what differs and which template matches.
| Setting | What changes | Template |
|---|---|---|
| High school | Sideline coverage, concussion law, minors, parent communication | High School |
| College / program | Program leadership, supervising assistants and students | College / Head AT |
| Clinic / outpatient | Physician and PT collaboration, rehabilitation focus | Clinic / Outpatient |
| Fitness / performance | Member-facing prevention and return-to-activity | Fitness / Performance |
| Events / per diem | Assignment-based coverage, classification care | Per Diem / Event |
Matching the template to the setting attracts candidates who fit the exact role and avoids the mismatch of hiring a sideline-experienced AT into a clinical-rehabilitation job. Adjacent clinical roles in a small practice follow the same structure when you staff them: the physical therapist and occupational therapist templates use the same credential-first approach.
Athletic Trainer Salary
Athletic trainer pay reflects a credentialed, master's-level healthcare profession. Anchor on federal data, then price for the setting and local market.
Pay varies by setting and by local market, with experience and program leadership moving the number upward. Because athletic training is a credentialed profession in a tight candidate pool, an employer competing for a qualified ATC should publish a salary range anchored to the setting rather than posting without one. Credentialed candidates have options, and a missing range reads as an employer who has not done the work.
How to Write an Athletic Trainer Job Description
A strong athletic trainer posting takes about twenty minutes once you settle the setting and the credential requirements. Here is the process the templates are built around. If this hire is part of staffing a small clinic or practice, the small business hiring guide covers the steps around the posting itself.
Hiring an Athletic Trainer for a Small Clinic or Facility
Most athletic trainers work in schools, colleges, and hospitals, large institutions with formal sports-medicine functions. But a meaningful minority work in small physical therapy and sports-medicine clinics, performance and fitness facilities, and event organizations, and those small employers face the same credential, documentation, and onboarding requirements as the big ones, usually without a dedicated HR department to manage them. Here is how to write the posting for that reality.
After You Hire: Onboarding an Athletic Trainer
Onboarding a licensed healthcare professional has elements a small clinic or facility should handle deliberately. The paperwork track comes first: the offer with the salary and employment type in writing, the I-9, tax forms, and state reporting, plus policy acknowledgments signed. Then the credential and clinical layer, which is where small employers most often slip. Verify and record the credentials before the first day of practice: BOC certification, the state license, and current CPR, AED, and first aid, and store them with their renewal dates so none lapses while the AT is practicing, because an expired credential is a liability problem the moment something goes wrong. Establish the clinical structure: the physician direction or collaboration relationship, the scope of practice, the documentation and medical-records system, and the emergency action plan for each venue. For school-facing roles, complete background checks and any clearances for working with minors, and walk through privacy rules and communication protocols.
The documents around the hire follow the usual sequence: the offer letter template for the terms, the onboarding plan template for the first-week credential and clinical ramp, and the training plan template for setting-specific training with due dates. The adjacent clinical roles use the same credential-first structure: the physical therapist and occupational therapist templates. FirstHR connects the paper and onboarding layer, e-signature for the offer and acknowledgments, document storage for BOC, state license, and CPR certifications with their renewal dates, training assignments with completion records, and the onboarding checklist, in one place built for small clinics and facilities without an HR department.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is an athletic trainer?
An athletic trainer is a licensed healthcare professional who specializes in preventing, evaluating, treating, and rehabilitating injuries and illnesses, particularly those related to physical activity and sport. Athletic trainers work under the direction of or in collaboration with a physician and provide services such as injury-prevention programming, on-site and emergency care, evaluation and return-to-play decisions, and rehabilitation. They are not the same as personal or fitness trainers: athletic training is a regulated healthcare profession requiring a degree from an accredited program, national certification, and a state license. Most athletic trainers work in educational settings such as colleges and high schools, with others in hospitals, physician offices, sports-medicine and physical therapy clinics, fitness and performance facilities, and with professional or amateur sports teams. Federal data counts about 33,900 athletic trainer jobs, with employment projected to grow 11 percent over the decade, much faster than average, and roughly 2,400 openings each year.
What are an athletic trainer's responsibilities?
Athletic trainer responsibilities fall into four areas. Prevention and evaluation: evaluating injuries and illnesses, making return-to-play decisions per protocol, designing and delivering injury-prevention programs, and conducting pre-participation screenings. Care and emergency response: providing immediate and emergency care, executing the emergency action plan, and applying therapeutic modalities, taping, bracing, and protective equipment. Rehabilitation: developing and supervising rehabilitation and reconditioning programs and supporting safe return to sport or activity. Documentation and communication: maintaining accurate medical records within privacy rules and communicating with physicians, coaches, athletes, and families within professional scope. The setting shifts the emphasis: a high-school athletic trainer spends much of the job on practice and game coverage and on-field emergency response, a clinic athletic trainer focuses on evaluation and rehabilitation alongside physicians and physical therapists, and a head athletic trainer adds program leadership and supervision. Across all settings the work is performed under physician direction or collaboration and within the athletic trainer's licensed scope of practice.
What certification and licensure does an athletic trainer need?
