Like many other Physical Therapists, my story began with an injury. I fractured my tibia and fibula while playing soccer less than 9 months before I was set to report to pre-season camp for my freshman year of Division-1 soccer at St. John’s University in New York. My injury rehabilitation was the first time I was exposed to a long-term, structured strength and conditioning program. I became fascinated by the programming and how my physical therapist chose exercises to specifically address both my injury and sport needs. 

I saw firsthand how rehab and performance are simply different ends of the same spectrum and that it’s still possible to train hard with an injury. I showed up to freshman year pre-season camp in the best shape of my life and passed every fitness test. I knew then that I wanted to help other athletes come back stronger and fitter after an injury and help them achieve their goals.

 I ended up going to Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia which is one of the top physical therapy schools in the country. In my final year there, I did a research project on screening tests in youth soccer players as well as a capstone project on key components of a successful injury prevention program. Part of this capstone project was researching barriers to implementing injury prevention programs in youth soccer, and I was invited to present this research at the American Physical Therapy Association’s Combined Sections Meeting (the largest national conference for physical therapists).

During my time at Emory, I was coaching youth soccer for TopHat Academy which is consistently a top 10 academy for youth girls’ soccer in the country, and was a strength and conditioning coach for the Agnes Scott College Women’s Softball Team and taught fitness classes at a mixed martial arts gym. I loved being able to put what I was learning about injury prevention directly into practice with the athletes I was coaching. 

I started to become discouraged and frustrated, though, that the information I was learning wasn’t readily available for the people who really needed it – the players, parents, and coaches. That was when I decided to start my social media profile, back in the days of Instagram infancy, to try to share knowledge from research and academia with the public. It became my mission to bring the research into the clinic and onto the field.

Since then, I have worked with some of the best soccer players in the world as the Rehab Director for Seattle Reign and with extreme sport athletes as the Lead Physical Therapist at the Red Bull Athlete Performance Center. I specialize in on field rehab and lower limb injuries. I am currently researching health and performance structures and strategies in elite women’s soccer, and regularly present at national and international sports medicine and performance conferences. I have continued trying to translate science into practice through blogs, podcasts, social media, mentoring, and teaching continuing education courses.