Sports: New trainer has big-time background

Wingate University has added class of 2004 graduate Tim Singleton to the athletic training staff. Tim will be the trainer for the football team this fall. Tim's last athletic training stop was at University of West Georgia, ironically the Wingate Bulldogs’ first opponent of the 2009 season.

Tim has a great pedigree of athletic training background. Tim became a graduate assistant at Georgia Tech for two years, and while there he helped rehab now one of the top receivers in the NFL, Calvin Johnson of the Detroit Lions. Tim also won two ACC championship rings with Georgia Tech’s women’s tennis team. Tim helped the ladies rehab and manage their injuries quickly so they could make it back on the courts to compete for those ACC titles.

While at Tech, Tim said he was also was exposed to people with great character. He said Tech’s head football coach Chan Gailey was an always polished professional and great leader and teacher.

Tim later on did athletic training for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the Atlanta Falcons for two years.

Tim was introduced to the most modern technology in medicine and met more great character building people like former Falcons coach Jim Mora and former Tampa Bay’s defensive coordinator and motivational speaker Monte Kiffin.

Tim said his reason for choosing to come to work at Wingate University was “to continue my career in the right direction, and the University athletic training is headed in that direction."

Tim said his background as a former football player at Wingate will help him in his new job. "It helps me relate to the athlete," he said.

Tim has already started work at Wingate rehabbing player’s injuries and preparing for training camp when an athletic training staff is literally a football player's life line. Look for Tim on the football sideline real soon.

-- Jeremiah Covington