Off the Roll

Baseball HOF'er Scott Rolen, Ball State men's basketball coach Michael Lewis, NCAA Div Football National Champion Matt Mauck, Indiana Senator Mike Braun all hail from the same hometown as our episode 23 guest Jason Eckerle, Jasper, IN. High achievers and great company to be associated with, Jason is no exception. He started out his athletic training journey in high school by attending 2 Cramer student athletic trainer camps and helping take care of the teams at Jasper High School. From there he attended Vincennes University and under the guidance of Mark Goodrich and Robert Cullen built his athletic training skills to prepare him for his next jump to NCAA Division 1 athletics at Ball State University. His class at Ball State challenged him to a high level of performance that lead to an internship with the Atlanta Braves. With professional baseball on his radar, he attending the University of South Carolina as GA for Swim and Dive. He was with a great group of BSU AT alums working swimming in the SEC, Sara McGriff Meserth, University of Georgia, and Tim Lentych, University of Tennessee, during his time there. However, in 2003, the Midwest was calling him home and he landed a assistant AT position at Miami of Ohio University as the baseball AT. While at Miami he moved over men's hockey and was part of their national success in his time there. In 2014 he was offered the opportunity to work in the STRONG lab at Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton OH and an exercise physiologist. This has grown into his current position as the Research Lab Coordinator of the STRONG lab. In 2016 he started as a NFL medical observer for the Cincinnati Bengals and 2017 the same position for Miami of Ohio. He currently resides in Oxford, OH with his wife Heidi and their two children.

How does a farm boy from Wausa, Nebraska end up with 20 years as an AT in the NBA and take care of the greatest basketball player of all time(at the time of this writing in 2023.)?  Right place, Right time.  Mark Pfeil, after graduating at the University of Nebraska, headed off to the big city of Evanston, IL to attend PT school at Northwestern University.  There he met Dick Hoover, who at the time was the head athletic trainer at NU.  Dick, Ron O'Neil, Ron Sendre, and Jim Dickerson quickly taught Mark the skills he would use as a PT/Athletic Trainer.  After PT school Mark returned to Nebraska to provide physical therapy services to several hospitals.  After a couple of years, Dick asked Mark to come work for him in his new independent PT clinic in downtown Chicago.  This clinic was one of the first out-patient PT clinics in the country and was doing rehab for most of the major professional sports in Chicago.  This is where Mark met Jerry Sloan and Jerry hired Mark in 1980 to become the athletic trainer/traveling secretary for the Chicago Bulls.  Mark took care of the Bulls for 10 years including 6 years with Michael Jordan.  Then in summer of 1990 Mark received an offer to become the athletic trainer for the Milwaukee Bucks.   Mark was the athletic trainer for the Bucks for another 10 years.  He was the Joe O'Toole NBA Athletic Trainer of The Year in 1999-2000 season.   Mark then moved to South Carolina and work as a PT in an out-patient clinic.  Mark is currently retired and lives with his wife, Beth, in Columbia, North Carolina. He and Beth have received the Bud and Shirley Miller award for outstanding contributions to the Ball State University Athletic Training Program.   Note: we have a special co-host, Neal Hazen, on this episode. 

In 1993 little did Steve Lubbehusen know that a student teaching assignment was going to turn long tenure at Carroll School Systems.  At the time Carroll was just a small country school north of Fort Wayne, Steve's hometown.  Steve has grown with the school and now one of 3 Certified Athletic Trainers that provide medical care to 1 high school and 2 middle schools and 20 sports.  Steve also teaches in the high school/middle schools as a health/sports medicine teacher.  Steve is one of the most experience teachers/athletic trainers in the area with his 30 years of experience.  This allows him to also be a preceptor for the entry-level master's AT program at Manchester University.  Steve is also a adjunct professor at Ball State University teaching dual credit classes at the high school and currently North East Indiana High School School AT Representative for Indiana Athletic Trainers Association.  Steve was inducted into the Cardinal Sports Medicine Society Ring of Honor in 2021.  He lives outside of Fort Wayne, IN with his wife Chanda and their 3 children.

