Pat is one of the leading Athletic Trainers (AT) in the US and has held various coveted positions across different organisations and sports. Pat has worked in the MLS in his current role as Head Athletic Trainer for FC Cincinnati and as a Director of Performance for Orlando City SC. He has also worked with tactical special operations group, professional Baseballers with the Baltimore Orioles and spent a bulk of his career working with the world famous multi-sport student athlete program, IMG Academy in Florida, USA and in this conversation he provides an unprecedented insight into this internationally renowned athlete academy. This is a great conversation around what's involved in the role of an to AT in US sports and Pat uniquely shares his experience, lessons and highlights from a career spanning over 20years in the high performance sport industry.

Highlights from the episode…

• Having come from a sporting family and his Dad suffering a Achilles injury himself, this motivated Pat to dive into the world of AT in high performance sport.
• Pat provides an in-depth insight into the differences in roles and responsibilities between an AT and Physical Therapist (PT) and why he chose to be an AT.
• How Pat got his first role in the sport of Baseball with a Major League organisation the Baltimore Orioles.
• After working a few seasons with the Orioles Pat shares how he got a role with the multi sport IMG Academy in Florida.
• After a year Pat was then thrusted into the lead AT role. We discuss leadership and how most are not equipped, or ready, for the responsibility of a leadership role even though this may be viewed as a natural progression.
• Pat provides an unprecedented insight into the IMG Academy from the history, services, facilities, the athletes who have graduated from the academy to the medical & performance departments, staff roles, responsibilities etc.
• With admittingly limited experience in the performance side to sport, Pat shares how he navigated the challenges & responsibilities of now overseeing the performance and medical departments of the first team, women’s team and academy team of newly established MLS franchise Orlando SC.
• In an outcome driven industry there is a huge risk of validating your work through wins and losses with the reality that all but only one team can win the championship.
• After spending 4 years out of sport while working with special forces, for the first time in his career he found a role that provided stability and a balanced family life but also felt a strong desire to get back into sport. We discuss navigating the difficult decisions of doing what is right for the family and still being pulled to what Pat feels he was called to do.
• Advice on navigating challenging conversations with coaches.
• What Pat is excited to see over the next 5 years professional & personally.

Patrick Tanner contact details:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/patrick-tanner-ms-atc/

People mentioned:

• Gary Walker: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gary-walker-511b2712/
• Jason Stallons: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jason-stallons-pt-dpt-ocs-scs-omt-c-b39a0010a/
• Alex Calder: https://www.linkedin.com/in/alex-calder-aa432480/

Host: Luis Resa

Contact me on:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/luis-resa-a975196b/
• Email: luis.resa@outlook.com

Thanks for listening and please leave a review.

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