Sports medicine is my area of passion. Most importantly in the adolescent athlete and/or secondary school level. Athletic Training as a profession is so diverse and exposes me to many realms of athletic performance. As a student in the athletic training program at North Dakota State University, I fell in love with the immediate and emergent care side of athletic training. Running on the field to care for the injured athlete is and always will be my favorite part of this job. 

After ten years of working with athletes, mostly at the high school level, but part time in a physical therapy clinic, I realized that high school athletes are the athletes that need athletic trainers the most. Over the course of my career I have realized the importance having a team of healthcare providers working together to care for athletes. The athletic trainer is the gatekeeper, from point of injury, to physician visits, to physical therapy and rehabilitation, and finally return to play. The athletic trainer can assist in management and coordination of care to make sure every athlete is returning under the best possible circumstances. 

In 2020, I recognized the need for athletes to receive post-rehabilitative, pre-return to participation care. I began my Master's studies of Applied Exercise Physiology with a focus on Strength and Conditioning. This focus allows me to help athlete full return to sport. I am lucky, my passions, align with a national group of leaders from Select Physical Therapy, specifically the Select Sports Center for Excellence. They have a philosophy of returning athletes to full performance based on a gradual progression of return to play, including return to training, return to participation, and return to performance/competition.