This month, Sheri Walters joins Donnie Maib to discuss a performance model from the lens of sport medicine. Sheri shares her professional journey that has led her to Texas A&M and how her philosophy has evolved over the years. She dives into topics relating to performance versus safety, recovery modalities, return-to-play strategies, collaborating with sport coaches and strength coaches, and continued education.<\/p>\n
Dr. Sheri Walters most recently served as an assistant professor at A.T. Still University in the Department of Kinesiology while concurrently serving as a consultant for USA Women\u2019s Ice Hockey. Sheri has served for a variety of companies and teams over the years including for US Paralympic Track and Field, EXOS, Indiana State University, the Detroit Shock, and more.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This month, Sheri Walters joins Donnie Maib to discuss a performance model from the lens of sport medicine. Sheri shares her professional journey that has led her to Texas A&M and how her philosophy has evolved over the years. She dives into topics relating to performance versus safety, recovery modalities, return-to-play strategies, collaborating with sport […]","protected":false},"author":13,"featured_media":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","episode_type":"audio","audio_file":"http:\/\/podcasts.la.utexas.edu\/the-team-behind-the-team\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2020\/05\/E7-Sheri-Walters.mp3","podmotor_file_id":"","podmotor_episode_id":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"60.61M","filesize_raw":"63551648","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","itunes_episode_number":"","itunes_title":"","itunes_season_number":"","itunes_episode_type":""},"tags":[3,6,10,20,22,21,4,5,11],"series":[2],"class_list":{"0":"post-28","1":"podcast","2":"type-podcast","3":"status-publish","5":"tag-athletics","6":"tag-conditioning","7":"tag-medicine","8":"tag-performance","9":"tag-recovery","10":"tag-safety","11":"tag-sports","12":"tag-strength","13":"tag-training","14":"series-the-team-behind-the-team","15":"entry"},"acf":{"related_episodes":"","hosts":[{"ID":113,"post_author":"38","post_date":"2020-11-04 17:27:54","post_date_gmt":"2020-11-04 22:27:54","post_content":"\n
Donnie Maib is the Head Coach for Athletic Performance for Olympic Sports since 2011.\u00a0 Maib oversees all aspects of athletic performance efforts for all sports at the University of Texas with the exception of Men\u2019s\/Women\u2019s Basketball and Football. He directly works with women\u2019s volleyball and men\u2019s tennis.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
He came to the University of Texas after four years at the University of Colorado at Boulder where he worked as an assistant with all varsity sports. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
From 1998-2007 Maib was an assistant coach at the University of Texas working primarily with football and various other Olympic sports \u2013 Women\u2019s Track & Field, Women\u2019s Golf, Men\u2019s Golf, Men\u2019s Tennis, Soccer, & Volleyball. In 2007 He was promoted to Associate Coach for Football. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Maib is certified by the Collegiate Strength & Conditioning Coaches Association. He was honored at 8th Annual National Conference of the Collegiate Strength and Conditioning Coaches Association in May 2008 with the certification of Master Strength and Conditioning Coach (MSCC), the highest honor for a coach in the strength and conditioning field.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Donnie Maib","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"donnie-maib","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2020-11-04 17:27:55","post_modified_gmt":"2020-11-04 22:27:55","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/podcasts.la.utexas.edu\/the-team-behind-the-team\/?post_type=speaker&p=113","menu_order":0,"post_type":"speaker","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"guests":[{"ID":57,"post_author":"38","post_date":"2020-07-06 18:57:51","post_date_gmt":"2020-07-06 18:57:51","post_content":"\n
Dr. Sheri Walters most recently served as an assistant professor at A.T. Still University in the Department of Kinesiology while concurrently serving as a consultant for USA Women\u2019s Ice Hockey. Sheri has served for a variety of companies and teams over the years including for US Paralympic Track and Field, EXOS, Indiana State University, the Detroit Shock, and more.<\/p>\n","post_title":"Sheri Walters","post_excerpt":"","post_status":"publish","comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","post_password":"","post_name":"sheri-walters","to_ping":"","pinged":"","post_modified":"2020-11-04 18:00:33","post_modified_gmt":"2020-11-04 23:00:33","post_content_filtered":"","post_parent":0,"guid":"http:\/\/podcasts.la.utexas.edu\/the-team-behind-the-team\/?post_type=speaker&p=57","menu_order":0,"post_type":"speaker","post_mime_type":"","comment_count":"0","filter":"raw"}],"transcript":"
Welcome to the team behind the teen podcast. I am your host, Donny Mae. This is the monthly
\n\ue5d4
\nshow focused on building conversations around the teen based model approach to ethnic performance
\nstrength. Conditioning. Sports Medicine. Sports Science. Mental health and wellness and
\nsports nutrition.
\nMan, oh, man. Do we got a special guest for you guys today? For those
\nof you just kind of picking up on the podcast, The Teen Behind the Teen podcast, the sole
\nobjective is to interview and have conversations based around the team
\nperformance team that surrounds athletic teams. So that’s strength conditioning,
\nathletic training or sports medicine, mental health, nutrition
\nand applied sports science. So those are the five streams will kind of poor information
\nfrom today. Our special guests that may be really excited about is Sherri Walters.