At Earlham College in Richmond, IN, working as an equipment room as a student assistant a young Barry Clements found an interest in athletic training.  This lead to attending a Cramer Student Athletic Training workshop in 1976 at Ball State University which in turn allowed him to return to his high school to put his skills to work at student athletic trainer at Richmond High School.  When he graduated in 1977 he took his experience to Ball State University where he met his mentor Jim Dickerson.  Upon graduation he went to Kent State University as an AT graduate assistant under another BSU AT alum John Faulstick.   After one year as the AT at Stebbins HS in Dayton, OH, in 1983 Clements found a home at the University of South Florida as an assistant athletic trainer.  Two years later he was the Head AT at USF and so started his career in USF athletics to now where is he is the Deputy Athletic Director/ Capital Projects.  Quite a rise from the small equipment room at Earlham College.  He has been honored for his work in athletic training by the Athletic Trainers Association of Florida, Overall AT of the year in 1993, the ATA of Florida Hall of Fame in 2003.  He was also the president of the ATA of Florida and served on the State of Florida Board of Athletic Training form 2009 to 2013.  He as been a international speaker for Cramer Products, The director of the Dick Baumgartner's basketball shooting camps in the 1980's in his hometown of Richmond, IN.  He has been honored by Ball State University as the Outstanding Young Alumnus in 1994 and was inducted into the Cardinal Sports Medicine Society Ring of Honor in 2013.  He has amassed many of the same accolades on the administrative side of things for USF in his 39 year career at the school, where is has supervised almost every area in the athletic department.   He currently resides in Temple Terrace, FL with his wife Melissa.    

What do ATI physical therapy, Athletico, and Ivy Rehab all have in common?  They would not be here if not for the vision of NATA Hall of Famer, Dick Hoover and his idea for independent outpatient physical therapy clinics.  Glen Snow shares the story of Physical Therapy Services, the first independent outpatient physical therapy clinic that went nation wide.  In 1984 Glen was recruited by Dick to be the VP of business development.  Glen helped open up 43 clinics and help grow the clinics to be worth 18 million dollars before they sold out to Baxter International in 1990.   Their hard work paved the way for the current day independent outpatient physical therapy clinic.  Glen is currently the President of Digijump and he and his wife Pam reside in Georgetown, IN.

Bill Bean by his own admission, was an average athlete, but being an average athlete led to a 40 year plus career as an athletic trainer/physical therapist.  He started out at his local high school as a student athletic trainer in Rexburg, ID and then thanks to his head football coach talking the athletic trainer at Utah State he became a student athletic trainer at Utah State.  After fulfilling is ROTC obligations to the US Army in Monterey, CA.  Bill reunited with Dick Melhart at Washington State as an assistant athletic trainer.  His next job was with the Utah Stars with the ABA.  After the Stars folded he was offered a job by Arnie Ferrin AD at the University of Utah.  This kicked off a 32 year career with the Utes where he witnessed the evolution of college athletics and college athletic training.  Bill retired from the U in 2008 but still is consulting with the University of Utah Sports Medicine Clinic at an foot orthotics specialist.  He has been honored by the National Athletic Trainers' Association's Most Distinguished Athletic Trainer award in 2002, The Rocky Mountain Athletic Trainers' Association Hall of Fame in 2003, Utah Athletic Trainers' Association Hall of Fame in 2004,  Bill also was part of the sports medicine team for the 1980 Winter Olympics and 2002 Winter Olympics.  He resides in Salt Lake City with is wife Nancy, they have two sons, Brandon and Justin.

