University of Tennessee Athletics
Baseball athletic trainer to speak at NATA meeting
June 10, 2008 | Baseball
Tennessee assistant athletic trainer Jeff Wood???who has spent the past eight years as the Volunteers baseball athletic trainer???is conducting a workshop next week at the National Athletic Trainers??? Association???s Annual Meeting & Clinical Symposia in St. Louis. Wood???s presentation is entitled ???Exercise Programs to Protect Baseball Pitchers??? Arms from Overuse Injuries.???
In addition to holding NATA certification, Wood also holds a Master???s degree in Exercise science from Tennessee and a Bachelor???s degree in Education from Marshall.
Known simply as ???Woody??? to his colleagues and the student-athletes he serves, Wood has given numerous presentations at national and regional conferences on topics ranging from ???Care and Prevention of the Potentially Cervical Spine Injured Athlete??? to ???Shoulder Injuries Associated with Overhand Throwing.???
And his thorough knowledge of kinesiology and sports medicine earned him a trip to China last summer with Major League Baseball International.
???It???s been said before but it bears repeating, Woody is the best baseball trainer in America,??? UT head coach Todd Raleigh said. ???His value to this program can???t be overstated. He???s always researching the latest methods and techniques in sports medicine, and our players are blessed to have such a valuable resource who cares so much about them as young men.???
Wood???s history around the game of baseball is extensive. He spent 10 years as a certified trainer in the Baltimore Orioles organization, including four seasons as head trainer for the Class-AAA Rochester Red Wings. He also has worked with the Bluefield Orioles rookie-league team, the Charlotte O???s Class-AA club, the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP), NASCAR and PRCA professional rodeos.
In 1987, he was named Athletic Trainer of the Year by the Southern League of Professional Baseball Clubs.
Wood has been a part of two Tennessee baseball teams that reached the College World Series (2001 and 2005). Numerous Vols in professional baseball return to campus in the off-season to consult Wood regarding training methods and to seek injury rehabilitation assistance.
Just this past year, Wood oversaw the rehab of freshman pitcher Bryan Morgado, who redshirted the 2007 season after undergoing surgery on his throwing arm. Morgado returned this spring and earned Freshman All-America honors after totaling 104 strikeouts to rank among the nation???s leaders.
