Football season is also a special time for me because I am a team physician with Olentangy Liberty High School. This will be my sixth season with Olentangy and each year I look more forward to working with the kids, meeting their families and supporting our young athletes. I’m perhaps most excited about our season opener because it pairs two of Ohio’s best football programs – Olentangy and my current hometown Dublin Coffman. Olentangy and Dublin will clash in the Herbstreit Classic at Ohio Stadium. The game will air on ESPNU on August 30 at noon; or you can join us live by purchasing tickets at www.ticketweb.com.

As a team physician I work with the coaches and trainers pre-game to ensure warm-ups and stretching prevent injury. We monitor the athletes during the game to understand the way their bodies move and what pressures are being put on their bones and joints and of course after the game to ice, heat, stretch and heal their muscles to strengthen for the next week. If there is an injury, we nurture, treat and heal as necessary. As a team physician my goal is to be a part of the team so when they do need me I am there to work with the athlete, their parents and coaches. 

This is truly my favorite time of the year and I hope you join me in the excitement of football season. Naturally, if you don’t make it to the game or catch it on ESPNU, we’ll fill you in on who won and which of our student athletes raised the bar of high school football at the Herbstreit Classic.