The man behind the athletes

A hacked-off hockey stick, exercise tubing, body blade and a treatment table.

There’s also an electrical therapeutic treatment machine, a medical kit with athletic tape, wraps and dressings.

That will make up the majority of Ron Mattison’s luggage when he leaves for Beijing, China next month.

Mattison is the physiotherapist for Canada’s Olympic swim team, ensuring the athletes are at their best in the pool.

During the Games [Aug. 8 – 24], Mattison, along with other medical personnel, communicate with the athletes and coaches before and after every swim. They’ll work in an area called the pit located very close to the swimmers warm-up pool and stretching area.

A primary worry when they arrive in any facility or new venue is to locate access to ice.

“We ice a lot of the kids after work outs and swims,” he said.

“With both acute and chronic injuries, we use compression cold and progressive controlled exercises as our primary rehab treatment.

“Any change in the norm or minor breakdown is controlled and dealt with immediately.”

To do this, Ron the Physio works with his hands as well as the good old hockey stick (nothing more Canadian than that) which he cut down for use with the swimmers.

“I also give the swim centre athletes these hockey sticks which they exercise with in pairs at the pool in dry land programs,” he said.

“The pattern of exercise are based on stroke patterns used in swimming.”

They also do these exercise patterns with exercise tubing and an exercise apparatus call a body blade. Used in rehabilitation, the patterns are also part of the swimmers’ activation program prior to both practice and competition swims.

Most of his focus is on swimmers’ shoulders.

“I try to balance the glenohumeral joint which is the primary joint of the shoulder,” Mattison said.

“As funny as it sounds, I control the shoulder complex as much as possible in rehab and training.

“That includes the shoulder blade as well as the shoulder joint itself. I constantly monitor hip and pelvis alignment as well.”

Beijing is not Mattison’s first Olympic Games and physiotherapy was not his childhood passion.

He and his buddies Jack Marsh, Bob Bergen and Dennis Sargent loved to hang out in high school, play a little sports and get by in the classroom.

Graduating from Quesnel high school in 1968, none of the four really felt a career pulling them in any specific direction.

For a lack of any other plans, Mattison registered at UBC where he felt out of step with his classmates.

“Everyone seemed to know their direction,” he said.

But Mattison was happy to be playing hockey and working towards his physical education degree.

It was when he was injured, Mattison said, that he discovered he liked the “injury thing.”

To be more precise he liked the physiotherapy aspect.

“I decided to take a few courses and volunteered at athletic events during school.

Mattison now had his direction.

With a Bachelor of Rehabilitation Medicine from University of Alberta in his pocket, Mattison, landed his first job as UBC’s head athletic trainer.

He knows this was due in part to a lot of luck and good timing.

“The guy in that job had gone to the Lake Placid Winter Olympics,” he said.

“After the games he didn’t want to come back.”

Mattison held that position for seven years, during which he attended his first Olympics, the 1984 summer games in Los Angeles with the wrestling team.

“We won a silver medal,” he said with pride.

“It was very prestigious.

“I was very excited, especially during the opening ceremonies.”

Since then, the Quesnel graduate has traveled internationally, plying his trade at such events as world championships, Commonwealth Games and the 1988 Seoul Olympics in such diverse sports as field hockey, wrestling, skiing, judo, gymnastics and of course swimming.

His considerable physiotherapy skills are much in demand.

Mattison left UBC in 1986 for the Allan McGavin Sports Medicine Centre where he was invited to join their team of medical specialists.

Of his regular clients at the centre, Mattison works with five swimmers on the team heading to Beijing.

He honestly believes his place on the medical support team is not because he’s the best but rather he knows these athletes. He knows their strengths and weaknesses, what they need to do their best at the Olympics.

“I want to see the Beijing Olympics incident-free,” he said.

“We’ll try to create that. Winners are a combination of natural ability, hard work and staying focused.”

But Mattison said by the time athletes get to Beijing, coaching and training are done. They need to focus on the best recovery program which means everything the athletes need for peak performance must be in place, including the medical staff.

“We want to control the noise around the athletes,” he said.

“All the external influences that affect their performance. They need to be in a state where they can maximize their performance.”

Mattison, as a volunteer (he receives no salary), works with two sport massage therapists, chiropractor and two of the seven team coaches, looking after the five UBC-based swimmers on the team.

Mattison was in Beijing in April to check out the facilities and begin his accreditation process.

He’ll head to China in early August where he will again experience the thrill of opening ceremonies. He’s no longer overwhelmed by the Olympic events, he’s there for the athletes and his thrill is seeing them do well.

Mattison is already booked for the ice hockey venue manager at the 2010 Winter Olympics in Vancouver.