e hard even to get into the top five. So Im conscious of th

It isnt every 5-year-old who asks for Henry Grays famous anatomy textbook as a Christmas gift. Zac Dalpe Jersey . But for one who did, that gift was the first step in launching an impressive career in sports medicine that now involves caring for two professional teams.Dr. Robin West, orthopedic surgeon and chairman of Inova Sports Medicine in Fairfax, Virginia, followed her childhood interest in sketches of the knee all the way to her current position as lead team physician for the Washington Nationals and director of sports medicine and head team physician for the Washington Redskins. She is the first woman to hold these positions in the National Football League and Major League Baseball. And while there are a handful of women who serve as team physicians in each league (eight, including West, in the two leagues combined), Wests leadership role is unique.A few minutes in conversation with Wests mentors, colleagues, employers or, perhaps most importantly, patients quickly reveals just how well respected and universally trusted she is.Dr. James Bradley, head team physician for the Pittsburgh Steelers, mentored West during her sports medicine fellowship and knew right away she had the intangibles to be successful in caring for elite athletes. He refers to the collection of those intangibles as the sports medicine gene.Some people have it and some people dont, says Bradley. And you can tell right away with doctors.He describes an example of this as the ability to react calmly in a crisis situation -- something team physicians face when they rush onto the field to tend to an injured athlete. When a crisis hits, they slow down. They calm down and they start thinking.Bradley believes Wests combination of technical skills as a surgeon, combined with her consistently calm, reassuring manner -- no matter what the circumstances -- is what makes her unique.These qualities led to Bradleys hiring West to work alongside him with the Steelers, a position she held for 11 years. During that time, the athletes came to trust her implicitly. According to Hall of Famer Jerome Bettis, who overlapped with West during the running backs tenure with the Steelers, She can kind of smile in a way that is calming -- something he says is critical when an anxious injured athlete looks to the team doctor to determine just how serious the situation could be.The smile Bettis refers to is one of Wests hallmarks, which belies a steely confidence and a competitive edge honed while West was a swimmer in high school, then at Johns Hopkins. Scheduling conflicts forced her to practice with the boys swim and water polo teams, ensuring she would always feel comfortable even in the predominantly male world of orthopedic surgery. She not only survived the path to a career in sports medicine -- she thrived.In the world of professional sports, where injuries can threaten an athletes career longevity, word of a top orthopedic surgeon travels fast. Broncos tackle Russell Okung entered free agency earlier this year, fresh off a shoulder injury that required surgery. Okung knew any chance for him to land a starting spot with another team was dependent on the health of his shoulder. He chose West to operate. Why? I started looking around, Okung said, and her name just kept coming up. People spoke very highly of her and what she did.He noted that West was spot on when setting expectations about his recovery. As Okung began to visit with interested teams, he found out just how well West was known in NFL circles. Some teams I would visit, they didnt even think they needed to do my medical evaluation knowing that she did my surgery.Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo and Redskins president Bruce Allen might be involved in different sports, but they are in agreement about the strength of Wests qualifications, citing her expertise as the reason she was deemed the best person for the job. They each say West has fit in well in their organizations and that the athletes have responded extremely favorably to her presence. For those who would suggest athletes might not feel comfortable sharing their medical concerns with a woman, West thinks the opposite could be true.I actually find that a lot of the players seek me out, West said. I think a lot of them, at least in football, have been raised by their mothers and grandmothers ... so they see them in these authoritative roles or these roles of nurturing.Still, the number of female team physicians in professional sports remains small (again, just eight in a group of nearly 300 team physicians in the NFL and MLB alone) and several challenges remain, including things as simple as access to the necessary facilities.Dr. Kathy Weber, president of the MLB Team Physicians Association and a team physician for the Chicago White Sox, recalls encountering some barriers -- literal ones -- when the White Sox were making their World Series run in 2005. As she tried to enter the training room, shouts of, You cant go in there were repeatedly directed her way. Weber noted there has been increasing acceptance in the majors as athletes become more familiar with the presence of female physicians, but at the end of the day, its the skill set that is most important, and not just those of the technical variety. Weber said she believes intangibles such as flexibility, work ethic and good communication skills are paramount to success.West must be doing something right because she seems to be enjoying her roles, especially now that both seasons are in full swing. When asked whether she sees herself as a role model for little girls, West is quick to say she hopes her example shows what is possible for all young minds.I hope boys can realize that girls can do this, and girls can realize that they can do anything they want to do.Bettis reinforces the notion that the team physician role should be open to whomever is the best fit, regardless of gender.The role is exactly that. Its a role, Bettis said. It doesnt have a male or female face attached to it. It has qualifications... and [Dr. West] checks all the boxes. If I was running an organization, shed be my pick. Seth Jones Jersey . -- Hunter Smith scored the winner with just 12 seconds remaining in the third period as the Oshawa Generals edged the host Sarnia Sting 5-4 on Friday in Ontario Hockey League action. Lukas Sedlak Jersey . The players spoke Jan. 13 during a Major League Baseball Players Association conference call after Rodriguez sued the union and Major League Baseball to overturn an arbitrators decision suspending him for the 2014 season and post-season. http://www.bluejacketsauthority.com/auth...jackets-jersey/ . However, he did make them miss him a little less. Cundiff, who had the unenviable job of replacing Dawson last season, agreed Thursday to a one-year, $1. Lewis Hamilton thinks the recent turnaround in the title fight has been crazy, but he is still refusing to dwell on his lead with engine penalties imminent after the summer break.Hamilton has won six of the last seven races, a streak which has seen him overturn a 43-point deficit to Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg to lead by 19. That stretches back to his collision with Rosberg at the Spanish Grand Prix, which took both men out of the race when Hamilton attempted to re-take the lead on the first lap.Reflecting on the turnaround, Hamilton said: Its kind of crazy, its gone by so quickly. Its almost like a couple of weeks ago we were in Barcelona and I was 43 points behind thinking Geez I might come away 50 points behind and finding it hard to find a way through the woods, you know?Through the trees and having to navigate through that and never giving up and just keep going and keep believing that the light is beyond those bushes kind of thing. My engineers, my mechanics have all stayed super-focused which has enabled me to also do the same and theyve shown no sign of giving up, which has inspired me to do the same.Unlike Rosberg, Hamilton suffered a spate of engine problems early in the season which has left him on his fifth power unit -- the last allowed before incurring a grid penalty. Mercedes is expected to givve Hamilton a new engine at Spa or Monza and Hamilton admits the lingering threat of penalties means he is refusing to get carried away with that buffer to Rosberg. Sergei Bobrovsky Jersey. I definitely feel different to being six points ahead. I didnt know until I got into the pen afterwards that I was 19 points ahead, I hadnt really figured it out, but thats just crazy. I was 43 points behind and now its swung the other way. Im very, very happy with that but Im conscious that there will be one race that Im further behind that I dont know how much Im going to be able to regain.I dont know the damage limitation will be, I dont know how far Im going to be able to get up. Theres all these different things I could be faced with. Nico most likely will be out enjoying a Sunday drive and Im going to be battling through a lot of different people.Now the Red Bulls have picked their pace up it might be hard to get past them, so it might be hard even to get into the top five. So Im conscious of that. So do I feel like Im properly ahead? Still not enough because Im not a race win ahead yet and so I hope I might be able to have the chance to get a race win ahead and I think then I would feel like I was ahead. 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