Shawn Zink induction to Seahawk Hall of Fame
Posted on Oct. 9, 2025 / Honors and Awards / Subscribe 0
Please welcome our next inductee, John Fenton Zink, Jr. also known as Shawn to all of us at the Nest. Shawn has been the Athletic Trainer at Hilton Head Island High School since 1993, and in that time has worked with countless Seahawk athletes.
Shawn began his career in Riverside, California as the Athletic Trainer and Assistant Coordinator for The S.P.O.R.T. Clinic where he worked from 1989 - 1993. In this position he acquired contracts for Athletic Training coverage for public and private schools, and coordinated staff coverage for 36 schools for football game coverage for Athletic Trainers and physicians. He also coordinated coverage for community events and worked closely with physicians to manage athletic healthcare.
In 1993, Shawn moved to Hilton Head and began work with Hilton Head Sports Medicine, through Hilton Head Hospital, as an Athletic Trainer and Sports Medicine Coordinator. Here he acquired contracts for Certified Athletic Trainer coverage for public and private schools, and he served as the Certified Athletic Trainer for all sports at Hilton Head High School, Hilton Head Preparatory School, and Hilton Head Christian Academy. He also worked closely with physicians to manage athletic healthcare.
Shawn worked at Joyner Sports Medicine from 1998 to 2003 and at Drayer Physical Therapy from 2007 to 2021. Shawn was the Co-Owner and Outreach Manager at Orthosport Physical Therapy from 2003 – 2007. During this time, he secured a grant that allowed him to develop and implement AED’s in the Beaufort County High Schools, along with writing policies and procedures for heat, lightning and concussions, for the Beaufort County School District.
Shawn is currently the Director of Athletic Training at BOSS Orthopedics where he manages all athletic training outreach services and oversees contracts with local schools for Athletic Training services.
Shawn has been certified by the National Athletic Trainers Association since 1989 and by the South Carolina Athletic Trainers Association since 1993. Because of his extensive training and credentials and his exemplary work at Hilton Head Island High School, we have been awarded the Safe School Award each year since 2014.
The Hilton Head Island High School Sports Medicine Program, under Shawn’s guidance, provides hands-on training to high school students who are interested in Sports Medicine/Athletic Training as a career path. Many of the students who participate in this program go on to undergraduate and graduate studies in the field and then on to careers as Athletic Trainers and other healthcare professionals.
Shawn’s other accolades include a title as the Team Trainer for the US Rugby Team from 1993 to 1994, and the US Quidditch Athletic Training Coordinator from 2014 to the present. He was named the South’s Athletic Trainer for the SC North/South All-Star Football Game in 2015, and South Carolina’s Athletic Trainer for the SC/NC Shrine Bowl Football Game in 2018.
Shawn was a member of the South Carolina Athletic Trainers Association – Secondary School Committee from 2018 to 2023, and was the Committee Chairperson from 2021-2023. He has served as the Mid-Atlantic Athletic Trainers Association SC Representative for Secondary Schools from 2021 to 2023.
Lastly Shawn would like to thank his amazing wife Missy for her unwavering support and love that allows him to provide the care needed to the athletes at Hilton Head Island High School. I couldn’t do it without you!
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