In the summer of 1970 Jim Routhier made a decision that set the course of the rest of his career.  He had decided to transfer from IPFW to Ball State University and pursue a major in teaching but he also had an interest in medicine and took an into to athletic training class taught by Jim Dickerson.  This set him on a pathway of a distinguished 31 year career as the athletic trainer at Concord HS in Elkhart, IN.  In his time there he started an student athletic trainer program that produced many athletic trainers, physical therapists, nurses, and physicians.   He also was the girls volleyball coach for 22 years with a record of 472-179.  He took up a second coaching career as the women's volleyball coach at Goshen College in Goshen, IN for 10 seasons.  Jim also found time to contribute to the athletic training profession by serving as the Indiana Athletic Trainers Association treasurer for five years and the chair of Finance Committee.  He was instrumental in establishing a investment plan for the IATA as that Chair.  Jim was the Indiana Athletic Trainers Association High School Athletic Trainer of the year in 1990 and inducted in to the IATA Hall of Fame in 1998.  He is in the Elkhart County Sports Hall of Fame, The Concord Athletic Hall of Fame and the Cardinal Sports Medicine Society Ring of Honor (2004)  He now is fully retired and splits time in Indiana and Florida with his wife, Stephanie.

It is interesting how fate steps in and provides an opportunity to start a life long career.  That is exactly what happened to Brian Jones when an automobile accident led to a meeting with the athletic trainer that took care of his mom after the accident.  John Coddington's influence on Brian started him on a career pathway that has been in the making for over 30 years.  His recommendation to go to Ball State and become part of their athletic training education program allowed Brian to work with a AT staff that would help him land a GA position at Michigan State.  That AT staff would help him secure a assistant AT position at the University of Toledo where he has been ever since.  Currently Brian is the Senior Associate Athletic Director for Health and Wellness and works with 10 staff certified athletic trainers, 1 physical therapist, & 1 insurance coordinator. Brian is also a leader in the Athletic Training profession by serving on the NCAA Division 1 Concussion Safety Protocol Committee.  He has been honored as the Ohio Athletic Trainers' Association "Athletic Trainer of the Year in 2011-2012", Cardinal Sports Medicine Society Ring honor in 2011 and in 2022 the NATA Intercollegiate Council for Sports Medicine Division 1 Head Athletic Trainer of Year.

The LaPorte, IN native resides in Monclova Township with his wife Kim and his son Zachary and daughter Avery.

Athletic Trainers need supplies to do their jobs.  Sometimes the most important person in getting an athlete back is the sports medicine company representative.  They play an intrical part in supporting athletic trainers and the care they provide their athletes.  Whether is overnighting a product or introducing a new product that will help the athletic trainer get an athlete back to activity, their dedication to what they due in not unlike an athletic trainer.  Paul Calloway (Miotech) and Brian Matix (Henry Schein) have been in the business for over 25 years.  They both started out at Medco Medical Supply when it was in Muncie, IN and both consider Jim Dickerson as mentor.  They have some great stories from their perspective on the AT profession and why relationships still drive sales.  They have a few "JD" stories as well that should garner some laughs.  Their contributions to the AT profession are important and they are considered valuable consultants on what is trending in the AT profession through their travels.  They both reside in Ft Wayne, IN with their families.

As a high school athlete Rob Hunt was on the receiving end of athletic training services at West Lafayette High School in West Lafayette, IN. Right in the shadow of one of the more storied epicenters of athletic training, Purdue University.  He wanted to design and build things so Ball State University's architecture program seemed like the right fit. Unbeknownst to him he was following in the footsteps of Ron O'Neil and Mark Lahr.  He realized the missing factor as an architecture major was working with people and led him to change his major to athletic training.  Rob's journey started at Ball State, then to Missouri, Southeast Missouri State, Oklahoma State and finally where he is today Notre Dame, where he is currently the Associate Athletic Director for Athletic Training and Rehabilitation. In this podcast Rob talks about his journey and what he believes that insures the best outcomes in the care of student athletes.  A great philosophy for all athletic trainers to hear especially for National Athletic Training Month.  Rob resides in South Bend with his wife Krista and their four children. 

