David Csillan, MS, LAT, ATC

Athletic Trainer, The Hun School of Princeton

NATA, Hall of Fame 2019

David Csillan served as the athletic trainer for Ewing High School (Ewing, NJ) from 1991 – 2020. Following Ewing, he had a brief stint as the Manager of 5 physical therapy facilities for Princeton Orthopaedic Associates (Princeton, NJ). Presently, he is an athletic trainer at The Hun School of Princeton (Princeton, NJ). For over 30 years, Csillan has continued to provide his services to the medical staff for both the TCS New York City Marathon and Special Olympics New Jersey.

Csillan has held several elected and appointed positions with the National Athletic Trainers’ Association (NATA), Eastern Athletic Trainers’ Association (EATA) and the Athletic Trainers’ Society of New Jersey (ATSNJ). Most notable, he was the NATA District Secretaries’/Treasurers’ Committee Chair, NATA District Two Secretary, ATSNJ President and ATSNJ Secondary Schools Committee Chair. Presently, he serves on the ATSNJ Governmental Affairs and Secondary Schools Committees. Also, he is a mentor for the ATSNJ Student Leadership Committee.

Along with Dr. Douglas Casa, Csillan co-chaired the Pre-Season Heat Acclimatization Guidelines for Secondary School Athletics Task Force, spearheaded by the NATA. He was a contributing author for the third edition of the National Federation of State High School Association’s Sports Medicine Handbook. Csillan continues to be a driving force for secondary school athletics’ health and safety policy changes in New Jersey. The culmination of his work came in 2020 when his collaboration with legislators resulted in New Jersey passing a Heat Participation Policy into law. This policy requires that all interscholastic practices and games conducted during times of heat and humidity follow New Jersey WBGT guidelines, including the availability of cold water immersion.

Csillan was past recipient of the KSI Lifesaving Award, NATA Distinguished Service Award, NATA District 2 Gatorade Secondary School Athletic Trainer of the Year and Old Dominion University College of Health Sciences Top 30 Distinguished Alumni. Over his career, Csillan was inducted into the following Halls of Fame: National Athletic Trainers’ Association, Athletic Trainers’ Society of New Jersey, New Jersey State Interscholastic Athletic Coaches’ Association and Ewing High School Athletics.

Csillan earned a bachelor’s degree in Health and Physical Education with an emphasis in Athletic Training from Trenton State College (now The College of New Jersey) in 1983 and his master’s degree in Athletic Training from Old Dominion University in 1985.