Sports Physical Therapy Residency

Whether you are a recent physical therapy graduate or an experienced clinician, our sports physical therapy residency gives you the specialized skills and hands-on experience to provide high-quality physical therapy to athletes in the clinic and on the field.

Guided by knowledgeable faculty and mentors, you will receive rigorous training in physical therapy for athletes, expand your knowledge by conducting and publishing clinical research, make lasting contributions to your community and prepare you to become a leader in Sports Medicine.

Curriculum & Training

Our rigorous sports residency curriculum uses a combination of formal and informal educational, clinical and academic activities, as well as mentored direct care of patients at affiliated clinics, including The Steadman Clinic and Vail Summit Orthopaedics and Neurosurgery. Supervised on-field experience is a key component of the sports residency and will be conducted with local high school athletics, Club sports, and US Ski and Snowboard Teams.

The sports residency consists of key modules for each joint: knee, hip, foot/ankle, shoulder and spine. With addition of adjunct modules that is specific to the Sport Specialist: running analysis, injury reduction strategies, performance improvements, surgical observation/lab, and many others.

A Sports Resident’s typical week includes:

The sports residency begins in July and lasts for 12 months. Requirements for successful completion include passing oral, practical and written exams at 80% or better.

Admissions Requirements

To qualify for the HHSMR program you must be a graduate of an APTA-accredited program in Physical Therapy and eligible for licensure as a Physical Therapist in Colorado.

You must also have one of the following designations for emergency response prior to beginning the residency:

In residency candidates, we are looking for highly skilled PT’s; a desire to advance clinical knowledge in Sports Physical Therapy, strong communication skills, initiative, adaptability, and responsibility.

How to Apply

All sports residents must have a Colorado State License prior to beginning the residency in July.

To apply for the sports residency, visit the Residency and Fellowship Physical Therapy Centralized Application Service (RF-PTCAS), create a login and indicate that you are applying for the HHSMRP.

Howard Head Sports Medicine’s Sports Residency program will be participating in the centralized Sports Physical Therapy Residency Program MATCH for the upcoming application cycle. This process will fill our 3 available Resident positions for our upcoming start date August 2026. All communication regarding this MATCH process will come through the MATCH Program: EXXAT, if you receive an interview offer. Good luck, and we look forward to reviewing your application!

Applications open October 1 and close December 1. Interviews will be held in January/February for the upcoming class. The Universal Match Date will be March 1.

If you would like to understand costs and financial implications of this program, please review the documents found in our ‘Residency Financial Transparency’ section further below on this page.

Program Outcomes

At Howard Head Sports Medicine we measure success with APTA specialty exam pass rate, academic and scholarly achievement, professional growth, and employment status. Since inception in 2007, our residency graduates SCS specialty exam first-time pass rate is 96%, and our program pass rate is 100%. We have had 26 sports residents, and 15 former residents are currently working at Howard Head Sports Medicine in various leadership, staff, and faculty roles. Our former residents work in a variety of fields, which include professional sports teams, exercise physiology, Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Manual Physical Therapists (FAAMOPT), and successful dual credentialed specialists in Sports and Orthopaedics. As former SCS residents they all have the opportunity to join the US Ski and Snowboard Team as pool therapists.

To apply for the sports residency, visit the Residency and Fellowship Physical Therapy Centralized Application Service (RF-PTCAS), create a login and indicate that you are applying for the ‘Vail Health Howard Head Sports Residency’.

Contact Us

For more information, please contact Devyn Kammert, coordinator of the Howard Head Sports Physical Therapy Residency, at devyn.kammert@vailhealth.org or Matt Mymern, PT, DPT, SCS, MHA, CSCS, Howard Head Sports Medicine Program Director at mymern@vailhealth.org.

Former HHSMRP Residents that now work for Howard Head
  • Matt Mymern, PT, DPT, SCS, TPI-C
  • Brittney Huntimer, PT, DPT, SCS, ATC, FAAOMPT
  • Rachel Rourke, PT, DPT, SCS, OCS
  • Nate Neff, PT, DPT, SCS, MTC
  • Hank Scholtz, PT, DPT, SCS
  • Brett Muller, PT, DPT, SCS
  • Haley Leo, PT, DPT, SCS
  • Justin Callison, PT, DPT, OCS
  • Alex Detrick, PT, DPT, SCS
  • Dane Ringquist, PT, DPT, SCS
  • Margeaux Cohen, PT, DPT
  • Abigail Bohn, PT, DPT
  • Katherine Bertaut, PT, DPT
  • Byron Thulborn, PT, DPT
HHSMRP Faculty
  • Matt Mymern, PT, DPT, SCS
  • Devyn Kammert, PT, DPT, OCS, SCS
  • Sonya Greider, PT, DPT, MBA, OCS
  • Paul Westgard, PT, DPT, SCS, OCS, CSCS
  • Ana Robinson, PT, DPT, OCS
  • Laurie Griffin, PT, DPT, OCS
  • Jenna Jones, PT, DPT, OCS
  • Brett Mueller, PT, DPT, SCS

Residency Financial Transparency

The American Board of Physical Therapy Residency and Fellowship Education program provides a financial fact sheet to ensure financial transparency for applicants, and to further understand the true costs to undergo residency and fellowship education, please click the links below to review this information.

Sports Residency Financial Fact Sheet

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Howard Head pays the Resident a salary at 75% a full-time entry-level employee status set at a regional competitive level. There is no tuition or fees.

Yes, full medical benefits are provided similar to a staff physical therapist including a yearly wellness credit and allotted PTO days.

Employee housing is available at a decreased cost of market value, making it significantly more affordable to live in the Vail Valley.

Weekly mentoring is scheduled for 4 hours with 1:1 mentoring with a specialist in the module-specific region.

Involvement in research is a requirement of the program. This can be on a spectrum from a full IRB approved study with access to a biomotion lab and research professionals, writing of a case-study or clinical commentary, or a presentation to our staff based on your chosen field of study. Residents meet with the research mentor at the beginning of the program and are assisted throughout the year.

Both sports and orthopaedic residents do a 5-week rotation as a physical therapist in the Vail Health Emergency Department during the Winter months.

  • Weekly high school training room and game coverage
  • Full season game coverage of the Yeti Hockey Team, Vail’s semi-professional ice-hockey team
  • On-snow with the US Ski and Snowboard team at Copper Mountain
  • 4–6-week duration at the Center of Excellence in Park City, UT with the US Ski and Snowboard Teams
  • US Climbing Team coverage at the GoPro Mountain Games