Mark Lahr was too short and too slow to be on his high school basketball team at Lafayette Jeff High School in Lafayette IN.  It was just the right combination to start a long and exceptional career as an athletic trainer.  With a few detours on along the way Mark found his way to Jim Dickerson and the Ball State AT program.  Mark graduated from Ball State in 1984 with a math teaching degree and a desire to work at the secondary school level as an athletic trainer.  He got the opportunity to teach math and be an athletic trainer at Ben Davis HS, in Indianapolis, IN that same year and the rest is history they like to say... He was a part of numerus state championships, started one of the first sports medicine curriculums at the secondary school level in Indiana, and was a leader among secondary school AT's in the Indianapolis area.  He got to see first hand the development of the accelerated ACL rehab protocol and participated in the research of it as an athletic trainer.  He was also a lead athletic trainer in the Hoosier State Games and the White River Park Games.  He has been a sought after speaker for High School Athletic Training workshops.  He was the Indiana All Stars Athletic Trainer for Softball in 2004 and Football in 2008. He was inducted into the Indiana Athletic Trainers Association in 2009 and the Cardinal Sports Medicine Society in 2011.  He is currently employed by Forte Sports Medicine as a DME coordinator.  He and his wife Colleen live Indianapolis.

Our 10th Episode!

How does an architecture major and a week in the student health center lead to an outstanding athletic training career featuring innovation and product development that contributes to the health and well being of athletes?  Ron O'Neil explains in this episode of Off the Roll.  Ron was a graduate of Ball State University in 1969.  While at Ball State he played varsity baseball while also being a student athletic trainer.  He was one of the few that was taught by Bud Miller, Dick Hoover, Ron Sendre and Jim Dickerson.  Quite an impressive list of mentors.  He next moved on to Northwestern University and for he next 4 years worked with NATA hall of famer Dick Hoover as an assistant athletic trainer.  Because of his work with the first isokinetic machines he got the opportunity to become an assistant athletic trainer with the NFL's Philadelphia Eagles where he spent 11 years working with hall of fame athletic training legend Otho Davis.  In his time with the Eagles he help develop one the most prestigious athletic training intern programs in the country.  In 1984 the New England Patriots came calling and he spent the next 18 years there.  He was a part of 3 Super Bowl's and one Super Bowl title in 2002.  In 1997 Ron and his staff were awarded the NFL Athletic Training Staff of the year.  Next he moved on the Andover Healthcare where he was the senior consultant in education, research and development and was instrumental in development of Andover PowerFlex, PowerTape PowerFlex AFD.  He also did educations session on taping techniques in the United States and Europe.  He retired from Andover in 2020.  He resides in the the Boston area with his wife Joyce.

After getting cut from his HS basketball team for being to slow and too small Jay Bradley embarked on a career path that has kept him busy throughout the Midwest for over 50 years.  After taking a Cramer Student Athletic Trainer correspondence course in high school he was asked to be his high school's athletic trainer.  He was the student athletic trainer for the 1967 Indiana Boys All Start basketball team and the student athletic trainer for the 1967 Indiana North All Stars Football team in their game vs the South All Stars with a student athletic trainer named Glen Snow.  This started his path to Ball State, University of Cincinnati, and finally IUPUI.  He was instrumental in the creation of the Indiana Athletic Trainers Association and a long time director of Nike Basketball camps across the United States.  He is a member of four Hall of Fames, Pike HS Alumni Hall of Fame, Indiana Athletic Trainers Hall of Fame, Cardinal Sports Medicine Society Ring of Honor, IUPUI Athletics Hall of Fame 

In 1985 there was a shift in perspective in Ball State Athletic Training.  Rex Sharp was hired as the head athletic trainer.  Not being a physical therapist was a change in direction for the program.  He was joining fellow Ball State AT alum and assistant athletic trainer Tony Cox.  Together the first couple of years were spent building a health care and AT education program that would become one of the most prolific AT programs of it time.  1987 Neal Hazen, Also an alum of the Ball State PT program, joins the staff as a physical therapist through Baxter Physical Therapy (Dick Hoover).  The start of 9 special years begin.  This groups influence is responsible for currently 5 NCAA Div. 1 Head Athletic Trainers/Dir of Sports Medicine.  Numerus high school, small college, and clinical athletic trainers that are leaders in the profession.  They did it with a culture of family, fun and professionalism.  Finally a loyalty to each other that surpasses distance and time.  They are truly what this profession is about.  Relationships and caring for people.  