\nShe’s an athletic trainer. And I first heard Sheri a
\nperform better summit and she was gave her a whole lecture on
\nstrengthening the pelvic floor for all athletes. I had never heard a topic on that was definitely
\neye opening and very informative and changed the way I thought about some of my lifting and
\nstrength work I do in the weight room. So from that point on, I just kind of kept up with Sherri
\non and off. We we got to attend the high performance symposium with
\nTim Pulo in Colorado Springs this past May and so series in town speaking at our clinic,
\nthe only thing she she is there’s a couple things against her before she get started. She is
\na boomer sooner. And Aggie, she just took a job at Texas A&M. Congratulations. And
\nSheri, welcome to the show. Well, Dan, I appreciate you having me both for the podcast and the conference,
\ndespite our obvious differences in color, taste and sports teams.
\nAnd I would just want to say howdy to everyone listening to the podcast today. That’s awesome. Sara,
\nwe’re so excited for you. It’s going to be a fun rivalry as we as we see each other across the cornfield
\nin the years to come. So I’m really excited for you and I look forward to it. So glad you
\nmade it for the show. I appreciate it. Yeah, it’s great. I think, you know,
\nevery show. I think it helps to give our listeners just a little context of who they’re
\nthey’re hearing from. So. Sure. Can you just. I’d love to. And I’ve never even heard it myself. Just take
\na little time here and tell us your story. You know, where are you from originally? I think
\nyou’re from a small town in Oklahoma. Correct? Yeah. Well, Winuk, Oklahoma population and I can’t say that
\npopulation 437 when I’m home. That’s right. 4:38 when you’re home.
\nWhen you’re home. When you’re home. When you go and just tell your story of like where you came from and then
\nhow you got the athletic training and what led you to this great, amazing role you have today that
\nyou just accepted. Yep. So for any maybe young professionals or students listening, maybe don’t
\ntake my route with the long way about it. But I grew up on a cattle ranch in
\nWinuk, Oklahoma. So with that work ethic drove me to try to
\ngo to school and get get off the ranch a little bit. I had to work too hard for my dad. So
\nwhat is Central University? And when I went, I didn’t really have a major picked out yet.
\nI was hoping something in the medical field and I was set to play basketball there.
\nAnd now I about two weeks before school started, I had been in a pretty bad car
\naccident and had dislocated my shoulder. So when I showed up for four physicals,
\nathlete training staff let us through those and we had a conversation about that accident, my shoulder. And so
\nI ended up spending a considerable amount of time in the athletic training room, which is how I found the profession.
\nObviously, we fell in love with it because of the medical portion of it. But then also because of my love for
\nsports. And so I did athletic training there as an undergrad.
\nFrom there, I went to Detroit and worked with the WNBA team and then had
\nthe opportunity. Tell us what kind of intern with the Pistons while I was there. Oh, wow. It was an incredible
\nexperience with Arnie Candar there. He both had athletic trainers
\nat those places, were also physical therapist. So really encouraged me to go to peaty school. But
\nI was already set up to go to University of Florida to go gators. And
\nto give a masters in athletic training. And while I was there, I worked football, women’s golf, and then went to
\npeaty school. I got spit all the time with Ron Coarsen at the University of Georgia. Georgia for an internship.
\nMy last internship was with Keith meister’s Group in Arlington, Texas, with the Texas Rangers
\ngroup. First job stayed there for that. And then from there, I went to Indiana State
\nUniversity, where I was the rehab coordinator. So single long term rehab for that for the athletes
\nthere as a physical therapist. And then from there I went
\nto exos used to be called athletes. Performance was based out of Frisco, Texas,
\nand then eventually stepped into the role of overseeing rehab across all five of those legacy
\nfacilities. And I think we’re to talk a little bit about how my philosophy
\nchanged over time. But that’s where that change really started to happen for me was during my time
\nat exos and then from there. I kind of missed the
\nopportunity to to work with athletes long term as the athletes were coming into our facility at
\nexos. It was great. We got to work with these highest caliber athletes, but they would come with to
\nus in the office. Yeah. Seasonal for the for the off seasons or after
\na rehab. But I never actually got to see them return to play. And the other aspect
\nwith that, they’re already high level athletes had the opportunity to work with a three time Cy
\nYoung Award winner, Major League Baseball MVP, your Super Bowl champion, since they were
\nalready at the highest, the highest level. But I didn’t really have the opportunity to help young people
\ndevelop across that spectrum. I wanted to kind of get back into that. And so had
\nthe opportunity to join USA hockey, women’s hockey. And I got the opportunity
\nto go with them and win a gold medal in Pyeongchang. And then that that situation
\nis more on a cycle with the Olympic cycle. It’s not a full time position.
\nAnd so just recently had the opportunity to take a direct role at Texas A&M.
\nWell, you have been a lot of different places. Just again, I think
\nthat’s amazing that you just move your path definitely is not normal. And it
\nwould not be kind of like this is the pattern, right? You say you took the long way out.
