Kenny Howard, ATC | Chad Abrams, ATC | Dr. Robert McAlindon, MD | Dr. Wyn Lyle, MD |
Steve Kisor, PT | Justin Sandal, PT | Trip Garner, PT, ATC | Jeff Cotten, PTA, ATC | 2010-2011 Fellows |
Former Fellows
Born in Crossville, Ala., Kenny Howard came to Auburn to study agriculture, but instead became the protégé of trainer and track coach Wilbur Hutsell. While serving as head athletic trainer from 1948-76, he comforted athletes in pain, helped them get back on their feet and often enabled them to come back stronger and faster than they were before. He also prevented minor injuries from becoming major ones and warded off an incalculable number of potential problems by detecting the warning signs.
Howard provided care for thousands of Auburn athletes before becoming the university’s first assistant athletic director for Olympic sports in 1976. He served as the trainer for the U.S. track team in the 1952 Olympics and for the swim team during the 1976 Montreal Games.
He retired from Auburn in 1980 and served as director of sports relations for the Hughston Sports Medicine Foundation until 1995. His career highlights include induction into the National Athletic Trainers Hall of Fame, the Alabama Trainers Association Hall of Fame, the Alabama Sports Hall of Fame, the Hughston Society, the Auburn A-Club and Lettermen Club and the City of Auburn Tiger Trail.
Chad C. Abrams received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Education from Auburn University in June of 1992. During that time he worked with Auburn University’s football program from March 1990 to June 1992 as a student trainer. He has been an athletic trainer for Reeltown High School since 1984. At the inception of the Kenny Howard Fellowship in 1998, he served as a supervising athletic trainer for fellows who had not received their certification prior to being accepted into the program. He is a member of NATA, NATABOC, ALATA, and SEATA.
As the Director of the Kenny Howard Fellowship, one of his main responsibilities includes overseeing the community outreach and the athletic training fellowship program at area high schools. He is responsible for the management of medical coverage for various events in the community, organizes educational workshops, advises the Kenny Howard Fellowship newsletter, and partners with Auburn University’s Department of Kinesiology by guest lecturing and performing research.
Dr. McAlindon is a native of Michigan where he attended college and received his undergraduate degree. His graduate studies include biology at the University of Detroit and physiology at Georgetown University. He also attended medical school and completed an orthopaedic surgical residency at Georgetown University. Before becoming a member of our elite staff, Dr. McAlindon completed an orthopaedic fellowship at The Hughston Clinic.
Dr. McAlindon is certified by and is a member of the American Board of Orthopaedic Surgeons. He holds medical licensure in Virginia, Georgia, Alabama, Colorado, and the District of Columbia. Dr. McAlindon specializes in general orthopaedics with an interest in sports medicine and is an affliate professor in the Department of Kinesiology at Auburn University. He continues doing research in sports medicine and trauma at the East Alabama Orthopaedics and Sports Medicine and he serves as the chief of orthopaedics for the Kenny Howard Athletic Training Fellowship.
Much of Dr. McAlindon's spare time is spent with his wife Sherri, their twins, Julia and James, and their dog, Jackson.
Dr. McAlindon's leisure activities include bicycling and motocross.
Dr. Lyle is a native of Auburn, Alabama, and graduated from Auburn High School and Auburn University. During college, he was the kicker on the Tiger's 1987-1989 S.E.C. Champion football teams. His honors include the Cliff Hare Award and All-S.E.C. Selections. He continued playing football after college professionally with the Phoenix Cardinals and the Birmingham Fire.
Thereafter, Dr. Lyle earned his medical degree from The Chicago Medical School and completed an orthopedic surgical residency at Wright State University School of Medicine. Before becoming a member of our staff, he completed a sports medicine fellowship at The Hughston Clinic. He is now a member of the East Alabama Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Clinic at East Alabama Medical Center.
Dr. Lyle is board certified by the American Board of Orthopedic Surgery, a member of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, and a member of the Christian Medical & Dental Society. He has been active in orthopaedic research and has presented his work at various meetings. He practices general orthopedics with a special interest in arthroscopy and sports medicine.
Dr. Lyle and his wife, Catherine, have two sets of twin boys, John and Andrew and Christopher and James. They also have a daughter, Margaret. In his leisure time, he enjoys golfing, running, softball, and attending Auburn University sporting events.
Steve Kisor is a native of Centre, Alabama. He graduated from Auburn University with a Bachelor of Science in Education and A Masters of Education in Exercise Physiology. Steve was a graduate assistant in the Health and Human Performance Department where he taught undergraduate health and physical education courses and assisted with the campus wellness program for Auburn University faculty and staff. Upon graduation, he worked at The Human Performance and Rehabilitation Center of Columbia, SC. Steve later completed his degree in physical therapy from the Medical University of South Carolina and returned to HPRC-Columbia as a staff physical therapist.
In 1999-2000, Steve was on faculty at the Medical University of South Carolina as coordinator of the orthopedics curriculum at their distance education program in Greenville, SC. Steve is currently Director of Physical Therapy with Rehab Works-Auburn clinic. He is also co-owner of the Sports Academy, Opelika, Alabama, which is an indoor facility where training and conditioning for all sports are conducted.
Steve is an active member on the national and state level of American Physical Therapy Association as well as the Sports Physical Therapy section. He has presented at physical therapy and athletic training conferences on different topics in his field including, rehabilitation of the foot and ankle, treating the throwing athlete and prevention of injuries in the adolescent athlete.
Steve is married to Beth Bonds Kisor, a physical therapist, and has two sons, Matthew and William.
Jeffery N. Cotten received his A.A.S as a Physical Therapist Assistant in 1997 from Wallace College in Dothan, Alabama. He received his B.L.A. with a concentration in Exercise Science in 2000 from Auburn University Montgomery. He then earned his certification as an Athletic Trainer in 2002.
Jeff currently works at Rehab Works in Auburn, Alabama; treating a wide range of orthopedic and sports injuries, with a specific interest in treating disorders of the spine. Jeff also teaches in the Physical Therapist Assistant Program at South University in Montgomery, Alabama. In addition, he serves as a clinical athletic trainer for the Kenny Howard Athletic Training Fellowship.
2010-2011 Kenny Howard Fellows
L to R: Dr. Win Lyle, Katie Varnado, Sara Mullinax, Rebecca Jones, Kenny Howard, Brooke Jackson, Erin Chatwin and
Tamantha Wofford
A joint venture between East Alabama Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine, RehabWorks Physical Rehabilitation and Auburn University’s Department of Kinesiology
Privacy Statement