Picture courtesy from the Dallas Mavericks.
Division Director of the Movement Science Laboratory Sophia Ulman, Ph.D. inspires the next generation of athletes to explore the wide range of opportunities in sports beyond the court.
The Dallas Mavericks organization hosted their annual Mavs Academy Fall Classic in November in Frisco, Texas. The tournament united 80 boys’ and girls’ varsity teams across Texas to compete at various Frisco ISD schools throughout two weekends. Scottish Rite for Children’s athletic trainers handled injuries on the sidelines, ranging from minor abrasions to significant joint injuries, like ACL tears.
While the teams showed off their high-quality skills on the court, Ulman represented Scottish Rite’s sports medicine team in the tournament’s off-court, educational enrichment. In a panel discussion, Ulman expanded young athletes’ perspectives of careers in sports through her own journey. Starting as a competitive basketball player herself, she acknowledged that she was like many young athletes — imagining a career that allowed her to stay connected to sports. Ulman shared how her career path evolved with her internship at Duke University’s Michael W. Krzyzewski Human Performance Laboratory (K-Lab). Since then, Ulman has conducted innovative research on lower extremity injuries, as well as a variety of risk factors including movement quality, nutrition, sleep and early sport specialization in Scottish Rite’s state-of-the-art Movement Science Laboratory.
“I get to be around young athletes every day, and the work I get to do has the potential to impact thousands more,” Ulman says. “I can’t imagine a better place to be.”
Ulman’s perspective broadens young athletes’ views of sports, specifically through showing how it is possible to contribute to the game through STEM-specific careers. Panelists alongside Ulman included Mechelle Lewis Freeman — USA Track and Field Olympian, Olympic coach, CEO/Founder of TrackGirlz and partner with Ulman in Scottish Rite’s FAST clinics — and Dallas Mavericks legend Rolando Blackman, among others.
“I love talking to the kids because so many of them think that if they don’t go professional, that’s it with sports,” Ulman says. “Being able to share with them that it’s not just being a professional athlete, it’s not just production or being a broadcaster, but there are a lot of STEM-specific jobs as well.”
The Mavs Academy Fall Classic reinforces the relationship between young athletes’ physical performance, well-being and opportunities as they continue to develop. By having a sports medicine expert like Ulman, there is a touch of Scottish Rite’s principles of keeping children active and healthy well into adulthood.
“Over the years in our collaboration with the Mavs Academy, we have had the privilege of educating hundreds of young athletes and have engaged families in our injury prevention research,” says Ulman. “With a solid commitment to our mission of giving children back their childhood, we are dedicated to defining injury prevention standards and using evidence-based information in our care and in our community education so we can truly change the game for young athletes.”
