Jun 23, 2016Denver Combines Health and Performance
The University of Denver has announced the launch of a new Pioneer Health and Performance program that will combine the talents of Sports Medicine and Sports Performance (formally strength and conditioning) into the same subdivision, Vice Chancellor for Athletics and Recreation Peg Bradley-Doppes announced on Tuesday.
“We are looking forward to seeing the impact of the coming together of departments that have a tremendous impact on our student-athletes’ wellness at the University of Denver,” Bradley-Doppes said. “Julie [Campbell] and Matt [Shaw] have done a tremendous job with their individual areas, and now we are looking forward to the collaborative effort between the two groups to even further enhance our student-athletes’ college careers.”
Former Director of Sports Medicine Julie Campbell has been promoted to the Associate Athletic Director for Pioneer Health and Performance.
“I really look at this change as a massive collaboration to promote health and wellness,” Campbell said. “We will take these four different areas and pool them all together so we can collectively work at the highest level. This will give our student-athletes an enhanced experience that will promote success and excellence in training and competition.
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“I think this is the direction that a lot of top tier programs are moving toward. The joining of our areas emphasizes the student-athlete experience to make it the best that it can possibly be. DU wants to stay cutting edge, and I think as we took a look across the country, we believe that this is the future of this industry. I’m excited that Denver can be a front-runner in that process.”
In all, Pioneer Health and Performance will include Sports Medicine, Sports Performance, team physicians, medical consultants, sports psychology and mental health, biomechanics and sports nutrition. Pioneer Health and Performance is designed to increase the performance and decrease injuries through a multi-disciplinary approach and giving the University of Denver student-athletes the best possible care and services related to health, wellness and performance.
“Pioneer Health and Performance will bring together resources and collaboration across four areas for the benefit of our student athletes’ health and physical development,” head sports performance coach Matt Shaw said. “Being able to expand resources and technology available for education, evaluation and training will allow us to maximize the student-athlete experience and performance outcomes. We are all incredibly excited about this unveiling and its future impact on our athletes for years to come.”
The subdivision will also collaborate with the DU Human Dynamics Laboratory for research, performance enhancement and injury reduction.
“One of the very exciting pieces of this component is that it will affect every student-athlete across the board,” Campbell said. “To have that type of impact is exciting for the future of the athletic department. We are looking forward to the ability to integrate resources, technology and research. This is going to open up opportunities for collaborative research, not only within this group, but also involving external campus partners and others inside the University.”
