Issue link: https://www.massageandbodyworkdigital.com/i/665755
START AT THE BEGINNING Whenever you start a conversation about sports massage, one name consistently enters the dialog—Benny Vaughn. Considered by many to be the "father of US sports massage," Vaughn has seen the evolutionary milestones of manual sports therapies up close and personal. Starting as an athlete himself, Vaughn went to the University of Florida in 1969 on a track scholarship before eventually transitioning to the other side of the training table in the early 1970s. Many, including most of those interviewed for this article, credit Vaughn with their own success in the field. So what milestones does this icon recognize in the history of US sports massage? Starting the Conversation Vaughn starts by paying homage to Jack Meagher and his 1980 book, SportsMassage (Doubleday), which Meagher coauthored with Pat Boughton. "It's what started the conversation," Vaughn says. "It was the first time folks started to see the term sports massage, and that got things moving in that direction." In his text, Meagher wrote: "Whatever sport you play, Sportsmassage [the spelling Meagher coined] will give you 20 percent extra—extra performance, extra protection, extra time, per game, per season, per career." Thirty-six years later, and that's still the conversation being discussed today. (See "Razor's Edge," page 52, for more on the role of sports massage and peak athletic performance.) A Community is Born Not long after Meagher's book was published, the work of US sports massage therapists became more visible and leaders in this genre began to stand out. Vaughn says it was a collaborative meeting of the minds at a resort in the Pocono Mountains in the mid-1980s that propelled the course of modern-day US sports massage. It was there that Robert (Bob) King, co- founder of the Chicago School of Massage Therapy, tasked the group with creating a sports massage certification exam. Vaughn remembers his own role as one of the first examiners for that now defunct test. At the same time, an effort was underway to create a national sports massage team that would work events and promote massage therapy in general. "I recall Bob's idea behind that," Vaughn says. "He thought that sport would be a great vehicle to simply support massage therapy. It would be visible to the public, it would be transparent. Spectators could stand at a tent at a road race and see the athletes get massaged. It wasn't behind a closed door, but outside in the daylight." The end goal, he says, was demystifying the notion of massage. Vaughn says both the sports massage certification and the creation of the sports massage team were instrumental to the evolution of US sports medicine— not only for the goal of creating public awareness, but also for the added benefit of creating a community of colleagues. "There were many massage therapists around the country who had been working alone in the sports," Vaughn says. "Many were working singularly and in vacuums. This was the first moment of connecting us: we had a group, we had a mission, we had a sports massage team, and we worked as a tremendous vehicle and ambassador for massage." A Potential Realized The 1996 Olympic Games in Atlanta is a milestone Vaughn is personally attached to. These Games marked the first time massage therapists were included as part of the official Olympic volunteer force that provided service to the athletes. MTs had been at the Games before, and often provided massage to volunteers and staff, as well as athletes, but they weren't part of the official Olympic family. "In 1996, I made it a point to change all that," Vaughn says. "This was a big turning point for me," he recalls. "At that time, I was employed by the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games as a manager for Athlete Medical Services. My responsibility was to arrange the sports health care for 10,000-plus athletes and their support teams that were coming to Atlanta, including the care they received at the Polyclinic, as well as the various venues." Vaughn says he made sure massage therapy was included as part of those official services. The goal, he says, was to ensure that every massage therapist participating in the Games was on the official credentialed roster. This afforded the MTs uniforms, access to the venues, and support. Vaughn says they were also working side by side with athletic trainers, and with equal standing. That was the beginning of massage having a seat at the table in an official way. "Every Olympics thereafter, massage therapy was a credentialed part of sports medicine services in the Olympic Village," Vaughn says. But it's not just that massage is now at the table. It's also that it's being requested in record numbers. "It's still the most sought-after health service during the Games to this day," Vaughn says. "When the US Olympic Committee does their debriefing with the athletes, and asks what services they like to have or need more of, massage therapy is always on the top of the list." Benny Vaughn says massage therapy is the most sought-after health service by Olympic athletes. THE E VOLUTION OF U.S. SPORTS MASSAGE