Major leaguer

Growing up in Elkton, Maryland, Patrick Tanner ’02 played soccer, baseball and tennis.

I knew people ran out on the field when someone got hurt, and that's the person I wanted to be.

Patrick Tanner ’02

Not seeing a future for himself as an athlete, however, he began to examine other careers in sports.

“I knew I wasn’t good enough [to play professionally],” Tanner says. “So I was like, ‘What are the next best places to be assigned on the sideline?’ I knew people ran out on the field when someone got hurt, and that’s the person I wanted to be.”

Discovering his path at TU

Tanner was further inspired in his career goals by (retired) professor Paul Downing and a certified athletic trainer in the Department of Athletics named Katie Sweeney.

Until 2021, TU’s athletic training degree program in the College of Health Professions included a bachelor’s degree path, so as an undergraduate Tanner covered men’s soccer games and women’s gymnastics meets as under Sweeney’s supervision.

From the dugout to the sideline

After graduation and a brief stint at an orthopedic clinic, he landed a position with a minor league affiliate of the Baltimore Orioles in Sarasota, Florida.

I’ve been on the sidelines of soccer games all over the world. And I still think there’s no better place in sports to watch a game than inside of a baseball dugout.

Patrick Tanner ’02

“I’ve been on the sidelines of soccer games all over the world. And I still think there’s no better place in sports to watch a game than inside of a baseball dugout. The atmosphere that baseball players create is just really cool,” Tanner says.

From there, he remained in the Sunshine State but moved on to the renowned IMG Academy—a multimillion dollar college-preparatory boarding school that provides year-round, elite training in a variety of sports—as the head athletic trainer.

His career path continued to wind as he took the director of sports performance role at Major League Soccer’s (MLS) Orlando City SC and became a tactical athletic trainer at Fort Bragg in North Carolina, working with Green Berets in the 3rd Special Forces Group Tactical Human Optimization, Rapid Rehabilitation and Reconditioning Program (THOR3).

“What an unbelievable group of super-motivated people,” Tanner says. “I did quite a bit of sports performance with them in the vein of ending rehab and getting them back to working out full time either by themselves or rejoining their 12-man teams.”

Taking a leadership role

Since January 2023, Tanner has been the head athletic trainer at another MLS club, FC Cincinnati.

“I have more of a leadership role now,” he says. “We have two assistant athletic trainers, a physical therapist, two massage therapists, a strength and conditioning coach and a sports scientist. Now I have a little bit more time to float around and talk to the athletes while they’re getting treatment or while they’re in the hot and cold tubs. I can get a little higher-level view of what’s going on with them.”

...the first time I stood there with the U.S. Soccer crest on my shirt and heard the National Anthem…I still get goosebumps. I’ve had so many cool opportunities—an unbelievable career.

Patrick Tanner ’02

When he was at TU, Tanner freely admits he couldn’t have imagined where he would go in life.

“I’ve worked in professional baseball and been on the sidelines of soccer games all over the world,” he says. “I worked with the U.S. beach soccer team, and the first time I stood there with the U.S. Soccer crest on my shirt and heard the National Anthem…I still get goosebumps. I’ve had so many cool opportunities—an unbelievable career.