\nSo you’ve definitely been somebody who’s persevered and stuck with it. I think
\njust from the people, the colleagues I know that know you. And just from the little time I’ve known, you seem
\nlike you’re just very passionate and you love your job. What do you love
\nthe most about your job? I think it gets back to the developmental piece. And especially like within
\na high school setting or a college setting, you have the time to see a kid come into your program
\nand you have the opportunity to see them develop into a whole person. And so not just
\nsee them develop physically and on the field, but then also what’s going on with them mentally,
\nacademically, emotionally, and you get to see them grow into a young adult. And then
\nwhat was so great for me when I was at University of Florida. Chris Patrick had been at that university for
\nover 30 years. And guys would come back in to bring their high school aged kids
\nto watch a football game. And they would just come in to the athlete training room for after the game. Give
\nhim a big old bear hug and, you know, they would catch up. And so he was obviously someone that stuck
\nwith them in their mind as they move throughout their life and just to be able to have that sort of relationship
\nwith people. I feel like there’s very few opportunities in life to be in a career
\nor a position where we we get to know people on that level. Yeah, I mean, it’s a Etho trainer. You
\nget to you see all kinds. I mean, you really get in and with people relationally
\nand get to know them and build such trust sets a powerful position to be in.
\nAnd it takes it takes somebody you got to really know what you do because you got to be patient and
\njust. You know, getting to know you that the past few years
\nyou’ve mentioned before you’re a cancer survivor. And from what I recall, you said 2008
\nyou got diagnosed with a form of cancer, metastatic melanoma. So why are some
\nblack people? And I didn’t know that. So when I first had met you, I had no idea.
\nAnd it was a friend of mine, Tracy Folbre, who actually kind of brought it to my attention. And she went like,
\nyou know, trying to tell Owen you’re anything. But just. She was asking. And I was like, no,
\nI didn’t know that you’d been through that. And then she and then she kind of explain everything that you went
\nthrough, the treatments. And you you just told me now recently it was five years and my
\nlevel of respect and admiration went through the roof because. You can’t go through
\nsomething like that as a human being and not transform you. How has it changed
\nyou as a person and how you worked with with people? I’m still pretty goal oriented,
\nbut I think before all of that, that was the focus. Like basically not
\nwinning any costs. But it’s. Go, go, go. Very focused academically.
\nJust kind of get it done kind of person. And something like that.
\nAnd obviously, people get us during this podcast. And here most people will say looking at me in the face,
\nthey can’t see it, but essentially out of corner of my face rearranged. And so I’m very blessed that
\nI had a Macy’s makeup lady that told me that she thought it was melanoma
\nand that I should get it checked and get it checked in a hurry. Turns out it was. Know that? Yeah.
\nSo Macy’s makeup lady. People were had started to comment on it because it had started to change, had started
\nto grow. So I was trying to find a concealer to cover it up. And she tried for a while
\nand couldn’t find anything to cover it. And at the time I thought it was kind of rude. She
\njust said, you know, I think that’s melanoma. And the last time I saw one like it, the lady only lasted six
\nmonths. So I think you should get it checked. I was pretty upset about it, but it was enough to
\nkind of startle me awake because there had been other people, including a patient who had been a nurse who had
\nadvised me several years before to get it checked. And, you know, when you’re in your 20s, you kind of think you’re
\ninvincible. And so I hadn’t. So she kind of startled me awake. And
\nluckily, I got it checked quickly and found out what it was in the area that
\nI was in, in in Indiana at the time. The guy that essentially created the surgery and
\ntextbook style was the guy that ended up being my surgeon. And so very
\nfortunate that there’s minimal scarring. And if I have any sort of makeup on, you really can’t see
\nit at all. But do that whole process, multiple surgeries
\nand treatments. You kind of have to take a step back and kind of re prioritize
\nwhat’s important in your life. So I still like to win. And, you know, we’ll love beating
\nup on Donny anytime that Maggie’s in the long Mortons me, you know. But obviously
\nwe’re still gonna be friends because I had different priorities in life. So
\nthank you. Thank you for sharing it. By the way, we appreciate it. And I’m so glad that you
\nyou’re a fighter and everything worked out because you’re awesome. So I’ve been creeping
\non you a little bit on social media this year. You’ve taken some big trips. I had some unbelievable
\ntrips. Yeah. Oh, my God. Sure. You’re living like your best life now,
\nright? Like, I’m, like, wasted. I was just here with the audience. Just briefly, what do you what
\nhave you been doing this year? Yeah. So part of that, too, is just her perspective, like a
\nshift. Even when I had not been diagnosed, I had always wanted
\nto go to Australia. Koala bears were my favorite as a kid and now is a mission in life
\nto to go see a koala bear and during the process at Florida, got scuba certified to scuba
\ndove the Great Barrier Reef. And so part of that for me, I love to travel. And with athletics, we know we get to
\ntravel a lot, but lots of times we don’t get to see things when we do get a tight schedule.
\nWe have job responsibilities to take care of people. So I’ve kind of made it a priority
\nto to be able to experience some of those sayings. And I had a big birthday year this year.
\nSo one of those things I kind of bucket list items was to I get up
\nin Tanzania, up a big mountain there called Kilimanjaro. So small but
\nhighly recommended, if you want me to be honest. Milblogs may never be the same,
\nbut how was it now? Gosh, nineteen six. You went to the top. Yeah.
\nAnd so that. Yep, that’s the goal. And so it took you several days six up
\nand then you supposed be two coming down. But I was in a hurry to get down so we only took one coming down. But then while
\nwe were there I went to the Serengeti inaugural crater. So we did that this year.
\nFinland with women’s ice hockey. China think Peru so much of Picchu
\nwith the Paralympic track and field this year. I feel like I’m forgetting something. But yeah,
\nwe get this show on half went to Dubai championships.
