Cubs Host Spring Training Seminar

Cubs Host Spring Training Seminar

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The Chicago Cubs Athletic Training staff hosted the 2016 PBATS Arizona Spring Training Seminar on Friday, March 11th at the Under Armour Performance Center. The Seminar was organized and moderated by Cubs Head Athletic Trainer, PJ Mainville and PBATS President, Mark O’Neal.  There were 120 attendees representing 12 of the 15 Major League Teams that have spring training in Arizona.

The Seminar began with remarks from PBATS President Mark O’Neal who recapped topics from the PBATS winter meetings. Topics included the current MLB/MiLB drug policy, MLB and MiLB concussion protocols and a summary of programs sponsored and vital to PBATS. The newly membership approval of three 50,000 scholarships was disclosed to Minor League ATC’s that were not at the Winter meetings in Nashville, Tenn. EMR committee members were represented by Roger Caplinger from the Brewers and Matt Johnson from the Cubs.  Nick Kenney, American League Representative of the PBATS Executive Board and Rob Nodine, past American League Assistant Athletic Trainer Representative were also present.

The first presentation of the night began with Major League Assistant Athletic Trainer Matt Johnson and Minor League Athletic Trainers Shane Nelson and Mike McNulty. They discussed “Oblique Strains: Our Approach to Identifying Cause and Treatment.”

The second presentation of the night featured Minor League Athletic Training Coordinator Nick Frangella, Minor League Athletic Trainer Jonathan Fierro and Strength and Conditioning Coordinator Doug Jarrow. They discussed “An Integrated Approach to Hamstring Prevention, Treatment and Return to Play.”

After a brief intermission, Dr. Josh Akin DC of Chicago Chiropractic and Sports Medicine, discussed “Thinking Globally for Acute and Local Injury Considerations.” Finally, the night was finished with a presentation from Dr. Chris Hogrefe, associate team physician for the Chicago Cubs and Northwestern Medicine in Chicago, Ill. He touched on “The Diagnostic Utility of Ultrasound in the Training Room.”

Members had a great night of good barbecue and practical presentations for all in attendance to apply in addressing current trends in the athletic training field along with diagnosis tools and treatments to improve the overall health of players and keep them on the field this season.