Allen Park, Mich. – The Detroit Lions announced today that they have hired Kevin Bastin as the team’s head athletic trainer.
Bastin (pronounced bas-teen) will oversee the team’s medical operations, including the athletic training staff and team physicians, in addition to the numerous medical specialists who work closely with the players’ care and physical rehabilitation.
“Kevin brings extensive knowledge and expertise in the field of athletic medicine and the care of NFL players,” said President Tom Lewand. “He will provide exceptional direction to our medical support and athletic training initiatives. Nothing is more important than our players’ health, and we believe Kevin will contribute significantly to our ability to provide world-class medical support in all areas, including maintenance, diagnosis, education, treatment and rehabilitation.”
In addition to Bastin, the Lions’ athletic training staff includes: Coordinator of Athletic Medicine/Athletic Trainer Dean Kleinschmidt, Assistant Athletic Trainer Joe Recknagel, Assistant Athletic Trainer Chris Curran and Team Physical Therapist Steve Scher.
Kleinschmidt will be retiring during the 2014 season after previously serving 40 distinguished seasons as an athletic trainer in the NFL, including the past seven with the Lions. He will continue supporting the team’s athletic training staff as he transitions into retirement.
Bastin brings more than 25 years of athletic training experience to the Lions staff, including 20 years in the NFL. He was the assistant athletic trainer for the Washington Redskins from 1989-2001 before being named the Houston Texans head athletic trainer in 2001, a role he fulfilled until 2009. Most recently, he served as the director of athletic training services for the Memorial Hermann Ironman Sports Institute in Houston.
While with the Redskins, Bastin was a member of the team’s Super Bowl championship run during the 1991 season. In 1995, the Washington training staff was named Athletic Training Staff of the Year by the NFL.
Bastin began his career as a clinical athletic trainer with Morgantown Physical Therapy Associates in 1985 before becoming the assistant athletic trainer at the University of Louisville from 1986-88. He has served as the secretary for the board of directors for the Professional Football Athletic Trainers Society, as well as the National Center for Human Performance’s board in Houston.
A native of Quiet Dell, W.Va., Bastin graduated from Roosevelt-Wilson High School in 1980. He earned a bachelor’s degree in physical education and athletic training from West Virginia University in 1984 before going on to receive a master’s degree in sport health from the University of Miami (Fla.). In 2013, he was inducted into West Virginia University’s College of Physical Activity and Sport Science Hall of Fame.
