I am the head athletic trainer for all of the Houston Astros Minor League teams. I oversee each of the athletic trainers for our eight teams. The teams are located in Oklahoma, City, OK; Corpus Christi, TX; Lancaster, CA; Quad Cities, IA, Tri-City, NY; Greeneville, TN; Kissimmiee, FL and Guerra, Dominican Republic. I am based at our spring training complex in Kissimmee, FL where I also oversee the rehabilitation of all of our players, both major league and minor league.
Choosing Mount Union
I chose Mount Union because it has an outstanding athletic training program.
Not Just a Number
I liked the size of Mount Union. It was nice to go to a smaller school and be known as a person and not just a number.
Favorite Professor
There is no question that (the late) Dan Gorman was my favorite professor. Not only was he a great professor and athletic trainer, he was also a great person. There is not a day that goes by that I don’t use or recall something that Dan taught me.
Memories
Second Floor Cunningham was a blast my first two years at Mount Union. I made lots of great friends who I still keep in contact with to this day.
First Professional Job
I worked at Concorde Therapy Group in Canton and was the athletic trainer for Alliance High School before I started working for the Astros.
Internship
I did an internship at Mount Sinai Sports Medicine while I was a student at Mount Union. Dan Gorman helped me secure the internship.
Involvement
I was a member of the Sports Medicine Club and Sigma Nu fraternity while at Mount Union.
Career Preparation
I was taught professionalism and how to get along with people. There is so much more to your college experience than what you learn in textbooks and Mount Union did a great job of giving me that experience.
Goal
My ultimate goal is to be a major league athletic trainer.
Good Investment
One of my professors, Terry Shoemaker, helped me get my job with the Astros. That in itself made attending Mount Union worth the investment.