Maria peacefully moved beyond this earthly life on October 20, 2023.
Born on August 11, 1952, to the late Casimir “Tony” and Lucy (Lampazzi) Hutsick, Maria is survived by her wife Christine Basile of Southborough, MA, her siblings John Hutsick, Diane Aragon, Toni Watson, Joseph Hutsick and the late Paul Hutsick, and many beloved nieces and nephews.
Maria grew up in Sayre, PA. She earned a Bachelor of Science at Ithaca College and a Masters in Athletic Training at Indiana University.
In 1982 Boston University named Maria the first female athletic trainer in NCAA Division 1 football. She went on to spend 40 years as a pioneer in the field of athletic training.
As the head Athletic Trainer for the USA Women’s National Ice Hockey Team Maria traveled the world as the team trained for the 2002 Salt Lake City Olympics where the team subsequently took home the Silver Medal!
Maria was recruited by the New England Patriots in 2016 as an Athletic Trainer Spotter to address the need to quickly identify possible concussion injuries during game play.
In 2017 Maria was the first athletic trainer inducted into the Ithaca College Hall of Fame for her outstanding contributions to the profession. Maria was an early adopter of “hands on” treatment approach to facilitate realignment of the body to promote healing and efficient movement patterns. She used cutting-edge methods from Graston Techniques to Dry Needling that allow athletes to return to their sport sooner after injury.
After her prestigious and groundbreaking college and professional athletic training career Maria went on to spend 15 years as the Head Athletic Trainer at Medfield (MA) High School where she developed a progressive high school curriculum for students in athletic training and introduced them to the fields of health sciences.
She served on many committees and boards of certification for NATA and was president of the College Athletic Trainers’ Society. Maria volunteered to work the finish line of the Boston Marathon for years.
Visiting hours will be held on October 28, 2023, from 10:00AM – 12:00pm at The Morris-Johnston Funeral Home, 40 Main Street, Southborough, MA 01772. Burial will follow at Southborugh Rural Cemetery, 11 Cordaville Rd, Southborough, MA.
In lieu of flowers please consider donating to the Maria J Hutsick Memorial Scholarship at 31 Woodbury Rd., Southborough, MA 01772.
(Photo and Obituary via Morris-Johnston Funeral Home)
