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· Welcome to Sports Medicine Concepts, Inc ·
 SMC's Founding Principle
There is no way for anyone who has not experienced a medical emergency first-hand to express the range of emotions that will be experienced when one is confronted with a critically injured athlete. In a single instant an athlete is transformed from a competitive athlete into a critically injured person; a critically injured person who is someone’s child. It is at this instant that a sports health care professional will first see an ultimate fear in an injured person’s eyes, and will feel this ultimate fear in the hearts of the injured athlete’s family, friends, and teammates. It is at this moment that a sports medicine professional realizes that only prior preparation, practice, and mental rehearsal can mean the difference between a person living or dying, between a person walking away from a serious injury or living a life with a devastating disability. It is only at this exact moment that a sports health care professional will truly come to realize what it means to be responsible for the care and management of athletic injuries, and how vital it is to be able to rely on psychomotor skills and an emergency action plan that have been practiced so frequently that they have become second nature.
- Michael J. Cendoma, MS, ATC, President of SMC
I started SMC shortly after I began working in my first job out of school.
One of my first experiences was caring for a football player from an opposing team who was pretty seriously hurt. He was showing signs and
symptoms of a cervical spine injury. The incident was managed very poorly, myself included. Thankfully, that player was OK, but if he had been seriously hurt, that scenario would have played out very differently. I
decided right then that I wanted to educate myself and others to prepare to respond flawlessly in critical injury situations. I have since been involved in other critical care situations that have given me perspective regarding how sports emergencies ought to be approached.
 SMC's philosophy is to take a serious approach to sports emergency care management education, but to have fun in the process. The topic is serious, but the learning process does not
have to be so serious all the time. During seminar we emphasize enjoying our time spent together, but there does come a time when we have to get down to business and make sure that we all have the vital skills and knowledge that allow us to perform the ultimate part of our job.
As President of SMC I surround the company with others who share my passion and philosophy. As a team SMC personnel are sports health care professionals who have come together to share with our colleagues what we have learned during some unfortunate experiences, with the hope of improving the standard of care provided during sports emergencies.
The SMC team realizes that sports health care professionals are our colleagues. How we conduct ourselves and the business of SMC is based on the knowledge that on any given day we find oursleves face to face with other sports health care professionals on the sidelines of local sporting events. We have to be able to look our colleagues in the eye knowing that what we do for SMC is in the best interest of our athletes, families and their children, and our profession.
If you find that our philosophy and approach may help you raise the standard of care provided by your team during sports' worst moments, I hope you will call on us. If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, please email me directly or call me.
Sincerely,
Mike Cendoma, MS, ATC
President, SMC
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