Drug Free Sport is a
sport drug-testing company, so why are you hosting an educational conference?
Drug
Free Sport is in a unique position to bring all sport professions together to
further our mission to ensure fair and safe sport, and help to champion athlete
well-being and collaboration among all athletic staff within a sport
organization.
Education remains a large component of Drug Free Sport’s
mission and business model and we are often on campus or in sport organization
facilities observing and interacting with a variety sport professions. The
programs that really shine in our eyes when it comes to complete athlete care
and performance are those that fulfill a complete spectrum of sport
disciplines, AND successfully work together. This appears in many ways
including the collaboration between the athletic trainer and sports dietitian
regarding an athlete with disordered eating; the strength and conditioning
specialist noticing changes in the athlete’s energy and performance in the
weight room and communicating concern to the athletic trainer for assessment of
proper joint function and range of motion; the team physician sharing post-op
reports with the sports dietitian and trainer to complete a full recovery plan
for the athlete; and more.
What makes the Sport
Exchange Summit different from other sport conferences?
Unfortunately, we find that many sport organizations currently
do not operate with the full incorporation, sharing, and communication needed
to engage all professions integral to athlete care and performance. Internally,
operations are riddled with interdepartmental competition rather than
collaboration and effective communication.
We felt that hosting a conference on some of the most
important topics surrounding athlete well-being was a start, but only if we
could encourage multidisciplinary participation. Compared to other specialty
conferences where similar vocations learn with like-minded peers, we strive to
bring variety to this unique learning opportunity. How many times have athletic
trainers, sports dietitians, team physicians, strength and conditioning
specialists, coaches, sports psychologists, administrators, compliance
personnel, and other disciplines gathered together under one roof to discuss
some of the most pressing issues related to athlete performance and well-being?
The
conference will promote valuable discussion and networking opportunities for
participants to learn from a variety of programs (high school, collegiate,
professional) and professions. Content is driven to provide cutting edge
developments and hot topics in sport, as well as the opportunity to showcase
“what works” for successful athletic programs.
So you want to
encourage collaboration? How did this idea come about?
Collaborative engagements seem rare in the sports industry.
Just like the athletes they serve, athletic personnel work more often in competitive
environments. Limited sharing of expertise or communications regarding athlete
well-being can limit athlete potential and the success of the greater
organization or team. The Sport Exchange Summit hopes to change this mindset by
offering a multidisciplinary concept for continuing education and professional
development. Ideally, this approach will bring people from different backgrounds
and sport professions together—allowing for shared learning and enhanced
discussion on important topics in the industry.
Who do
you want to collaborate?
The Sport
Exchange Summit will bring together athletic directors, certified athletic
trainers, team coaches, strength and conditioning coaches, sports dietitians,
sport psychologists, team physicians, and other personnel to learn, discuss,
and engage with one another on relevant topics.
What do you hope the
attendees will get out of the Summit this July?
Ultimately, the hope is they learn something new that they
can take back to their program and discuss effective opportunities to improve
current models for athlete care. AND, the idealist in all of us hopes that they
begin to shift their thinking and welcome the added expertise of other
disciplines within their organization when looking to positively influence
athlete performance and recovery gains.
But, for the avid conference attendee, we also have set
forth the following learning objectives.
Attendees will be able to:
- Summarize current,
pressing topics affecting athlete health and performance at all levels of
competition.
- Identify challenges and
opportunities in creating a more collaborative (versus competitive)
professional environment within sports organizations to enhance player
development, health, and performance.
- Consider the significance
and psycho-social relevance of race and diversity, transgender,
prescription and recreational drug abuse, drug-testing, and “life after
sports” concerns for athletes within today’s sports organizations.
- Describe the importance
and impact of building a collaborative sports medicine and performance
family that includes sports nutrition, sports psychology, and effective
player engagement.
The Sport Exchange Summit is a dense one-and-a-half day
conference with hot and relevant topics that will help to grow athlete health
and wellness. We hope you’ll consider joining us and take a positive step to
increase collaboration at your respective program. Visit sportexchangesummit.com for more
information and to register. Only 5 weeks left!
Continuing education credits are available for sport
dietitians, certified athletic trainers, strength and conditioning specialists,
and licensed psychologists.
