Houston Dynamo midfielder Ricardo Clark works out at Athlete Training and Health training center, in Houston. (Photo: Elizabeth Conley / Houston Chronicle)
As the official sports performance provider for the Houston Dynamo, Houston Dash and Dynamo Academy, integration of programs and constant communication was vital to our partnership. Steve Fell came to Athlete Training and Health after serving as the head fitness coach for the Rio Grande Valley Toros Football Club, the USL affiliate of the Houston Dynamo and soon become an integral part of our partnership with the Houston Dynamo. One of Steve’s primary roles includes working with the Houston Dynamo first team as an assistant fitness coach.
With the Dynamo’s long 34 game regular season play and now playing in the Western Conference Semifinals of the Audi 2017 MLS Cup Playoffs, it was important to keep athletes prepared. Working directly with Sports Performance Director/Fitness Coach Paul Caffrey, Steve plays a critical role in player monitoring. The idea during this part of the season is to ensure players are fresh going into matches – especially the one tonight against the Portland Timbers.
Houston Dynamo midfielder Ricardo Clark works out at Athlete Training and Health training center, in Houston. (Photo: Elizabeth Conley / Houston Chronicle)
In order to assess a players level of “freshness” Coach Fell combines subjective and objective measures to determine if players are adapting and recovering adequately in-between matches. Subjective measures would include questionnaires regarding sleep, muscle soreness, and fatigue.
Objective measures would be things like heart rate variability, high speed running distances, and overall physical loads. Ultimately this player freshness is communicated to Paul Caffrey, who works directly with Head Coach Cabrera, where decisions can be made on how a player will be involved in game day.
Houston Dynamo goalie Joe Willis stretches out his arms with Houston Dynamo Sports Performance Director Paul Caffrey after working out at Athlete Training and Health training center, in Houston. (Photo: Elizabeth Conley / Houston Chronicle)
Steve’s background includes soccer and human performance – so this was a natural fit to have him work directly with the Houston Dynamo. In 2005, Steve graduated from Towson University with a degree in Exercise Science. While at Towson, Steve was a four year member of the Men’s soccer team and he later went on to play three seasons with the Baltimore Blast of the Major Indoor Soccer League. Afterward, Steve attended the University of Saint Augustine for Health Sciences where he obtained his Doctorate in Physiotherapy in 2012. Additionally, in 2015, Steve became a board certified sports physiotherapist and certified EXOS Performance Specialist.
Prior to accepting the role with the RGV FC Toros, Steve was the Director of Sports Performance for Flagler College with the role of ensuring physical readiness for 14 varsity sports. Steve has also worked as an outpatient physical therapist where he was responsible for the evaluation and treatment of orthopedic conditions with a focus on manual therapy.