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Sam Donaldson is the Head Physiotherapist for the Queensland Firebirds who compete in the premier netball competition in the world, the Super Netball League. Sam would have to be one of the nicest guys in the industry and also has immense knowledge and experience in elite sport having worked with State football teams, the Brisbane Roar FC in the W-League and with Football Australia as Head Physiotherapist for the national paralympic team. Sam shares his story from initially not being accepted into a physiotherapy degree, to working as an exercise physiologist, to now leading the medical team of one of the most successful professional netball teams in Australia. Sam is a person I admire not just for his knowledge of injury management in sport, or the success he has had in the field of high performance but also for his authenticity and his genuine desire to see his athletes get better. 


Highlights from the episode…

• Sam began by not receiving the entry scores required to get into Physio and started his career as an Exercise Physiologist.
• “Having an understanding of your strengths can really help you both decide what you want to do, find a fulfilling career as well as find what you will excel in”.
• Through being resourceful, a lot of researching and thinking laterally allowed Sam to eventually being accepted into a physio. 
• Upon finishing his Masters degree Sam decided to move to Melbourne where he was offered 6 different jobs. 
• Sam shares what factors he considered when making the tough choice of what offer to take. 
• Sam talks about how he got his foot in the door in sport with his first role with the Victorian State Para Football Team.
• While working with State Para football, Sam answered a non-recognizable phone number and was offered a role with Football Australia as Head Physio for the Pararoos. 
• Sam shares some of the highlights, adventures, challenges and the vast clinical experience that he gained through his 4 years with the Pararoos.
• Sam and I share the uniqueness of the classification process in Para sport that is vastly different to able body sport and it's impact on an athlete.  
• Sam speaks about how he then moved on to his new role as Head Physio for the QLD Firebirds and what he had to navigate coming into a new role, a new sport and working with high level female athletes. 
• Sam provides insight into the staffing structure of the high performance team of a professional netball team.
• The nuances of elite women’s sport and what many don't consider.
• With the inability to use GPS in an indoor sport I get a fascinating insight on how the Firebirds monitor loads in his players. 
• With Netball having a high prevalence of ACL injuries Sam shares some invaluable info on how they monitor players, what specific tests are used, timing of testing and the management ACL injuries that can be transferred into any sport. 

 
People mentioned: 

• Pararoos Documentary: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=euHvobA5IjM

 
Sam Donaldson contact details:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/samdonaldson/

Host: Luis Resa

Contact me on:

• LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/luis-resa-a975196b/
• Email: [email protected]

Thanks for listening and please leave a review. If you would like more information on anything mentioned in this episode simply send me an email.