Horizons Fall 2014

38 HORIZONS By Walter Villa N SU’s student-athletes—strong, swift, and skilled—often appear to be indestruc- tible. They’re not, of course. Occasionally, they need help physically and mentally. This is where a team of NSU professionals come in, from doctors and sports psychologists, to strength and conditioning coaches and athletic trainers. Brian Cahill, a 6-foot-4, senior guard from Arlington, Virginia, had back surgery while in high school, and he knew that he may need another procedure in the future. “That’s one of the main reasons why I picked NSU, its training staff and facilities. I needed a staff who knew what athletes needed and who really cared,” said Cahill, who is already halfway through his M.B.A. program. After earning honors as the Sunshine State Confer- ence’s Freshman of the Year in 2009–2010, the basketball player required a second back surgery, and the NSU staff was able to help him recover. In his first season after surgery, he did not miss any games. Last season, he missed just four, two of which were because of an unrelated ankle injury. Steve Orris, M.S., entering his fourth season as NSU’s strength and conditioning coach, said the No. 1 goal is to keep the student-athletes healthy. To do that, Orris said, much work gets done before anyone is ever hurt. “If we can identify weaknesses in the student-athlete, such as a lack of flexibility or a strength discrepancy between their right and left sides, we can work on that,” said Orris, who’s officially the program director of sports performance. “In sports, there are always going to be traumatic injuries—collisions— that you cannot avoid. But with proper training and muscular balance, you can reduce the frequency of injuries such as hamstring or groin pulls or rotator- cuff problems.” Sierra Lelii, a 5-foot-7 women’s soccer player at NSU, knows all about traumatic injuries. Fol- lowing a car accident in 2012, she missed the first half of that year’s season. Lelii returned to the pitch that year, starting in seven games and scoring two goals. But the effects of the accident and the wear and tear of soccer eventually led to hip surgery last October, forcing her to miss the 2013 soccer season. After Lelii’s surgery, NSU’s team of professionals leaped into action. Peter Sprague, D.P.T., PT, OCS, MTC, of the College of Osteopathic Medicine, worked with Lelii for five months until she was cleared to resume workouts. From there, NSU’s athletic trainers worked to get her strength back. Kyle Morris, M.S., and Nick Sexton, graduate assistants on the strength and conditioning staff, Professionals Help Keep Student-Athletes Healthy