Kalisiak receives national Hall of Fame honor

The “Doc” is going into the National Athletic Trainers’ Association Hall of Fame.

Roger “Doc” Kalisiak, who was Hoffman Estates athletic trainer from 1975 until his retirement in 2007, will be inducted at the NATA’s 63rd annual meeting June 28 in St. Louis. Kalisiak and Bill Tessendorf, who worked in the NFL for 38 years and is also in this year’s NATA Hall of Fame class, are Northern Illinois University graduates who were mentored by Al Kranz, who was the school’s first certified athletic trainer.

“This honor means a great deal to me,” said Kalisiak in a release from NIU, where he was an assistant athletic trainer from 1973-75. “It validates many of the things I strived for in my career. Northern Illinois gave me a great background and the tools to be successful and I would not be where I am if not for NIU. I was surprised and humbled to receive this honor; it took a lot of hard work and effort and much of the credit goes to Al Kranz who became like my second father at NIU. He created a wonderful family atmosphere within the department and that is why it is special to be inducted with Bill (Tessendorf) who was like an older brother to me.”

Kalisiak won the National High School Athletic Trainer of the Year award in 1983 and was inducted into the Illinois Athletic Trainers Association Hall of Fame in 1991. He served as president of the IATA for eight years, was a president of the Great Lakes Athletic Trainers Association and led the push in the mid-1980s requiring all athletic trainers in Illinois to be licensed.

Honorees are recognized for their work in advancing the athletic training profession, including scholarly research, clinical advancements and strong leadership. Since inducting its first class in 1962, the Hall of Fame has inducted 260 members.

Tessendorf and Kalisiak will be recognized at the NIU Department of Kinesiology and Physical Education’s Lecture Series at 7 p.m. Thursday in the McCareins Auditorium at the Yordon Center in DeKalb.