GFS at the Baseball Team Medicine Conference in Arizona

This winter, one of Germantown Friends School’s athletic trainers, CeCe Holeschak, attended the 2nd Annual Baseball Team Medicine Conference hosted at Banner Health in Scottsdale, Arizona. This nationally recognized gathering brings together professional sports medicine leaders, physicians, athletic trainers, and performance specialists from across Major League Baseball. The experience provided Holeschak with valuable insights that will directly benefit GFS student-athletes across multiple sports.

The conference featured medical professionals from several Major League Baseball organizations, including the Milwaukee Brewers, Washington Nationals, Boston Red Sox, Atlanta Braves, and Los Angeles Dodgers. Each organization sent members of their medical and performance staff to present on current research, injury prevention strategies, rehabilitation techniques, and emergency preparedness at the highest level of sport.

One of the sessions Holeschak attended featured Major League Baseball player Howard Kendrick (pictured below), who spent 15 years in professional baseball with the Angels, Dodgers, Phillies, and Nationals. Kendrick spoke in depth about hitting analysis from youth baseball through the high school and professional levels, with particular emphasis on the varying energies, motions, and cumulative stresses placed on the shoulder. His perspective as a former player offered a powerful bridge between medical theory and real-world athletic experience.

Upper-extremity sports, such as baseball and softball, are not Holeschak’s primary area of specialization, which made this conference especially meaningful for her.

“I wanted to broaden my knowledge so I can better support the athletes at GFS,” she shared.

Through lectures and demonstrations, she gained a deeper understanding of pitching and hitting mechanics, shoulder health, and the long-term care needed to protect developing athletes.

Holeschak noted that she left the conference with a significantly improved understanding of muscle energy, posture, and how the body transfers force through the upper extremities. These concepts are critical not only for baseball players, but also for student-athletes participating in sports like tennis, squash, volleyball, crew, and swimming. The knowledge she gained will inform how she supports injury prevention, recovery, and education for GFS athletes moving forward.

A particularly advanced learning opportunity came through lectures by Brad Pearson (Boston Red Sox) and Jeremiah Randall (Atlanta Braves), who presented on throwing-shoulder mechanics and injury patterns. The conference also included a rare live surgical demonstration focused on Thoracic Outlet Syndrome, where Dr. Robert Thompson of Washington University and Barnes-Jewish Hospital illustrated how they relieve nerve and vascular compression. This eye-opening experience deepened Holeschak’s understanding of complex upper-body conditions.

The conference also emphasized best practices for youth athlete development, reinforcing that athletes ages 12-18 benefit most from playing multiple sports rather than specializing too early. Presenters highlighted that varied movement patterns support healthier physical development, reduce overuse injuries, and promote long-term athletic engagement. This message was reinforced through sessions led by experts such as Kimberly Stein, PhD (pictured below), Senior Principal Scientist with the Gatorade Sports Science Institute, who spoke about energy management, recovery, and nutrition, particularly in adolescent athletes. 

Discussions focused on how proper fueling, hydration, and sleep play a critical role in supporting growth, learning, and recovery—especially during periods of high academic and athletic demand or following injury or surgery. 

These insights closely align with GFS’s holistic approach to student wellness and connect directly to the Mindset Matters, a regular update from GFS' Mental Performance Coach Colleen Finegan, which offers families practical strategies around physical and mental energy management. Together, these shared themes underscore the importance of helping students balance sport, school, and rest through intentional routines, self-awareness, and supportive habits that prioritize long-term health over short-term performance.

Holeschak’s path into sports medicine is rooted in her desire to help people. A former crew athlete who grew up rowing in South Jersey, she understands firsthand the physical and mental demands placed on student-athletes. When asked whether she could see herself someday working on the Phillies’ sports medicine staff, she smiled and said, “Not now—I’m happy here. But who knows what the future holds?”

For now, the GFS community is fortunate to have Holeschak bringing professional-level sports medicine knowledge back to campus, ensuring that our student-athletes are supported, educated, and cared for with both expertise and heart.