Off the Roll

"I shall be telling this with a sigh. Somewhere ages and ages hence: Two roads diverged in the wood, and I - I took the one less traveled by, And that has made all the difference." The Road Not Taken, Robert Frost That is exactly what Dr. Brian Hatzel did in 1997 when he was looking for a graduate assistantship coming out of the University of Florida undergraduate athletic training program. Ball State was not an SEC football GA Position but it was chance to work baseball and be on his own. Starting out as an student athletic trainer at Oviedo HS in Oviedo, FL and through the mentorship of his HS athletic trainer, Kevin Mathews, Brian decided to pursue athletic training as a career. This landed him at the University of Florida in 1989 and working football as a freshman. His clinical experiences were great but he was looking for something more to make him a stronger clinician. The Baltimore Orioles gave him the opportunity to work in minor league baseball and in turn lead him to build on that at Ball State working baseball for two years as an graduate assistant. He next venture took him back to the University of Florida as a doctoral assistant and working women's soccer and then women's softball. It was a daunting task doing both but his work ethic and the sacrifice from his wife Gayle allowed him to complete his doctoral research. In 2002 he made the move to Michigan and Grand Valley State University and has not looked back since. His former students make up an athletic training tree that is second to none. Many are in leadership positions in athletic training. He is the 2015 Michigan Athletic Trainers Society Distinguished Athletic Trainer, The Great Lakes Athletic Trainers' Association Outstanding Educator in 2017, National Athletic Trainers' Association Athletic Training Service Award recipient in 2018 and The Cardinal Sports Medicine Society Ring of Honor inductee in 2014. Dr. Hatzel resides in Grand Haven, MI with his wife Gayle and their 3 children.

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.