Who am I and how did I get here…

I was fairly bad at little league. I never understood why I had to stand in a chalk outline and let someone throw a hard object at me with nothing but a stick to protect myself with. Then I discovered American football. No more chalk outline and I got to hit people without going to the principal’s office. While I was notoriously slow on the baseball diamond, I played positions in football that required me to hit people rather than run away from them.

As spring rolled around a few of my new football teammates decided to trick me into coming out for track and field to try out for the 4x100m relay. I not only made the team but was asked by the coach to run the 400m and, eventually, the 800m and 1500m. I loved it. Everyone thought I was out of my mind but I was winning races. However, I still fancied myself a football player, though at 16 years old, 5’8’’ tall and, even though I lived in the weight room, 132lbs, something had to give.

Turns out that something was my lumbopelvic complex in the form of disc herniation and sacroiliac dysfunction, oh, and the realization that I likely wasn’t going to be a 6’6’’ 280lb defensive end. Luckily I was still winning races. A great cross country and track coach, a few more wins, and a few more injuries than I would have liked, and I was off to Southern Oregon University to compete and study health and physical education.

Undergrad & Beyond - 2001-2009

Another great coach, a couple more wins, a litany of illnesses and injuries and like most college graduates, and those post-collegiates who attempt to extend their competitive careers, I had a fair amount to sort out. Scheduling flexibility, reasonable pay, and most importantly gym access moved me toward personal training. However, as injuries continued to hamper my own training and ability to compete, I began to consider what career avenues were available to me. The logical pathways were secondary school teacher, track and field coach, or physical therapist.

Around this time I was invited to coach at Bend Oregon’s Summit High School and was bit by the coaching bug. To pay for my new coaching habit I began working in healthcare as an aide and assistant in physical therapy and chiropractic offices exploring these career paths further.

British Columbia & Kettlebells - 2009-2015

After a bit of success as a coach I was afforded the opportunity to study and coach at the University of British Columbia where I worked with world class athletes and was mentored by world class academics and coaches. I went on to work for some of the best including Florida State University and University of California, Berkeley. However, I still had to pay for my coaching habit leading me to become a strength and conditioning coach and massage therapist while continuing to work in physical therapy and chiropractic offices. Then, in Oakland California, the game changed dramatically. I was introduced by a colleague to kettlebells, paused running for a time, and changed my training to focus on mobility, strength, and power in an attempt to halt the cycle of injury I had felt trapped in for over a decade.

At this stage in my career I was a track and field and cross country coach, strength and conditioning coach, and massage therapist. While I continued to work with clients and patients of all ages and abilities, athletics has always been my passion and I was asked to work with athletes from the Bay Area Track Club Olympic development program. However, I found myself at a bit of a career impasse sparking a flurry of continuing education that eventually led me once again to higher education and the University of Idaho to study athletic training in an attempt to combine my existing education, skill sets, and experience into one coherent career path.

Another Re-Evolution - 2015-Present

I arrived in Moscow Idaho where I received what I can only describe as an intense education. I completed clinical immersions with University of Idaho and University of Washington Athletics as well as the Positional Release Therapy Institute, and was afforded the opportunity to conduct and publish original research while being formally trained in many more manual and movement therapy techniques.

These experiences inspired me to further my research and continue my education in the University of Idaho Doctor of Athletic Training program working as an Athletic Trainer and Strength and Conditioning Coach at a small rural secondary school in Idaho. There I conducted research into movement based neuromuscular interventions and active range of motion in overhead athletes, strength and conditioning and injury risk mitigation in secondary school student athletes, manual therapy outcomes in clinical practice, and strength and conditioning and performance metrics.

Not one to shy away from side projects, I also collaborated with a former college teammate and several other colleagues to establish the Just Athletics Track Club, a post-collegiate training group and collaborative sports performance information hub.

Working in all of these realms, my career continues to evolve. And re-evolve.

Along the way I was trained by great people and organizations.