A Summit to Promote the Resilient Tactical Athlete

Nationally, there is a rapidly growing interest in tactical athletes from a sports medicine and human performance perspective. Tactical athletes directly impact the safety and resiliency of our communities and national security. While this field is quickly maturing and becoming more well-defined, tactical athletes have been described as individuals in service occupations with significant physical fitness and performance requirements who are involved in areas related to military service, emergency responders, law enforcement, and firefighters. While many faculty and students within the Texas A&M community are interested in tactical athlete health and performance, the Huffines Institute, spurred by Dr. Jenna Yentes, has initiated efforts to coordinate and grow campus initiatives in these areas. To this end, the Huffines Institute and other sponsors hosted a summit focused on providing novel and unique solutions to the challenges faced by tactical athletes. The novel summit was titled “Developing and Sustaining a Resilient Tactical Athlete,” with the underlying theme tied to the concept that for the tactical athlete, health is the foundation and performance is the job.

The summit was held on March 19th and 20th, 2024, at the Legends Event Center in Bryan, Texas.

Over 75 attendees, consisting of faculty, students, industry professionals, and community partners, listened and engaged with nationally recognized speakers. They examined issues experienced by community-based tactical athletes, such as firefighters and law enforcement. The ensuing discussions assessed the importance of physical screening, training, and monitoring. Key themes of the summit included both physical and mental health, as well as actionable data-driven decision-making. The keynote address was presented by Brigadier General Patrick R. Michaelis ‘93, a distinguished military leader and alumnus of Texas A&M University, who is the Commandant of the Corps of Cadets. Nine other invited speakers engaged attendees and participated in panel discussions. Other speakers at the summit included Dr. Joe Dervay, a Flight Surgeon at the NASA Johnson Space Center, and Dr. Brittany Hollerbach, Associate Scientist and Deputy Director at the Center for Fire, Rescue & EMS Health Research. A complete list of program topics and invited speakers can be found on the Huffines Institute website. A much-anticipated meeting outcome will be a white paper highlighting tactical athletes' problems and issues and proposing potential solutions. The meeting also sought to help attendees understand opportunities at Texas A&M University in this critical area. Attendee opportunities to collaborate with regional partners were also highlighted with the hope that these interactions might lead to innovative solutions to the issues discussed at the summit.  For more information and updates on follow-up activities related to summit outcomes and upcoming tactical athlete events, please go to the Huffines Institute web page and follow the Institute on Instagram and X (formerly Twitter) social media platforms.

Tactical Athlete Summit Sponsors included:

• Sydney and J.L Huffines Institute for Sports Medicine and Human Performance
• Texas A&M University School of Education & Human Development
• Texas A&M University Department of Kinesiology and Sport Management
• Texas A&M USA Center for Rural Public Health Preparedness