Richard DeMont
Faculty of Applied Health & Community Studies
Degree: Sports Injury Management
Year of graduation: 1989
Helping Athletes of all Levels Reach Their Potential
As a Sports Injury Management student at Sheridan in 1988, Richard DeMont was the envy of his classmates when he had the chance to attend the Calgary Winter Olympics that year. “My instructors were excited for me and willing to make arrangements for me to complete my work around the travel,” recalls Richard. “Several expressed mixed feelings of jealousy and happiness (for me) when I came back having met Vladislav Tretiak who at the time was the Chef de Mission for the Soviet team.” Tretiak gained fame as the star goaltender for the Soviet Union’s hockey team during the Canada-Russia Summit Series in 1972.
Now that Richard is an athletic therapy educator himself, he has an even greater appreciation for the calibre of Sheridan’s faculty. “They were – and still are - exceptionally knowledgeable and could explain issues in a way that resonated with my learning styles.”
A certified athletic therapist, Richard has been a member of the Athletic Therapy faculty at Concordia University for the past 17 years. He holds an MSc in Athletic Training from Indiana State University and a PhD in Sports Medicine from the University of Pittsburgh. Before attending Sheridan, Richard gained his BSc from St. Francis Xavier University, where he worked as Head Athletic Therapist following his Sheridan graduation.
Although he is not currently work in a clinical setting, Richard still keeps to date on the latest techniques in athletic therapy through continuing education requirements, reading, and engaging with other faculty and students. “The ongoing connection with students keeps my finger on the pulse of the field,” says Richard, as does his role as the President of the Canadian Athletic Therapists Association, a post he has held since 2013.
Over the years, he has seen the profile of the profession grow, as the work athletic therapists do with elite athletes and artist-athletes (Cirque de Soleil performers, for example) becomes more widely known. The field has also developed thanks to “great strides in our education accreditation, and research into issues like concussion, injury prevention, and rapid return to activities,” Richard adds.
Injury prevention and well-paced rehabilitation are the key to the success of an athletic therapist’s work, “but unfortunately our services are still under-utilized,” says Richard. “It’s our goal to make athletic therapy more accessible and ensure more schools, sports leagues and individuals are taking advantage of the services an athletic therapist can provide. We are very caring and passionate about what we do.”
Learn more about Sheridan’s Athletic Therapy (Bachelor of Applied Health Sciences).
As a Sports Injury Management student at Sheridan in 1988, Richard DeMont was the envy of his classmates when he had the chance to attend the Calgary Winter Olympics that year. “My instructors were excited for me and willing to make arrangements for me to complete my work around the travel,” recalls Richard. “Several expressed mixed feelings of jealousy and happiness (for me) when I came back having met Vladislav Tretiak who at the time was the Chef de Mission for the Soviet team.” Tretiak gained fame as the star goaltender for the Soviet Union’s hockey team during the Canada-Russia Summit Series in 1972.
Now that Richard is an athletic therapy educator himself, he has an even greater appreciation for the calibre of Sheridan’s faculty. “They were – and still are - exceptionally knowledgeable and could explain issues in a way that resonated with my learning styles.”
A certified athletic therapist, Richard has been a member of the Athletic Therapy faculty at Concordia University for the past 17 years. He holds an MSc in Athletic Training from Indiana State University and a PhD in Sports Medicine from the University of Pittsburgh. Before attending Sheridan, Richard gained his BSc from St. Francis Xavier University, where he worked as Head Athletic Therapist following his Sheridan graduation.
Although he is not currently work in a clinical setting, Richard still keeps to date on the latest techniques in athletic therapy through continuing education requirements, reading, and engaging with other faculty and students. “The ongoing connection with students keeps my finger on the pulse of the field,” says Richard, as does his role as the President of the Canadian Athletic Therapists Association, a post he has held since 2013.
Over the years, he has seen the profile of the profession grow, as the work athletic therapists do with elite athletes and artist-athletes (Cirque de Soleil performers, for example) becomes more widely known. The field has also developed thanks to “great strides in our education accreditation, and research into issues like concussion, injury prevention, and rapid return to activities,” Richard adds.
Injury prevention and well-paced rehabilitation are the key to the success of an athletic therapist’s work, “but unfortunately our services are still under-utilized,” says Richard. “It’s our goal to make athletic therapy more accessible and ensure more schools, sports leagues and individuals are taking advantage of the services an athletic therapist can provide. We are very caring and passionate about what we do.”
Learn more about Sheridan’s Athletic Therapy (Bachelor of Applied Health Sciences).