Sometimes we get the opportunity to take care of the people that we once were. It is a unique and sometimes rare opportunity but can be very rewarding to use our experience to help young people achieve their dreams.  That is what Jamie Broz is doing now.  As the manager for the Center for the Female Athlete at Dayton's Children's Hospital she gets to help young female athletes just like she was as a competitive gymnast growing up in Mt Healthy, OH.  Jamie talks about what she is doing now with the program at the Center and tells us her story of becoming an athletic trainer. We talk about being a student AT at Ball State, working with the Ball State Goalball team, Being in the Miss Ball State body building competition, and finally high-fiving Michael Jordan as a Ball State Cheerleader. There are a few other stories thrown in about her time at "Ball State west" other wise known as the University of Missouri.  Jamie is married to former Ball State men's basketball player and athletic training alum David Broz they reside outside Cincinnati with their three children.

Self Promotion can been seen two ways, bragging or advocating  With John Coddington is was always about what athletic trainers could do in the clinical setting.  He has backed it up with a 47 year AT career, all in the clinical setting.  He was a pioneer starting at LaPorte Hospital, LaPorte, IN in 1976 as one of the only athletic trainers in a hospital setting at the time.  He continued working in private PT clinics advocating for athletic trainers in those settings.  While doing this he was covering high schools in the LaPorte and South Bend and becoming the foremost throwing mechanics expert in northern Indiana.  John was instrumental in helping organize the Indiana Athletic Trainers Association and served as the clinical setting representative for 10 years.  He has been honored numerous times for his contributions in Athletic Training, IATA Clinical AT of the year 1989, IATA Hall of Fame 2001, Cardinal Sports Medicine Society Ring of Honor 2008,  but most recently he was awarded the Sagamore of the Wabash by Governor Eric Holcomb.  This is the highest honor that any Hoosier can receive for their contributions and honor to the State of Indiana.  John is still saving young arms as a throwing instructor at the 1st Source Bank Sports Performance Center in South Bend, IN. and still resides there with his wife, Lynn.

Episode 5:  Dr. Alan Habansky was an orthopedic surgeon in Muncie, IN for over 35 years and 30 of those years as a team physician for Ball State Athletics.  His story weaves in and out of experiences and people like a woven blanket.  From being a classmate of Dr. Anthony Fauci during his undergrad at Holy Cross to being a Sports Medicine Fellow with Dr. James Andrews at the Hughston Clinic, and a few other places along the way.  He found his calling in Muncie, IN.  Today we talk about these experiences.  Some Ball State athletic department stories,  the athletic trainers he worked with at Ball State, his mission work in the Ukraine and few life stories that help us understand that it is not where you are at but the people you help along the way that is important.

Angie Miller has been an Certified Athletic Trainer for over 30 years.  She started out as an AT student at Ball State graduating in 1989 and then off to Ohio University as graduate assistant in a small high school.  After a short stint at a high school outreach position in Columbus, OH she landed at Avon High School, Avon, IN and has been there ever since.  She was their first full time athletic trainer and has built the program to have two other outreach AT's to help her with athletic training access to the student athletes at Avon.  Angie currently serves on the NATA historical archives committee as well as the Indiana Athletic Trainers Association History and Archives committee.  An IATA Hall of Fame member and a Cardinal Sports Medicine Society Ring of Honor member, Her contributions to the profession have been immense in her career.  This allows for some excellent stories to share in this episode of Off the Roll!  

Welcome to Off the Roll!  This is the first of hopefully many episodes.  We talk with Ron Sendre, alumni, former assistant AT, Co-Head AT and AT Education program director at Ball State University.  Ron spent 8 years at BSU and then left to go to Central Michigan University where he developed and instituted the first AT major in the the United States.  He tells his story about that process.  How he worked with Sayers " Bud" Miller and carried on Bud's vision for the AT profession through AT education.  He also talks about his good friend and former co-worker Jim Dickerson.  Great stories from a great contributor to the AT profession!

What is Off the Roll and what it will include in each episode.  Host: Troy Hershman