Athletic Training

A team of licensed healthcare professionals keeping athletes safe on and off the playing field.

With athletic training coverage provided to area high schools and local athletic events, Cedar Valley Physical Therapy offers a group of experienced professionals to help our area student-athletes avoid and recover from injuries and perform at their best. These specialists are on the sidelines and available during programs and athletic events to assess and assist with injuries, communicate with parents and athletes, and provide referrals to local physicians or orthopedic surgeons as needed. This helps ensure the health and safety of our student-athletes by providing on-site medical treatment at the times when such care is most needed.

Upon an athlete’s return to play, our trainers assist with injury management, and they also work with coaches and athletes throughout the season to implement injury prevention steps. To find out if your school offers athletic training services from Cedar Valley Physical Therapy, we invite you to explore this website further or contact us today.

Services

Local Sports Coverage

Our athletic training services consist of injury prevention, evaluation and diagnosis of injuries, emergency care, treatment and rehabilitation of injuries. Based on an athlete’s injury we can further refer them to an orthopedic specialist or family physician as needed.

We provide services to local area high-schools. Cedar Valley Physical Therapy athletic trainers are contracted out to the high schools either thru a year-long or seasonal contract. Local high schools that we currently have contracts with include:

Other local sports teams that we provide services to include:

We also help cover local sporting events throughout the year including USA Wrestling, Iowa High School Football Playoffs and Irishfest 5k, Soccer, Rugby and Highland games.

In-Clinic Sports Evaluation

For our youth sport athletes and our weekend warriors, we provide a free sports evaluation. The evaluation can be scheduled Monday thru Friday 8 AM – 12 PM at any of our four convenient locations. One of our Certified Athletic Trainers will preform a 15-30 minute evaluation. Based on the assessment we may provide a few suggestions and/or refer on to an orthopedic specialist.

To schedule an appointment, contact us today.

Isokinetic Testing Services

We offer unique isokinetic strength testing for athletes. Isokinetic testing is used to assess strength levels of shoulders, knees and trunk and compare that data to the opposite side or to average values for age, gender, weight and height.

  • We offer strength measuring testing, which allows a team or an individual athlete to assess their current strength and monitor and measure gains throughout their weight training program. Isokinetic testing can help identify deficits that can help guide future strength programs.
  • Post-injury isokinetic assessment helps measure the strength level of an injured joint. This can help determine an athlete’s readiness to safely return to sport activity and reduce the possibility of re-injury and another potential surgery.

I.C.E.: Isokinetic Competition Evaluation

  • This unique program using isokinetic testing and professional advice to help measure strength progress and deficiencies for training athletes to help them reach their competitive maximum. We offer this to teams to assist them with strength training goals and help them achieve the ultimate championship goal together. We also offer this as an individual program for athletes who want to reach their peak potential.

To learn more, contact us today.

Our Team

David Fricke, MS, ATC; LAT

Director of Athletic Training Services

PRACTICING SINCE:

1990

PROFESSIONAL INTERESTS:

Sports medicine, orthopedic bracing, occupation rehabilitation, and professional, college and high-school athletics.

PERSONAL INTERESTS:

Family activities, golf, fishing, attending sporting events and keeping up with the latest injury reports and the latest trends in professional athletics.

EDUCATION:
Undergraduate Education:

Eastern Kentucky University, Richmond, KY – BS, Athletic Training, 1990

GRADUATE EDUCATION:

University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, IA – MS, Athletic Training, 2006

 

Certified Athletic Trainer - Fricke
Certified Athletic Trainer - Watters

Pete Watters, ATC; LAT

EXPERIENCE:

Practicing Since: 1995

EDUCATION:

University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, IA – BA, Athletic Training and Health Education, 1995

Provides athletic training services to Cedar Falls High School.

Certified Athletic Trainer - Person

Nate Person, ATC; LAT

EXPERIENCE:

Practicing Since: 2018

EDUCATION:

University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, IA – BA, Athletic Training, 2018

Provides athletic training services to Waterloo West High School.

Certified Athletic Trainer - Nuss

MacKenzie Nuss, MS, ATC, LAT

EXPERIENCE:

Practicing Since: 2016

EDUCATION:

University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, IA – BA, Athletic Training, 2016

Western Michigan, Kalamazoo, MI MS, Athletic Training, 2018

Provides athletic training services to Hudson High School.

Certified Athletic Trainer - Swangel

Austin Swangel, ATC, LAT

EXPERIENCE:

Practicing Since: 2019

EDUCATION:

University of Northern Iowa, Cedar Falls, IA – BA, Athletic Training, 2019

Provides athletic training services to Waterloo East High School.