Help from Athletic Trainers Led Academy Alumnus Dr. Richard Hardy to Career in Sports Field
United States Sports Academy alumnus Dr. Richard Hardy’s positive interactions with athletic trainers when he played high school and collegiate sports led to his nearly 20-year career working in the field. Hardy earned his Doctor of Education degree in sports management with a sports medicine emphasis from the Academy in 2017. In 2001, he began his career working at Heartland Orthopedic Specialists in Minnesota, where he provided athletic training services and classroom instruction for the University of Minnesota Morris. He provides training services for 17 varsity sports and teaches in the school’s sports studies, biology, and athletic departments. “My first contact with an athletic trainer occurred when I played high school football,” Hardy said. “I suffered a minor injury and our school’s athletic trainer helped guide me through the rehabilitation [...]