\nThat’s amazing. Amazing city. And then it
\nkind of sounds bad, but almost no way like that true American dream, just the way people from different races,
\ncultures, languages just melding together. And everyone was like,
\nhonestly, the nicest person you would ever meet everywhere you went. And so obviously in our socio
\npolitical climate today, it was a start kind of refreshing trip
\nin terms of how it could be. Also, may I tell you what?
\nThere it is. Sherry is being live at like Force.com. She just has seen
\neverything. And we all need to get on your level. So that’s well, I think these Aggies are gonna reign me in a little bit
\nnow. Maybe. Busy a little a little bit busy area. Well, thank you for sharing
\nit. I’d love to just kind of change gears a little bit. Just looking over
\nyour resum\u00e9 and hearing your story. You felt some really cool roles and positions
\nover your home, your work timeline. What was it
\nlike working in the college, setting the private setting? And then also within USA
\nhockey, kind of what what was it like? Was there some differences? Kind of expound on some of that?
\nYep. So been very fortunate with every role I’ve been able to have and the opportunities
\nto learn and grow both personally and professionally. But there are obviously differences with that.
\nAnd so I alluded to the collegiate setting, just having that opportunity to work with people
\nand really help them develop long term because you have that kind of time. And then
\njust that immersion in a you’re seeing people, you know, every single day and especially from an athletic training
\nstandpoint, we are helping them on every level from mental health. We’re working with the dieticians from
\na news nutrition standpoint, and then we’re often with them at kind of their
\ndarkest moment when they get injured and we’re helping them mentally, emotionally through that
\nprocess all the way back to one of their greatest moments when they get to return and get back to the
\nlevel that they want to be at. So we get to kind of ride that whole wave with them
\nversus in a private setting at exos again, had great opportunities to learn and grow
\nwith other amazing professionals and then career professionals,
\nbut then also professional athletes and and learning from the best in the business, both
\nin street conditioning, sports medicine, but then also the best in the business skill coach wise and then athlete
\nwise. But again, you were somewhat limited in what we’re able to do with them
\nin that in that private setting. And then depending on you where you are and your situation,
\nsometimes it could potentially be more about the financial aspect of that
\nversus maybe what’s best for a particular individual.
\nAnd so for me, at this point in my career, that that’s kind of where I wanted wanted to land is to
\nbe able to see that whole growth and development process. You know, what would you say? Because we’ve
\nrun into and I’m sure you do, too. We run into professionals wanting to make the jump
\nfrom the private sector into the collegiate or the professional. What would you
\nsay? What are some challenges or sometimes I think roadblocks and how
\nwould you kind of work? How would you what advice would you give? I think for me, seeing that process,
\nis it as a private person in the off season thing where
\nwe’re not having to worry about an in-season sports schedule, we’re not having to worry about the
\nskill coach and what they’re trying to do in a practice session in recovery and regeneration? From that
\nstandpoint, we’re working on recovery and regeneration. But it’s a different viewpoint versus a strength
\ncoach in a collegiate setting. You’re doing with NCAA
\nrules. And in regards to the number of allowable hours, contact hours. And then also
\nwhat’s going on with a actual position or skill coach? If that
\nposition, skill coach practice has been super hard, you might have laid out a plan that was also in
\nthe weight room, fairly aggressive that day. But if they got crushed on the basketball
\ncourt that day, then you might have to take a step back. And so it I feel like really changes
\nhow we period does over a season in that situation. From a sports medicine standpoint,
\nwe’re kind of dealing with the same thing, especially from a rehab standpoint, is trying to help
\nsomeone get back to where they want to be if they have already returned to play. But working around
\nthat coach’s schedule at the same time. Yeah, I kind of like to say it. I don’t know if this is accurate. You can
\ncorrect me. But I think I feel like you you lose some autonomy, would you say?
\nYeah. Coming out of private in the collegiate. Not that you can’t do what you want to believe in. But there’s
\nthere’s head coaches you gotta you gotta deal with and kind of manage. And there’s a performance team
\nthat you you need to make sure that you guys are all on the same page with some of the objectives.
\nWould you agree? Yes. And it’s become that constant communication between sport site
\ncounseling on the dietitians, the skill coaches, position coaches, individual
\ncoaches, street conditioning and athletic training. And so it’s everybody coming together
\nand working together as a team. And we can all make each other better if we’re having that level of communication
\nthat has that athlete at the center of that and their best interest at heart. Yeah, I think that’s
\nthat’s it. When you think when you boil it down, it’s gonna be like it’s gonna be athlete centric
\nand decision making objectives, goal setting, planning, periodization recovery.
\nI think that’s that’s that’s spot on. You can’t touch those earlier. Sherry,
\nkind of talk a little bit about your philosophy and maybe how it’s changed
\nfrom when you started to where you are, what what’s kind of happened in there, what kind of influence to have.
\nSo I mentioned before I was an athlete trainer first and then went to peaty school during that time frame,
\nmassage therapy, a strict conditioning certification. And, you know, I really felt
\nlike I had this movement based approach in return to play. And I thought I was, you
\nknow, really dialed in on all of that. And then I got to exos
\nand I think probably first day as a speed coach.
\nI mean, he is the guy in terms of NFL combine prep training. I was doing a
\nmulti direction, change of direction drill. And he was, you know, helping an athlete get the proper position.
