You may be wondering the name of the pitcher . Well , I ’ m not going to tell you . And that is one of the things that can be frustrating about working with athletes .
To reach and achieve success on a professional level , an athlete must be almost perfect . It requires unparalleled drive , commitment , passion and hard work — and an overabundance of natural talent . Professional athletes and coaches demand the highest standards of performance and quality of themselves and from their players . They also demand it of their pedorthists . If you ’ re up to the challenge , working with professional sports teams can be just about as rewarding an experience as pedorthics has to offer .
The process of providing pedorthic services for professional athletes has its own set of rules and expectations . Sometimes it isn ’ t merely about winning or losing on the field , court , diamond or ice . Sometimes almost inconceivable amounts of money hang in the balance .
The first professional athlete I ever worked with was a starting pitcher for the St . Louis Cardinals . I was called in with about three weeks left in the season . He had some peroneal tendinitis that had forced him to miss his last couple of starts and he had to make two more starts in order for an escalator clause in his contract to kick in and pay him another million dollars . I molded him , made his orthosis the next morning and spent three hours with him that evening tweaking the orthosis as he went through his pitching motions time and time again until we got it right . He ended up getting his payday .
You may be wondering the name of the pitcher . Well , I ’ m not going to tell you . And that is one of the things that can be frustrating about working with athletes . You get to meet professional athletes and play an integral role in getting them back to their peak performance , but you can ’ t ever tell anyone about it — thanks not only to HIPAA , but also to the sometimes obsessive desire of coaches and teams to downplay an athlete ’ s injury or hide it altogether from the opposition and the media .
In order to provide for pro sports teams , you need to be a problem solver who is creative and not easily discouraged . You also can ’ t take it personally when a player doesn ’ t like your creation . Some athletes — pro baseball players especially — are incredibly superstitious and ritualistic and will not change shoe styles or sizes no matter what effect it will have on the outcome of the pedorthic treatment . Turnaround time is a big issue , as well . In years past , I have molded the entire St . Louis Rams football team at their annual physicals , and then the trainers will place an order right before training camp opens for 50 to 70 pairs of orthoses — needed ASAP . If you don ’ t have an onsite lab and either the fabrication skills or aptly capable lab techs , don ’ t even bother trying to market yourself to pro sports teams . Turnaround time for custom foot orthoses is typically expected to be 24 to 48 hours . Recently , I molded one of the football players for a Marzano-style short articulated AFO on a Tuesday and fit it on him at 6:30 a . m . that Friday morning .
A fairly flexible schedule and a fuelefficient automobile help , too . More often than not , you ’ ll be meeting a player at their facility rather than him or her coming to your facility and working around your schedule .
Speaking of marketing yourself to the professional sports teams in your city , in my experience , the best approach is to develop relationships with the team physicians . The pro trainers are bombarded with marketing materials and calls from companies wanting them to use their products . You won ’ t get past the secretary on your own . Do a good
job for the physicians ’ other patients and they will think of you when it comes time to make orthoses for one of their pro athletes .
In my years of working with professional athletes , most of them are good men and women who are truly appreciative of the help you are able to give them . Some will continue being your patients well after their playing days are over . I have one hockey player who moved to Europe after his playing days with the St . Louis Blues were over . To this day , he still comes to see me for new orthoses for his skates when he visits the United States .
It is a lot of hard work and long hours , and I usually toil in anonymity , but it sure is cool on game day to sit back and watch one of your patients catch a game-winning touchdown on Monday Night Football . ■
Erick Janisse , C . Ped ., CO , is vice president of Milwaukee , Wis . -based National Pedorthic Services , Inc . He also oversees the company ’ s St . Louis , Mo ., facility . Janisse is an internationally recognized educator and has a special interest in sports medicine-oriented pedorthics .
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