Sports Medicine Center
Sports Medicine Center
Children’s Mercy is the best in the game when it comes to pediatric sports medicine. In our nationally ranked Sports Medicine Center, we help student-athletes maintain and increase strength and speed through performance conditioning. When injuries occur, we have the specialized care your student athlete needs to maximize their healing potential and get back to the competition they love.
Strengthening student-athletes:
mind, body and spirit
Our sports medicine team knows that student-athletes’ bodies are still developing. They need a care plan tailored to their specific circumstances, not a one-size-fits-all approach. We bring together board-certified sports medicine physicians, nurses, athletic trainers, nutritionists and physical therapists who all have a passion for helping student athletes reach their peak performance.
We also understand that your student-athlete is more than just a position on a team. They are integrating the demands of their sport alongside their academic, family and social commitments. Sometimes, the pressure is intense, especially when an injury means unexpected time on the sidelines.
Our social work and mental health professionals care for your child as a whole person and help them stay positive and focused during their rehabilitation and recovery.
We do everything we can to help your student-athlete pursue the competition they love.
Clinical Services
Our team at the Sports Medicine Center provides comprehensive, world-class care for youth and adolescent athletes across
Kansas City and the Midwest. We treat each student-athlete as a whole person—mind, body and teammate. Children's Mercy
offers a full range of sports performance services, including sports nutrition, mental health support and injury prevention, to
help athletes stay healthy, balanced and prepared to pursue their goals.
The Adaptive Sports Medicine program at Children’s Mercy provides comprehensive evaluation and guidance for children and teens with all types of disabilities who want to participate in sports. The program combines elements of Rehabilitation and Sports Medicine to ensure equitable access to sports medicine and musculoskeletal care for participants with impairments.
Our athletic trainers are certified, licensed health care professionals whose primary concern is the wellbeing of student-athletes. They are on the sidelines at local high school and club team sporting events to manage emergency situations, evaluate injuries, and provide guidance on next steps after an injury.
Concussions can happen during almost any sport. Children’s Mercy’s board-certified sports medicine physicians will perform a thorough evaluation and create a plan to help your student-athlete recover and get back to playing the sport they love.
When a sports-related injury sidelines your athlete, Children’s Mercy has the pediatric-trained specialists to get them back to the game they love as soon as safely possible.
Children’s Mercy offers a team of sports medicine mental health professionals to help student-athletes cope with the emotional challenges of participating in sports, whether they’re at the top of their game or recovering from an injury.
Children’s Mercy sports medicine surgeons specialize in expert care and treatment for student-athletes of all ages. When you visit with your surgeon and their team, your student-athlete is the center of the conversation. The surgical team will work together with you to design a plan for surgery that fits with your family’s needs and expectations.
Sports nutritionists analyze the energy demands of your child’s sport to help them determine the optimal foods to fuel their peak performance.
Sports performance services can help your athlete become stronger. From sports medicine-focused primary care to nutrition to injury prevention, we will work with your child in meeting their personal goals.
Sports physical therapy helps student-athletes recover from sports-related injuries. Our expert physical therapists are trained to meet your child’s needs from middle school through their college career.
Stories
Debilitating Pain: Lauren’s Story
Multiple challenges threatened this baton twirler’s college ambitions. Nicole Hogan, DPT, got her back on track.
Tommy John surgery recovery: Gage’s story
A college catcher-turned-pitcher with a powerful arm faces the biggest challenge of his athletic career yet. The strong trust he built with the team at Children’s Mercy Sports Medicine Center is supporting his journey back to the mound.
Premier sports training facilities
Our Village West location in Kansas City, Kansas offers many amenities, including our human performance and motion analysis lab and an anti-gravity treadmill. Often, Sporting KC and US Soccer players are training in this same location as well.
Our Blue Valley sports medicine gym in Johnson County offers comprehensive rehabilitation options for any sports injury, including a basketball court with regulation sized goal and textured track lanes.
Strengthening the sports community
Kansas City area high schools, clubs and organizations have selected to partner with Children’s Mercy to provide
sports medicine and athletic training services throughout the metro area. You’ll see athletic trainers from Children’s
Mercy on the field every sports season.
Program Director, Community Orthopedics; Associate Professor of Orthopedic Surgery, University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Medicine; Clinical Assistant Professor of Orthopedic Surgery, University of Kansas School of Medicine