\nAnd I was sitting there just absolutely mortified because from a peaty perspective,
\nthe way that I thought he was coaching, it was setting that athlete up to injure their knee. And
\nfortunately, I didn’t open my mouth and just sat there and listened and really learned what he was
\ntalking in terms of getting in the proper alignment, joint mechanics to be able to make that change
\nof direction. And I realized he was right and that I was maybe going to have to make a little
\nshift in how I was helping to rehab these athletes, because it was very
\nmuch. Let’s not get injured. Let’s not put too much stress on that knee so that you don’t
\nhave perhaps like patellar from Aurel type pain. But at the same time, by how I was coaching them
\nup, it was going to make them less successful from a performance standpoint. So it was at
\nexos really helping to mold me to not just consider the
\npain portion of it or the rehab portion of it, but how to help set that athlete up to not only
\nreduce injury risk or return from an injury, but also how to set them up for a high level of performance.
\nSo while I was there, I think that that first year that I was there was pretty much like getting
\nhit with a firehose just taken in all the information, all the education I could
\nboth internally from the existing staff in those facilities, but then also just the
\nsheer number of people that that came into our facilities externally that we had the opportunity
\nto learn from while we were there. You touched on a good point. I want to bring this back up and just get your
\nthoughts on it. But because if I hear you correctly, you’re talking about a performance
\nbased model versus like a therapy base. Absolutely. Is that correct? Yeah. And
\nI know it can be controversial for sure. And I’ve heard both sides of
\nthe coin like let’s build, let’s get some prehaps, get some exercises that are preventative, then
\nwe build from there. You talk to the performance people and they’re like, know what it’s all about performance
\nin and drive that we got to be better athletes. And let’s not worry about this piece as much.
\nGive us your thoughts on that. It’s over overtime and kind of where you are maybe currently. Yep. So really,
\nthrough that exos type model, it really learned that you can’t separate sports medicine
\nfrom strength conditioning from performance. To be able to function
\nat a very high level. All of those have to be molded together. And there’s been some great
\npieces from Eric Cressey and different people that are kind of touched on this and some of their social media posts. But
\nI personally believe those can’t be divided out, that if you’re going to function at a very high level,
\nwe may be safer doing certain things from a rehab perspective. But I think
\nlong term and most evidence will indicate long term that if we continue down some of those
\npast that we might look really good on a table or a very close type skill.
\nBut if we’re trying to do something in a reactive manner as an example, that Levitt’s performance
\nmodels are typically going to reduce or Andray plus eight in the performance benefits. Yeah,
\nand that’s pretty that’s pretty powerful, I think to touch on kind of
\non who’s saying too, is it? And you said this in your story just now that you’ve got to be
\nhumble sometimes and be open minded. Right. I mean, I always old-growth
\nmindset that we hear so much about units. I think the one my favorite quotes about your mind is like
\na parachute. If it’s not open, it’s not gonna be useful for. I’ve not heard that, but I like it. So
\nI think that’s what I keep hearing you say, that you are the kind of practitioner you’re always trying
\nto get better and you’re not saying this is the only way we can do this. I tell my students
\nthat I’m an equal opportunity thief. Thief. I stole from everybody. I like it. Everybody’s got something to learn
\nfrom. And kind of a more relevant topic to piggyback on what you just said.
\nYou know, there’s a lot in collegiate settings and then you I’m sure you’ve heard some of this, you’ll even hear it more.
\nThere’s been a lot of controversy or a lot of light brought on just athletes
\nnot being trained properly. Injuries happening. What certification is the best certification?
\nAnd I think certification is a piece of the puzzle. But I really feel like the bigger piece of the puzzle is the culture
\nand the relationships between performance team. And so I’m at exos. They talked a whole
\nlot about checking your credentials or your certifications or your degrees out the door like those don’t
\nmatter as long as we’re working together as a team with with that athlete. So best
\ninterests at heart. And, you know, I’m a physical therapy, unlicensed and multiple states to to to
\ndo that. I’ve taken a ton of continuing. Ed, that’s very peaty rehab based, a lot of manual therapy stuff.
\nBut to be honest, the things that I’ve learned and that I tend to use the most in my actual clinical
\npractice really comes from a whole bunch of strength coaches that I’ve had the opportunity to work with through
\nUSA hockey. You know, Jimmy Radcliff, a University of Oregon Verhagen Better Cal Deetz
\nwere just USA women’s hockey were the guys that I was able to learn from. Same thing. Mark
\nSagan obviously at exos and then that whole crew of guys, they’re like going to
\nstand to perform better conferences and the folks that have learned from there. But honestly, the majority of my continuing
\nad that I use on a daily basis has come from street coaches. And so just because I have
\na p_h_d_ and a d_c_t_ in physical therapy doesn’t mean that that’s all
\nthat I do or what’s actually in the best interest of a particular athlete. It’s good
\nto hear you. You’ve definitely been around some just some really quality coaches and people in different
\nway, different systems. From what I’ve what I’m hearing you say, just so all those
\nguys do things way differently. And but there are some some similarities in there. And they’re all just trying to
\nto win at the end of the day, so. Yep. And what I’ve learned over time is different athletes respond
\nto different methods or modalities. I think honestly, some of the principles that those guys all
\nhave are more similar than what maybe even they would want to agree on.
\nBut they deuced often use different methods to get there and different athletes respond
\nto those differently. So it’s that’s the art of what we do, not not just the research and
\nthe science of it. And that’s good. Let’s talk a little bit more specific about just
\nathletes in general. So as as a athletic trainer,
\nyou definitely worked a lot of strength coaches. Overarching What have you seen that makes
\nthe biggest difference in helping athletes, helping people become better athletes?
