SSWSC Introduces Medical Coordinator Forrest Pecha, ATC in Partnership with the Steamboat Orthopaedic & Spine Institute (SOSI)

The SSWSC is enthusiastic to solidify a local collaboration with the Steamboat Orthopaedic & Spine Institute (SOSI) to provide seamless coordination medical care for injured SSWSC athletes and their return to sport. The medical program will be driven by Forrest Pecha, SOSI employed Certified Athletic Trainer (ATC), who will coordinate Club athletes’ medical care, incorporating UCHealth, SOSI and community physicians. Forrest brings extensive experience from his time as Head Athletic Trainer for the US Men’s Alpine Ski Team and more recently with U.S. Soccer and overseeing athlete training residency programs.

We have recognized the benefit of dedicated and experienced medical support to oversee injury prevention, evaluation, and return-to-sport education, and to manage an integrated team of medical providers with the goal of connecting athlete, parent, physician, physical therapist, sports psychologist, sports performance coach and on-snow coach. An important part of an injured athlete’s recovery is their connection to their community, including their medical providers, so they can successfully return to their sport team. The physicians at SOSI include U.S. Ski & Snowboard pool physicians who have traveled with the snowboard and freestyle teams to Olympics and World Cups and worked directly with USST athletes and staff. These physicians are passionate about sports medicine and providing the highest level of care to our local athletes.

About Forrest Pecha:
To facilitate the new program and connect athletes to their return-to-sport team, Forrest Pecha has been hired by SOSI for the position of Medical Coordinator for the SSWSC. The Medical Coordinator will have three core areas of focus: injury management, medical care coordination, and education for coaches, athletes, and parents.  Pecha was previously a Program Director for the Athletic Training Residency at both St. Luke’s Sports Medicine in Boise, ID and at Emory Sports Medicine in Atlanta, GA. He also served as the head athletic trainer for the USSA Men’s Alpine team for the 2002 Winter Olympic games and has traveled with U.S. Soccer for over 13 years providing medical care. Pecha will be on location half time each at SSWSC and SOSI.

We saw that our capacity to support injured athletes is an area for improvement at the SSWSC and our staff has spent more than a year working toward this new program. With the experience that Forrest brings to this role, together with integrated support from both SOSI and UCHealth, we are now prepared to provide world-class medical care when our athletes need it most- when they are injured. Forrest has great energy and expertise and will work together with Strength and Conditioning Director Sady Tobin, Mindset Coach Luke Brosterhous, our sport coaches as well as external providers to create each athlete’s care team.  Pecha will use an app, Healthy Roster, to track and oversee the enrolled athletes. Pecha, physicians, medical staff, SSWSC coaches, parents and athletes can each use the app to check in on progress and communicate, keeping everyone in the care loop. Pecha or another SOSI medical representative will be on hand at all official club athletic events, competitions, and races for the purpose of providing on-site care as needed.

Local Medical Team:
Several Steamboat-based physicians will be closely involved with the program, attending events and consulting with athletes and their families. If an athlete is injured, has the possibility of a concussion, or has medical concerns, they will be referred to the best individuals in the medical community for care as needed:

• Dr. Andreas Sauerbrey, the President of SOSI, with his extensive ski experience will oversee physician and medical team involvement with the program. Dr. Sauerbrey has spent several years as a volunteer physician for USSA and the U.S. Ski Team and was the Freestyle Team physician for the Vancouver Olympics in 2010. He has two college aged children who grew up skiing with the SSWSC.
• Dr. Alejandro Miranda, an orthopaedic and sports medicine surgeon at SOSI, is specialty-trained in orthopaedic fractures and trauma, foot and ankle, and sports medicine. He has worked with several professional sports teams including the U.S. Snowboardcross Team during international competition as a team phy¬sician. He also serves as the medical director for the local high school sports UCHealth Athletic Training Program.
• Dr. Adam Wilson, an orthopaedic and sports medicine surgeon at SOSI, has orthopaedic expertise in knees, complex shoulder procedures and sports-medicine. A member of the U.S. Ski & Snowboard Physician Pool, Dr. Wilson continues to work as team physician for the U.S. Snowboard Cross Team.
• Dr. Dana Fitzgerald, a physician and partner at Pediatrics of Steamboat Springs, is specialty trained in pediatric sports medicine and is medical director of pediatrics at the Yampa Valley Medical Center. Dr. Fitzgerald will oversee all head injuries as a provider for the program.

“With both SOSI and UCHealth serving the Yampa Valley and SSWSC being a significant part of the community core, we are in the unique position to coordinate all aspects of care for every athlete we work with from initial consultation through reintroduction to regular team workouts and competition. It’s about being present and providing immediate access regarding the whole health perspective of a young athlete,” said Curtis Mayse, CEO of SOSI. “In the past, injured athletes have sometimes languished as they trudge through recovery on their own or left the community for injury care at times. This fully-encompassing medical collaboration program will keep them connected with both their extensive medical care and SSWSC teams to help them recover and return to snow through their programs at the optimal pace.”

The new SSWSC medical program begins immediately with Pecha in attendance at SSWSC disciplines’ season opening parent/coach meetings. “I am excited to be back in the ski community and honored to be part of SSWSC and SOSI. The history of SSWSC producing Olympians and high-level athletes is well recognized, and more importantly helping develop the character of our young people. The SOSI team and physicians are well known both locally and nationally for the exceptional care they provide their patients. Being a part of these two organizations is really a dream job,” said Pecha, who has enrolled his three children in SSWSC programming. “In developing the medical program, our goals are to provide the best care and communication possible for a streamlined return to participation. We want to help normalize injuries, address them immediately and initiate appropriate care, then provide the safest and most effective return to snow/participation programming in conjunction with SSWSC Strength and Conditioning and US Ski & Snowboard protocols.”

We would like to extend a huge thanks to Steamboat Orthopaedic & Spine Institute for supporting SSWSC athletes through this partnership. Stay tuned for more information this fall for how to connect with Forrest, the Healthy Roster app, and more.