CHL Top Athletic Trainer and Equipment Manager Honored
March 17, 2011 - Central Hockey League (CHL) News Release
TEMPE, AZ (March 17, 2011) - The Central Hockey League (CHL) announced today the winners of the 2010-11 Athletic Trainer of the Year and Gunner Garrett Equipment Manager of the Year awards determined by voting among the equipment managers and athletic trainers from the CHL. Bossier-Shreveport's George Bullock Jr. has been selected the Athletic Trainer of the Year, while Rapid City's Romeo Vivit earns the honor of being named the Gunner Garrett Equipment Manager of the Year.
Athletic trainers and equipment managers were asked to rank the top workers in each category, one to three. A first place vote earned five points, a second place vote earned three points and a third place vote earned one point.
Bullock is currently in his ninth season as the Mudbugs Athletic Trainer and his 16th year in professional hockey, a span during which he has worked over 1,000 career games. The Lebanon, New York native joined the Mudbugs organization in 2002 after working in Greensboro in the ECHL and before that, worked in the CHL with the Wichita Thunder for four seasons.
The Guilford College (Greensboro, NC) graduate earned 24 points during the voting period. Finishing second in the voting was Rapid City's Osama Kassab (the winner of the award in 2009) with 21 points.
Vivit is in his second season as the Equipment Manager/Strength & Conditioning Coach for Rapid City. His first exposure to the team was by way of an on-ice tryout during the Rush's Inaugural Season Training Camp. He later served as the volunteer Equipment Manager and then replaced Shawn ¬ËStixy' Smith (the 2009 CHL Gunner Garret Equipment Manager of the Year) when he moved up to the American Hockey League with Abbotsford. The Park Ridge, Illinois native's passion for playing the game lives on as the Hockey Director for the City of Rapid City and as a volunteer coach, skills developer and consultant for the Rushmore Thunder Youth Hockey Association.
The National American University (Rapid City, SD) graduate won convincingly earning 30 points in the voting process. Finishing in second place was Wichita's Brad Brungardt with 21 points.
The CHL All-Rookie Team will be announced on Friday, March 18 with the remaining CHL Awards announced throughout the next 10 days. The CHL Most Valuable Player recipient will be announced Monday, March 28.
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