\nI had a graduate assistant when I was in undergrad who was a physical therapist. She
\nhad come back to become an athlete trainer before that internship pathway had disappeared.
\nAnd she made a statement very early on when she was there that year that
\nshe honestly didn’t believe that it had anything to do with what we did, treatment
\nmodality wise that determine whether or not someone got better. It was all about the relationship
\nthat we had with the person. If the the patient liked us, they were more likely
\nto get better than they believe they believed. And so we talked a lot about the placebo
\neffect like this treatment doesn’t work. It’s just a placebo effect. There’s a lot of discussion around that right now
\nand in the manual therapy world. But honestly, I don’t care what helped them get
\nbetter as long as they’re getting better and we’re going down that pathway to reduce
\ninjury risk and enhance performance. So if it’s just because they like me, I’m OK with that.
\nSo for me, that’s probably the biggest place is to be able to develop that relationship. We’re not all
\ngoing to get along, but as long as they know that I have their best interests at heart and I respect them
\nas a person and a human, then I feel that’s going to go a long way in getting there.
\nYeah, that’s good. What about so if you flip that a little bit again, just this is very
\ngeneral and broad, but just keeping athletes healthier. What have you seen kind of some of
\nthe what are some things that when you look at an athlete that’s healthy, that maybe
\nI’ve seen athletes injured, you know what to do. You’re gonna, you know, assess and address that and put a plan together.
\nBut just keeping athletes healthy, I think probably one of the biggest shifts in the last few years is the focus
\non some of the sleep studies and making sure that our especially our collegiate athletes who
\nhave a huge demand in the classroom as well, and the social aspect of what goes on
\na campus. So making sure that they’re getting plenty of rest, recovery sleep is probably going to go the longest way
\nin in both enhancing performance and reducing injury risk. There’s
\na lot of different theories on the different recovery methods of whether or not we should be foam rolling, cold tubbing,
\nrecovery boots, all those sorts of things. And and I really like how Cal
\nDeetz approaches that in terms of you need to find something that works for you. Some athletes
\nwho will respond really well with a cold tub. But if you put a athlete in a cold tub and they tense
\nup, that person tends not to recover very well, recover very well. And he’s correlated
\nthat with some away to a mega wave test as well. And so basically
\nfinding something that that athlete responds well to in terms of their recovery. You. Yeah,
\nI’ve seen that over the years to just some athletes. I’ve had athletes. They don’t really respond well to massage.
\nYeah. Makes them feel heavy legged and, you know, did leg it on. We have several
\nin the women’s ice hockey program that wait for their soft tissue. Would much rather get a
\nbig old needle stuck in there and it piston and twisting. So some of the dry needling techniques and they would rather
\nto get a massage. Deep tissue or otherwise. So they all respond differently.
\nAthlete Yeah. They just it’s a different body, different and it’s just wired differently. And some of the end that
\nis that wiring is that neurological aspect of it. Whether somebody is more sympathetic versus parasympathetic
\nthink really plays into that or they more type A, type B that’s going to influence what they respond
\nto. It’s good. Talk a little bit about how you’ve
\ndefinitely repaired several or rehab several ACL. You talk
\na little bit about returned to play. What are some how
\ndo you kind of take some? That’s maybe a torn ACL and talk about some of the protocols you do. Yep.
\nAnd so the protocols obviously have really shifted over time. I think when they first started
\ndoing the ACL. So it’s really more in your timeframe back in the day versus, you know,
\nmind, you know, more recent. But back in the day we could move to move
\nand literally they would cast you up to your hip for about six months. And so there’s some great stories about
\nsome legends that had their ACL reconstructed, like Pat Summitt, who was casted. And, you
\nknow, for example, she was trying to make it to the Olympic Games. And so her dad cut the cast off. And so because
\nof non-compliant athletes like that, we’ve learned over time that movement and
\nearly reconditioning is going to help get back quicker, more safely with
\nless like less likely to to re injure or injure the opposite side.
\nAnd then also from a performance standpoint, we often talk about kind of like this threshold where it takes
\nreally a full season to get back to your high level of performance. But what we’ve
\nseen eyes with, we can get someone back integrated into those movement based drills
\nreally early on. So someone may be as early as a week. Depending on range of motion,
\nquite control, but doing some of our movement type drills and whether you believe in wall
\ndrills or not. In terms of sprint mechanics, but putting post-op ACL person in that wall drill position
\nand in just even talking to them about acceleration mechanics and from that position doing
\na calf raise or a low lift or a single exchange working on just walking mechanics in
\nthat wall drill position. I don’t know if it’s the physical aspect of that or even just
\nthe fact that we’re talking about week one. We’re working on Sprint mechanics, if it helps them from fear avoidance,
\npsychological standpoint, that’s a big piece, a huge piece of it. So being able to integrate that stuff
\nin very early on, we’ve seen really great success with people not really needing
\nthat full athletic season to get back to that that high level of performance. I was very fortunate
\nwhen I was at Indiana State to work with the team position there. That’s also with the
\nIndianapolis Colts, Dr. Tom Klutznick. And based on how a person looked,
\nthey might go back to say you like racquetball i- if they’re a basketball player
\nfor six, eight weeks after an ACL reconstruction. So they’re reacting to a ball very quickly.
