Rose basketball highlights
FRI.| 4-12-24 | ENTERTAINMENT
Wallen works for physical therapy career
FRI| 1-6-22 | SPORTS
Rose junior Andrew Wallen has set himself up with the goals of becoming a sports physical therapist (PT) specializing in baseball players, like himself. Wallen has always had a love for baseball, playing since he was just five years old and has been on the Rose varsity team since his sophomore year. His love of the sport and the human body makes this field of work the perfect match for Wallen.
“Baseball biomechanics really, really interests me, and the human body just fascinates me in general,” Wallen said. “The way it moves, how it works and so I think it would be an easy study and I would love to do work in that field for the rest of my life.”
Wallen has prepared himself by taking courses such as health science I and II, psychology, sociology and biomedical sciences. He plans to continue this pathway of classes his senior year.
“I plan to take at Pitt health science 101, 201, 301, and other general courses that could help me further along,” Wallen said.
Wallen has even taken his goals and passions as a sports PT to the next
Photo by Hunter Pope
level by shadowing at BYoung Physical Therapy, a practice located in Raleigh.
“I participated in a study there and they did motion capture technology on me and a whole bunch of other measurements and I fell in love with it,” Wallen said. “I was intrigued and curious about it, so I figured it could be a good thing to research in and shadow in, and after looking at it some more I really found that it interests me and is something that I want to pursue.”
Not only does Wallen shadow studies at BYoung Physical Therapy, but he also goes to his own physical therapy once every two weeks. On top of his sessions, Wallen also shadows at Young’s Physical Therapy here in Greenville.
“[I look up to] one of my coaches, Coach Houmard, he is getting his doctorate right now and he’s the person I participate in the study with,” Wallen said. “I can go to him to ask a lot of questions and he’s been someone I can look at to help inspire me.”
Coach Houmard is the Rose varsity baseball team’s pitching coach and Wallen has received support from him as he works towards his goals of becoming a sports PT. One of those goals being the college he wants to attend for this future career.
“I hope to attend [the University of North Carolina] Chapel Hill as my number one pick and Duke as my number two for the type of career I want to pursue, those are the two programs I have really looked into,” Wallen said.
