Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/1037165
cycling, and recommended me as a day- hire for one of their races, Tour of the Gila," Voyles says. "I actively try to connect with as many people as I can in my life—you never know when that connection or person may come in handy." Similarly, Hope was introduced by a friend to the person who would eventually hire her: "I got my job because my friend who plays soccer knew the person doing massage with the Storm W NBA team and she told him about me. So, effectively, I was recruited because my friend/ athlete/client said I was awesome." There's another reason for the importance of networking and word- of-mouth referrals in the world of elite sports massage: with the culture of fame and celebrity inherent in professional sports, coaches and trainers must be highly selective with the team members they hire. It's important to ensure the skills and education of the therapist fall in line with the demands of the job—and that the prospective therapist isn't more interested in being a fan than a professional health-care provider. To accomplish this, the interview and hiring process for most professional sports teams is stringent, consisting of multiple hands-on interviews in addition to challenging sit-down discussions, in order to weed out the therapists who aren't in it for the right reasons. For her position with the Seattle Storm women's basketball team, Hope says, "I was put through several hands- on interviews and quizzed by the team trainer, essentially trying to gauge my skills and personality, and to make sure I wasn't a crazy fan or something—they'd had a problem with that before." PRACTICE WHAT YOU PREACH It makes sense that most massage therapists with a passion for sports massage have at least some athletic experience and continue to stay active so they can remain in touch with movement and the body. Hope says, "I have been an athlete my whole life and had friends who coached or played sports in college and professionally." Voyles practiced gymnastics as a youth, and says, "I think my exercise background really drew me to the corrective side of massage and repatterning." Kenneth Pitts, an avid athlete in high school, had begun to lose touch with that side of his life after entering college to study architecture. "I realized that I greatly missed the strength-training sessions I had experienced during my high school years. I had made much progress over those four years and wished to regain what I lost during my first year of college. With newly found vigor, I began to read and learn more about strength and power training as well as question those around me who knew more than me. During this period of learning, I could not overlook the fact that I thoroughly enjoyed this 'fitness stuff.' " Hope remains active and says the athlete friends she associates with like massage "because it helps them play the sports they love without injury." That said, it's clearly less important to have direct experience playing the sport of the athletes you'll be working on than it is to have a detailed and varied knowledge of anatomy and movement overall. This sort of knowledge will equip you to address imbalances or injuries in all athletes, whether they be baseball players, cyclists, or golfers. Practicing what you preach also includes, naturally, receiving bodywork of your own and prioritizing self-care to keep your body healthy. "Take care of yourself first—you can't help others if you can't help yourself," Voyles says. "I found that receiving work and working on my own imbalances helped me understand it better." The paths to a career in sports massage are as varied and numerous as the sports themselves, which makes learning from the experiences of those who have found success in the field invaluable for those pursuing it. The opportunities have never been greater for therapists interested in sports massage, and with the lessons of others to help guide the way, more therapists than ever before can find success in this field. Brandon Twyford is editor, online and digital strategy for Associated Bodywork & Massage Professionals. Knowledge of anatomy will equip you to address imbalances or injuries in all athletes, whether they be baseball players, cyclists, or golfers. Yo u r M & B i s w o r t h 2 C E s ! G o t o w w w. a b m p . c o m / c e t o l e a r n m o r e . 79