\nAnd one athlete in particular that I was able to come back after her ACL reconstruction
\nand make first team all-American the first season back. And so she didn’t have that
\ngap of needing a full year. And obviously, athletes are different in that. But the sooner
\nwe can get them back to doing some of our more movement based type drills. Marching, skipping.
\nChange of direction. I feel like the performance outcomes are better. I also feel
\nlike they’re less likely to get injured. We look at sports like women’s soccer, that the retailer heart rate
\nis so high, the contra lateral terror rate is so high. That’s crazy. Often
\nconcerned that it’s because of the actual rehab process that we’re not getting them reconditioned
\nquickly enough and then we’re returning them to sport. Yeah, that’s
\nthe one thing I’ve seen with these CEOs just in my years is just kidding. I think
\nthe recondition is getting, especially for females. It seems like it’s so
\nmuch harder to get that mass back up. The Quatermass, the leg mass.
\nI personally haven’t had an issue with it, but it goes back for me personally to my experience with Dr.
\nKlein like and the protocol and what we were allowed to do very early on. And again, it depends
\nif later, if they have a lot of pain and a lot of swelling, that’s going to eliminate that reflexive inhibition.
\nIf there’s pain or swelling, the brain knows something is wrong and that quad just won’t fire. And so we
\nhave to get them over that hump first. But I if we’re able to do that quickly, then
\nit seems to make a huge difference in that that. Quatermass Yeah. And I know
\nyou know, that torn ACL in college and we did a lot of like Legba was the old
\nschool machine, the big evil then sbx machine. Yeah. Eissa
\nkinetics with that thing gave me the word. I miss it.
\nSo we’ve moved away from that in the rehab setting to take all the bullets
\nwrong. We a lot of physicians will still have it as part of their protocol, especially
\nfor testing in return to play, making sure that there’s symmetry in quad and the quads bilateral
\nhamstrings bilaterally and that that ratio and it’s part of their protocol to to make sure that
\nthey’re within a certain percentage range, just like a lot of them will have different single leg hop, horizontal
\nhops, vertical jumps, that sort of thing. Looking for that asymmetry side to side.
\nBut in terms of the actual rehab process, I think people are not using it quite
\nas much just because that open chain position is not a function of movement.
\nIt is tough on the tendons, whereas it down quick. So.
\nChanging gears a little bit again. You’ve like you’ve worked with some really, really
\nhigh level teams as a leader. What have you done in the past to
\nhelp build really good relationships with your head coaches?
\nSo every situation’s obviously different, but I think that level of communication and then
\nthe earlier that you’re able to start that kind of setting the expectations of what
\nthey’re looking for from the sportsmen staff in terms of how frequently
\nI what level of detail, like some coaches want the nitty gritty, like everything
\nthat’s going on. And the other ones are can they go or can they not? So setting those expectations
\nearly on in terms of what they’re looking for and then, you know, you’re not always going to agree
\non whether or not somebody is ready to go. But being able to respect their position
\nand their stance on it. And at the same time, being able to communicate with them, why someone physically just
\nisn’t ready to go and be able sometimes to demonstrate that either with
\nmaybe something as simple as a video looking at the differences, asymmetry or some sort of objective
\ntesting. You know, we’re very fortunate now that the cost of some of the forced plates, for example,
\nthe forced sex are at such a level that it’s pretty easy for us to be able to quantify can quantify
\na 50 percent difference. She might actually look pretty symmetrical with just
\nwith the naked eye, and that’s what they’re seeing. But here is the force output. Here’s the difference.
\nI decide if we have that kind of a symmetry, she’s three times more likely to get
\nhurt. So we can’t go there yet. Do you want her for this game or do you want her for the rest
\nof the season? Yes. I’m not that they would ever be difficult.
\nThe head coaches are never difficult and demanding. But if there were some out there, say
\nit. If there was, how have you managed and worked through some of that? What have you learned? And have you kind
\nof have to have a thick skin? There was a really great photo that was on
\nGoogle Images for a while. I haven’t checked in a while of me getting screamed
\nat by a certain football coach. It was during a practice. I used to always put it
\nin my PowerPoint presentations because I thought it was funny, but
\nthat was the key with that. Like, I didn’t take it personal, like I didn’t take it home with pride
\nat the time. But, you know, I got over it quickly and that’s the way it is. The coaches
\nhave a job, they have a responsibility. Their contracts are usually based on win losses.
\nAnd if that’s their number one athlete that they’re trying to get back and they know that that’s has the potential
\nto influence a game, then then emotions sometimes run high. But as a sports medicine professional,
\nsometimes you just have to kind of let it roll off. And I’ve never had an issue where a coach blew up like
\nthat. And then we were not able to have a civil conversation later. They usually simmer down a person.
\nThey come back and apologize. That particular coach came back and apologized profusely for it.
\nAnd so you don’t you can’t own it and make it a part of who you are as a person
\nafter something like that happens, you know, and that’s something I’ve always just working with other trainers
\nthrough the years. You guys have the wonderful job of having to take some of the most
\ndifficult information. You’re basically like a messenger. Bad news bear. Yeah. And you.
