The Vancouver Whitecaps FC, winners of two United Soccer Leagues (USL) men’s championship titles in the past three years and a steady contender for top honours over the past decade, acknowledged the importance of solid sport medical and paramedical support in general and the valued contributions of one practitioner in particular Sunday, September 13th, at Swangard Stadium.
That practitioner is none other than Dr. Don Hedges — or ‘Doctor Don’ as he is affectionately known by all of those he has served or befriended in his years in soccer, lacrosse and sport. The team’s Chief Medical Officer, Dr. Hedges was presented with a signed, framed team jersey in a special pre-game ceremony as he steps aside from this role at the end of the season marking his more than 20 years with the Whitecaps (and their predecessors, the Vancouver 86ers).
Dr. Hedges has been associated with the team as its doctor and CMO since 1988 and has been responsible for assembling the club’s sport medical and paramedical team every year since then.
His recognition shows the increasingly important role played by sport medicine professionals in the field, particularly with team sport franchises such as the Whitecaps FC.
The long-term engagement has made Dr. Hedges a highly-recognized face in local soccer circles, as he is in lacrosse, where he is the heart and soul of the Coquitlam Adanacs, his Western Lacrosse Association franchise which won the Mann Cup in 2001 and has — like the Whitecaps — been an annual contender in national senior lacrosse competition for as long as he’s been involved.
Dr. Hedges will be similarly recognized for his contributions to the advancement of sport medicine, sport science and sport training at BEST PRACTICES 2009, the SportMedBC Annual Meeting & Workshop, Saturday, September 26th, at the North Shore Winter Club in North Vancouver, B.C.
RSVP now at nicolec@sportmedbc.com.
