Zach Parker was named Head Football Athletic Trainer at Appalachian State in April of 2019.
 
The 2012 graduate of Appalachian State University's athletic training program returns to the High Country as the football team's head athletic trainer. As an undergraduate at App State, Parker worked with the football program, along with men's soccer, wrestling and track & field.

Not only will Parker return to his alma mater, he will work alongside a familiar face in first-year head coach Eliah Drinkwitz. Parker served as an assistant football athletic trainer at top-25 NC State for the past four seasons. Drinkwitz was offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the Wolfpack for the past three seasons and is thrilled to be reunited with Parker.
 
Parker's experience spans beyond collegiate athletics and into the National Football League. During the 2014 season, he served as a seasonal assistant athletic trainer during the Detroit Lions' playoff season. He also was a training camp intern for the Washington Redskins from July 2012 through September 2012.
 
In between his positions in the NFL, Parker served as a graduate assistant football athletic trainer at The Citadel. While with the Bulldogs, he oversaw a group of athletic training interns and students and provided medical coverage for overnight camps for football, baseball and basketball. He earned his Master of Science in health, exercise and sport science in May 2014 from The Citadel.
 
Parker holds numerous certifications/licenses and is a member of the National Athletic Training Association and North Carolina Athletic Trainers Association.