Athletic training is a regulated healthcare profession with credential requirements that are not optional. The national standard is the Board of Certification credential, Athletic Trainer Certified or ATC, earned by graduating from an athletic training program accredited by the Commission on Accreditation of Athletic Training Education (CAATE) and passing the BOC exam. On top of national certification, nearly every state regulates the practice of athletic training through a license, registration, or certification, with specific requirements varying by state, so an athletic trainer must hold the credential required in the state where they practice. Most athletic trainers also maintain current CPR, AED, and first-aid or emergency cardiac care certification, and the typical entry-level education is increasingly a master's degree, with national data indicating most athletic trainers hold one. For an employer, this means BOC certification and the relevant state license belong in the posting as hard requirements rather than preferred lines, because hiring someone to perform athletic training services without the proper credentials creates real regulatory and liability exposure.
What should an athletic trainer job description include?
A complete athletic trainer job description names the organization and the population served, states the reporting line and the supervision structure, and lists responsibilities across the four core areas: prevention and evaluation, care and emergency response, rehabilitation, and documentation and communication. It states the credentials as hard requirements, a degree from a CAATE-accredited athletic training program, BOC certification (ATC), the relevant state license or registration, and current CPR, AED, and first aid, because these are legal and professional necessities rather than preferences. The strongest postings also name the setting and scope clearly, since a high-school sideline role, a clinical rehabilitation role, and an event-coverage role differ substantially in schedule, supervision, and duties. Include the salary range anchored to the setting, the employment type, any travel or weekend requirements, and for school roles the background check and clearances for working with minors. Close with how to apply, asking for certifications, and an equal opportunity statement. Naming the setting and treating the credentials as non-negotiable is what separates a strong AT posting from a generic one.
What is the difference between an athletic trainer and a personal trainer?
They are different professions with different training, credentials, and scope, and confusing them in a job posting signals an employer who does not understand the role. An athletic trainer is a licensed healthcare professional who prevents, evaluates, treats, and rehabilitates injuries under physician direction, requiring an accredited degree, BOC certification, and a state license. A personal or fitness trainer designs and leads exercise and conditioning programs for general fitness and does not provide medical care, diagnose injuries, or require a healthcare license, though they may hold a voluntary certification. The distinction matters legally and practically: an athletic trainer can manage an on-field emergency, make a return-to-play decision, and run a rehabilitation program, while a personal trainer cannot perform those healthcare functions. If your organization needs injury care and rehabilitation, you need a certified athletic trainer; if you need general fitness instruction, that is a different role. Writing the posting for the correct profession, with the correct credentials, is the first step in hiring the right person.
How much does an athletic trainer make?
Federal data puts the median annual wage for athletic trainers at $60,250 as of May 2024, with the lowest ten percent earning under $45,380 and the highest ten percent above $84,100, across about 33,900 jobs, and employment is projected to grow 11 percent over the decade, much faster than average, with roughly 2,400 openings each year. Pay varies by setting: federal data shows athletic trainers in arts, entertainment, and recreation and in educational services around or somewhat above the median, with hospital and therapist-office settings somewhat below, though local market, experience, and scope all move the number. Athletic training is a credentialed, master's-level profession in a tight candidate pool, so an employer competing for a qualified ATC should publish a salary range anchored to the setting and the local market rather than posting without one, because credentialed candidates have options and a missing range reads as an employer who has not done the work.
Do athletic trainers work in small businesses, or only schools and hospitals?
Most athletic trainers work in larger institutions: federal data shows the largest shares in educational services and hospitals, which together account for a majority of the profession. But a meaningful minority work in settings that include small businesses, the offices of physical, occupational, and speech therapists, and arts, entertainment, and recreation, which together cover physical therapy and sports-medicine clinics, performance and fitness facilities, and event or recreation organizations. Some athletic trainers are also self-employed or work per diem covering events. So while a small independent clinic, performance facility, or sports organization hiring a certified athletic trainer is less common than a school district or hospital doing so, it does happen, and those small employers face the same credential, documentation, and onboarding requirements as the large ones, often without a dedicated HR department to manage them. The templates on this page include clinic, fitness, and per diem versions written for exactly those smaller settings.
What happens after I hire an athletic trainer?
The standard paperwork comes first: the offer in writing with the salary and employment type stated, the I-9 with documents verified, the W-4 and state tax forms, and state new hire reporting. Then onboarding, which for a licensed healthcare role has specific elements a small employer should handle deliberately. Verify and record the credentials before the first day of practice: BOC certification, the state license, and current CPR, AED, and first aid, and store them with their renewal dates so none lapses while the athletic trainer is practicing, because an expired credential is a liability problem. Establish the clinical structure: the physician direction or collaboration relationship, the scope of practice, the documentation and medical-records system, and the emergency action plan for each venue or facility the AT will cover. For school-facing roles, complete background checks and any clearances for working with minors. Walk through privacy rules and the communication protocols with coaches, physicians, and families. FirstHR handles the paper and onboarding layer for small clinics and facilities: e-signature for the offer and policy acknowledgments, document storage for BOC, state license, and CPR certifications with their renewal dates, training assignments with completion records, and the onboarding checklist in one place, built for teams without an HR department.