In the world of professional sports, every muscle, joint, and movement matters. Step into the training room of a major league team like the Atlanta Braves, and you can feel the focus, a quiet urgency to keep every player performing at their best. Behind the scenes, a team of highly skilled therapists, trainers, and coaches works relentlessly to make that possible.

Earlier this year, I had the honor of working with the Braves’ therapy team, an opportunity that grew from a connection I made back in 2021 through LinkedIn. That year, I met one of the Braves’ strength trainers, who also happens to be a licensed massage therapist and a long-time follower of Erik Dalton’s Myoskeletal Alignment Techniques (MAT). At the time, he was working with the Braves’ AAA minor league team and had a deep interest in learning more about MAT.

Over the years, we stayed in touch, exchanging ideas and updates about our shared passion for Myoskeletal work. This year, because it’s a license renewal year for massage therapists in Georgia, he reached out again, this time with an idea. He thought MAT would be a perfect fit for their team’s continuing education and proposed a private training session exclusively for the Braves’ therapy staff.

We pulled it together, and soon I was in Atlanta, teaching MAT techniques to a dedicated group of professionals: three strength trainers and one massage therapist, all licensed massage therapists with impressive experience in athletic care. Over the course of the training, we covered Myoskeletal Alignment Techniques for both the upper and lower body, focusing on strategies for injury prevention, joint integrity, and optimizing performance.

What stood out to me wasn’t just their technical skill; it was their eagerness to learn. Even with their extensive background working with elite athletes, they approached every new technique with a student’s curiosity and a therapist’s heart. We shared great conversations about biomechanics, athlete recovery strategies, and the future of integrative therapy in sports.

Their enthusiasm didn’t stop with that one session. By the end of the training, we were already discussing plans to expand it with the possibility of returning in the spring to offer a larger MAT training for both the Braves’ major and minor league therapists and strength coaches.

It was a tremendous experience to work with such a committed and forward-thinking team, and it’s exciting to think about how MAT techniques can support professional athletes at the highest levels. Watching Myoskeletal Alignment Techniques find a home in elite sports therapy reminds me why we do this work: to help people move better, perform better, and live stronger, longer lives.

Written by Scott Oglesbay, MMT, MAT Senior Educator