\nAnd unfortunately, most of time, you’re not giving good news. Right. And I just I got
\nso much respect for you guys, because that is a that’s a tough position to be in. But I also feel like it takes
\na certain quality person to be able to deliver that news and not if you get a coach that’s in the
\nheat. The mommy’s emotional and they don’t understand and they don’t like what they’re hearing. They’re kind of
\ncome back out with guns blazing, but they’re not really personally attacking you. They’re just they’re just kind of eviscerated
\nthe situation. And that’s how we have to look at it. They’re not happy with the situation. And
\nin that moment, it’s their ability to vent. And then they move on and we move on and
\nwe circle back later. That’s good stuff, too. That’s definitely a lot of people can take away
\nfrom that. So just professional development now. What do you do? You kind
\nof mentioned some of it. What is your kind of big go to own?
\nAre you a reader? You like clinics? Are you you like to kind of do more roundtable
\nstuff kind of leadersand. Because you’re definitely very intelligent and sharp
\nwoman and talk about that for a minute. katic joke about
\nbeing maybe not the most appropriate term, but a continuing at [INAUDIBLE]. I
\ncircle about trying to surround myself with this many, many people
\nas I can and try to be selective and going to and spending
\nmy money. I guess in my time to be at places where I’m really interested in
\nis what a certain person or speaker has to say or or a topic until
\nwe’ve mentioned perform better. They have an unbelievable selection of of people that are there
\ndelivering lives for you. They do a great job. They do an amazing job with that.
\nSo that’s an another one. You know, I mentioned went to a bunch of P.T. stuff for professional development, but again,
\nbought a. Use on a daily basis that performed better, one is one of them that I’ve really found
\nvalue in. I read a ton in every imaginable
\ntopic from specific exercise physiology, different biomechanics stuff all
\nthe way to different leadership type books and sometimes just straight fiction
\nand you can pick out different life stories from those that meeting. Yeah. Then
\nsomething that you can kind of chew on and apply to to to your daily life.
\nAnd then I’ve been very fortunate to to have the opportunity to do some different online type things and
\ndifferent courses as well. I’m a big reader. Anything you read recently that kind of stands out.
\nAnything comes to mind and it can be work or leadership or whatever. At so recently,
\nbecause every year I read one book at the beginning of the year because it’s a very quick read
\nand for me kind of like that. I’m not a huge New Year’s resolution kind of person that
\nI’m not Beagle, but Viktor Frankl’s book Man’s Search for Meaning. Got to read
\nthat. I love the quotes from it. It’s good. Oh, my gosh. Yeah. I cry every time,
\nbut it is a very powerful book and I read it every year at this series
\nis kind of a nutshell. He was a Holocaust survivor, but before he
\neven went in. He was a psychologist. And so he basically found
\nthe purpose for in his mind, a purpose for our life. And so obviously with
\nmy medical background, it had a lot of meaning for me as well. But
\nwe have to find purpose in whatever we’re doing, in whatever situation we’re in. And through
\nthat find somebody some sort of meaning and in whatever we’re going through in life
\nand a purpose in it. I’ll have to after write that one down for this year.
\nThanks for sharing that. Well, sorry, we’re kind of coming close to the end of the show
\nand it’s been a great conversation. Just moving forward.
\nWhere could if people want to reach out, they got more questions. They’d like to connect with
\nyou. Just just kind of see what you’re up to. Just follow you. What’s the best way that people can
\nconnect with you? Yep. Probably the best way is through email. And it’s just s as
\nin Cherie’s. So s Walter’s at athletics plural dot T-A
\nIMU. So Texas A&M, Texas A&M University e._d._u. So it’s s vaulters
\nat athletics. Dot Teemu dot e._d._u. Can
\nyou say what they say. Thanks them. You said give me. If you say I got gig them. We got howdy.
\nWe got work. Yeah. Well folks, shearwaters, you’re
\nawesome. Thank you for making time. If you have never met
\nSherry, if you’ve never heard her speak any more speaking engagements coming up. You got your
\nour clinic more than anyone else. Clinic. And then a Kennedy to figure out my life with this. This new position
\nat Texas A&M and then hopefully be able to get back out there once I kind of know the ebbs and flow of a
\ncollegiate setting again. She slows down at some point. She’d be somebody I would highly recommend bringing
\nin, not just to speak, but just to, to dialog with and collaborate with. She’s
\nincredible person and a great coach and athletic trainer. And just she’ll impact
\nyour program for sure in the city. Thank you for your time again. Appreciate you, Dani. And you go ahead, say what you say over their
\nnext move and hook them giggle. That’s right. It’s been real. We’ll catch you on the next episode.
\nThanks so much for tuning in. Listening to this episode, the team behind the team podcast
\nfor future episodes go to i-Tunes, Spotify, Google Podcast or
\nStitcher. We definitely want to keep having great guests on the show and great content.
\nSo if you have a moment, please go to i-Tunes, leave a rating and review and let us know how we’re
\ndoing. I’m Donny, mate, and thanks so much for tuning in.<\/p>\n"},"episode_featured_image":false,"episode_player_image":"https:\/\/podcasts.la.utexas.edu\/the-team-behind-the-team\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/25\/2020\/03\/Team_Behind_Team_1400.jpg","download_link":"https:\/\/podcasts.la.utexas.edu\/the-team-behind-the-team\/podcast-download\/28\/e7-sheri-walters-sport-medicine.mp3","player_link":"https:\/\/podcasts.la.utexas.edu\/the-team-behind-the-team\/podcast-player\/28\/e7-sheri-walters-sport-medicine.mp3","audio_player":"