Biography
Dr. Zach Garrett is a native of Clarksburg, WV and currently serves as the Program Director for Marshall University’s Athletic Training Program. From 2012-2019, Zach served as an Assistant Professor and Clinical Education Coordinator in the college’s School of Kinesiology. He is currently an Assoicate Professor. He’s a proud Son of Marshall with an undergraduate degree in Athletic Training and dual Master’s degrees in Exercise Science and Health Care Administration. Zach completed his Doctor of Health Science degree at Nova Southeastern University in the fall of 2016.
Zach has a variety of experiences in the field of athletic training while practicing in high school, collegiate, professional, and clinical settings. He currently practices at Riverside Physical Therapy part-time. His research interests include injury prevention, concussion education and prevention, clinical education, and professional ethics. He is currently conducting collaborative research evaluating forces generated during tackling in rugby and football. Dr. Garrett has also been awarded the NFL/AHA Back to Sports grant, which is a funded program that provides parents and coaches free CPR training and injury prevention and education for youth athletes.
He serves on the West Virginia Athletic Trainers’ Association Executive Board as the President-Elect and was formally the Secretary. During his time on the executive committee, Zach has been an advocate for obtaining athletic training licensure, promoting the NATA Safe Schools Sports Award, and served as the WVATA Annual Symposium planner for two years. Since 2012, Dr. Garrett has served as the club adviser for the Marshall University Athletic Trainers’ Association, which provides students the opportunity to network professionally, fund raise, socialize with students interested in sports medicine, and provide community service to the tri-state area. In 2016, Zach began serving on the NATA Committee on Professional Ethics which educates and ensures the enforcement of the NATA Code of Ethics. In 2017, Zach was awarded WVATA Athletic Training Educator of the Year and was selected to participate in the NATA Leadership Academy. In fall of 2018, Dr. Garrett was selected to participate in the inaugural class of the John Marshall Leadership Fellows Program. Zach currently resides in Huntington, WV with his wife Kathryn and daughter Sofia.