“Taking a disciplined approach to my health and recovery allowed me to play football at a high level for over 20 years. Throughout my career I’ve had a great team around me to stay proactive about hydration, nutrition, recovery and my overall health.”
Tom Brady
Professional Football

“I think the team approach is still the best to stay healthy. To stay healthy and in the best condition you have to take care of your body by eating right, getting rest and exercising.”
Archie Griffin
College + Professional Football

“I’ve only known one way for healthcare and that is a TEAM effort. The peace of mind knowing that a trusted healthcare professional is a phone call away to give you guidance on a specific concern or recommend someone else to see is invaluable. The best teams I’ve been apart of have been made up of people with different strengths. From knee or back injuries when playing to now preventative care I still have the same approach of using my network of healthcare professionals to stay healthy.”
Katie Smith
College, Professional +Olympic Basketball

“I played football in Texas at TCU. The physicians and trainers monitoring changes in our bodies during the summer months helped us tremendously by allowing us to avoid dehydration and the many associated ills that come with it. Having a relationship with a team of health care professionals allowed for greater service and better relationships to be built.”
Joe Briggs
College Football

“To be a top athlete you need a team of people to help you.”
Bonnie Blair Cruikshank
Olympic Speed Skating

“I played field hockey at The Ohio State University when my greatest life challenge began in January 1990. At that time, I was 17 years old. My intense training and need to perfect my performance that got me to Ohio State was now at risk. My body was fighting against my every move.
A team was created to manage my goals. The head team physician, Dr. John Lombardo, MD, helped me to understand the most likely diagnosis of Multiple Sclerosis. He taught me about the disease, this allowed me to face the unknowns of the illness with confidence. My physical therapist, Juli Dunn, created a training program that allowed me to train to play at a division 1 level in a safe and controlled environment. As I went through this life changing time, my sports phycologist, Dr. A.P. Ferrante, worked with me to handle my mental challenges. This trio of doctors taught me to manage every part of the process.
I take the same approach to managing the disease today. My neurologist is a MS specialist that leads my team. My family doctor, physiatrist, ophthalmologist, neuropsychologist, and my physical therapist all work together to manage my treatment. The team approach that I learned from the very beginning has allowed me to defy every negative expectation that faced me.”
Melanie Blakemore
College Field Hockey

“A lot of what I did required giving attention to muscle imbalances due to specific choreography, for which I saw a massage therapist. The frequent ups and downs of the performance industry lead me to regular appointments with a therapist/psychiatrist as well. I continue both services, although less often throughout the month, even though I’ve retired from dancing professionally.”
Liz Bustle
College + Professional Dance

“The healthcare was great. Dr. Lombardo basically saved my eyesight, to be honest with you. Doc sent me to the specialist Dr. Randy McLaughlin right away and that saved my eyesight. If it weren’t for him reacting so fast, I probably would be blind in my left eye.”
Dwayne Carter
College Football

As an athlete, the aspects of proactive team-based care kept me healthy and performing at my  best were “regular check ups/physicals, physical therapy, injury prevention/treatment.”
Ca’Layci Coffey
College Volleyball

“We had a team of athletic trainers, doctors and nutritionist.”
Doug DiOrio, MD
College Football

“I had a knowledgeable athletic trainer available to provide needed care. I was also lucky enough to have very good doctors when I had two of my elbow surgeries. Following the end of my career, I kept those relationships and had a great experience with my knee surgery.”
Vika Dzyuba
College Women’s Tennis

“The overall care and ability to walk into the training room to get checked out. Even to this day I still have relationships with athletic trainers and doctors that I can lean on for advice in a time of need.”
Tyler Everett
College + Professional Football

“Athletic trainers were always supportive of my needs whether it was from an injury or just helping to prepare my body for practice or matches.”
Heather Gambone
College Volleyball

“As an athlete we didn’t have a ton of resources but the team around us genuinely cared about us as humans and treated us as so communicating well with one another to find the best solution. Now, as a D1 Collegiate Volleyball coach, our team is essential to the success of our team and are a huge part of what we get to do. Each member of our team cares about our student-athletes as more than just athletes and works so well together to create a plan to fit each individuals needs as best as possible.”
Rachel Ferguson
College Volleyball

“Integrated teams in healthcare is key for athletes to perform at their best. In the training room there was the team doc, athletic trainer, and strength coach all working together to keep us on the field.
Now, as a pediatric orthopedic surgeon, my goal is to help patients get back on the field and stay there. That requires working with the athletic trainers, physical therapists, strength coaches, and trying to keep kids healthy so that we can prevent injuries and keep them on the field.”
Daniel Gaines, MD, MBA
College Lacrosse

“Being able to talk to your doctor, to receive a return phone call and just being able to have a relationship where you trust your doctor and feel like you could tell them everything. You feel like you actually can talk to them, speak to them and get return messages.”
Winfield Garnett
College + Professional Football

“They were trying to get out in front of things to keep us healthy. If they saw anything that would give us any issues, they would say something about it and try to address it right away. That way we didn’t have any more issues.”
Reggie Germany
College + Professional Football

“There were multiple aspects of team-based care that kept me healthy, but the main four were athletic trainers, physical therapists, dietitians and strength + conditioning coaches.”
Lauren Getz
College Volleyball

“We had athletic trainers assigned to our team who was always there to help keep us healthy. We also had a nice training room to go to before and after practice for any rehab we needed.”
Elizabeth Hatfield
College Volleyball

“They relieved so much worry and anxiety about anything that was happening with my body. I was able to recover from injuries in half the time. I’m forever grateful for my athletic trainer and team doctors during my time as an athlete.”
Krista Hendrickson
College + Professional + Olympic Volleyball