Florida Tech Bolsters Athletic Training Office with the Addition of Three New Athletic Trainers

By  //  December 9, 2020

three assistant athletic trainers bring a bevy of experience to department

Florida Tech head athletic trainer Luis Velez recently bolstered the athletic training office with the addition of three new assistant athletic trainers this fall in Leah Sampson, Nigel Maven, and Alex Snow. (Florida Tech image)

BREVARD COUNTY • MELBOURNE, FLORIDA – Florida Tech head athletic trainer Luis Velez recently bolstered the athletic training office with the addition of three new assistant athletic trainers this fall in Leah Sampson, Nigel Maven, and Alex Snow.

The three assistant athletic trainers bring a bevy of experience to a department.

“I want to first thank Pete Mazzone and Jen Mercurio for their contribution during the search process,” said Velez. “After a thorough search that included review of many highly qualified candidates, I am excited about the team of athletic trainers that we have assembled to take care of our student-athletes here at Florida Tech.

“Leah, Nigel, and Alex each bring unique experience and perspective that not only diversifies our Sports Medicine Team but also facilitates the exchange of ideas and learning from one another.

I have already started learning from them, and I look forward to a productive Spring of returning to competition and us all working together to continue to prioritize the health and safety of our student-athletes.”

“We’re happy to back to full strength in our athletic training office,” said Interim Athletic Director Pete Mazzone.

“Luis has been invaluable in the hiring process of the three new assistant athletic trainers. He did a great job with these hires, all three were very highly recommended for their professionalism and abilities. The addition of Leah, Nigel and Alex will greatly help our student-athletes here at Florida Tech.”

Leah Sampson – Sport Responsibilities: Women’s Basketball, Women’s Lacrosse, Men’s Rowing, Volleyball

Sampson came to Florida Tech after spending one year in the same position at Sunshine State Conference member Lynn University during the 2019-20 athletic year. S

he served as the primary athletic trainer for men’s and women’s swimming and women’s lacrosse. Sampson helped develop and implement injury prevention programs and sports medicine precedents for the men’s swimming and women’s lacrosse teams.

Prior to working at Lynn, Sampson served as the graduate assistant athletic trainer for the field hockey team at NCAA Division I University of the Pacific, while simultaneously working as the athletic trainer for the basketball, wrestling and soccer competitions at Lodi High School.

Additionally, she was also a graduate teaching assistant and athletic training preceptor at Pacific.

Sampson received her bachelor’s degree in athletic training and a minor in nutrition for sport and exercise at the University of Connecticut in May of 2017 before obtaining a master’s degree in health, exercise and sports sciences from the University of the Pacific in in May of 2019.

Nigel Maven – Sport Responsibilities: M/W Cross Country, Men’s Lacrosse, M/W Swimming

Maven made his way to Florida Tech after serving one year, from August 2019 to June 2020, as an athletic trainer at Action Physical Therapy in Palm Beach, Florida.

His role with the institution was to provide outreach to Palm Beach Atlantic student-athletes in addition to working with physical therapy patients that had musculoskeletal injuries, post-operative conditions, and sports injuries.

Prior to his time at Action Physical Therapy, Maven was a graduate assistant athletic trainer for Division I Long Island University-Brooklyn during the 2017-18 and 2018-19 athletic years.

At LIU-Brooklyn, he was responsible for providing coverage for the women’s swimming team. Additionally, he had a secondary role serving other sports, managed the paperwork, and organized athletic training services for summer camps on the Brooklyn campus.

Before working as a graduate assistant, Maven worked as an assistant athletic trainer at Central High School while, as well as numerous other high schools and organizations in the Pueblo, Colorado area while he earned his bachelor’s degree in an athletic trainer at Colorado State University-Pueblo.

Maven received his bachelor’s degree in athletic training from CSU-Pueblo in May of 2015 and earned his master’s degree in exercise science from LIU-Brooklyn in May of 2019.

Alex Snow – Sport Responsibilities: Baseball, Cheerleading, Golf, Women’s Soccer

Snow came to Florida Tech after working for CORA Physical Therapy and serving as the primary athletic trainer for Jacksonville Football Club since August 2020.

Prior to her time with CORA, she worked for Division I Jacksonville University as an assistant athletic trainer during the 2019-20 athletic year.

At JU, Snow provided coverage for the women’s basketball and dance and cheer teams while also working with the men’s basketball program.

Before her time at JU, Snow served as a graduate assistant athletic trainer for Division II Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri during the 2017-18 and 2018-19 athletic seasons.

At Lindenwood, she worked with the Division I men’s hockey program as well as provided services for the ACHA men’s hockey conference, regional and national tournaments.

Additionally, Snow had sport responsibilities for the basketball, women’s lacrosse, gymnastics, field hockey, women’s ice hockey, women’s rugby and women’s golf teams.

As an undergraduate at Lindenwood, she worked with the women’s lacrosse team and assisted with numerous other Lions sports teams in 2016-17.

Snow received her bachelor’s degree in athletic training from Lindenwood in May of 2017 and went on to earn a master’s in health sciences – sports science and performance from LU in May of 2019.

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