Sports Performance at UPMC Sports Medicine

Functional movement assessment (FMA) – identifies performance issues, including muscle imbalances that can lead to joint and muscle pain or lead to injury, via a posture assessment, walking and/or running gait analysis, and clinical evaluation. Learn more about the FMA.

Instrumented muscle strength testing – assesses joint torque and helps strengthen muscle via multiple current technologies with real-time results.

Force plate testing – measures vertical jump and strength, for example comparing one leg to the other, to help detect imbalances. 

Return to play testing – assesses an athlete’s readiness to return to play following an injury. Certain injuries, including those to the ACL, have specific evaluations one must complete in order to return to play. We’ll help you through them.

Pre-training Performance Assessment – establishes a pre-training baseline of joint mobility and muscle flexibility. This includes force plate testing for the counter movement jump, depth jump, and an isometric mid-thigh pull strength test. This provides us with your dynamic strength index, which helps determine whether you require more strength or power. Microgate® timing system measurement of the 10-, 40-, and 60-yard dash, as well as other strength tests for upper and lower body and core, may also be included.

ACL injury prevention program – an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury can happen to both athletes and non-athletes. To help lower the risk of injury, we work on training and conditioning, proper warmup, agility in landing and changing directions, strength, and more. Learn more about our ACL Program.

FASTEST program – we’ll help you be the fastest athlete you can be. FASTEST stands for functional agility, speed, technique explosive sports training. You will work on all of these aspects of elite performance with our team.

Game day speed – this routine is part breath control and part joint preparation, so that when game, race, or competition day comes, your body and breath will know what to do to support you.

Myofascial sling training – referring to a chain of ligaments and muscles that connect throughout the body, myofascial slings work together to create strength and stability. This training focuses on the way the human body was made to move to help with everyday function.

Oxygen advantage® – our director of sports performance is an advanced instructor of this program, which focuses on “scientific breathwork to optimize health, mental clarity, and performance.” It consists of several breathing techniques – including the body’s natural breath through the nose, balloon breathing, and altitude training – and has been known to help young athletes who experience exercise-induced asthma and those living with the long-term effects of COVID-19.

Postural restoration® – this program identifies imbalances in the body and addresses them to help produce a powerful diaphragm for optimal posture and performance, as well as to help you achieve better rest and focus.

Return to play program – are you transitioning from physical therapy to sport-specific training after an injury? The return to play program is a steppingstone from treatment and rehab to your desired level of play. We can help you regain your competitive edge and get you back in the game with a goal to make you faster, stronger, and quicker than you were prior to injury. See the full overview of return to play.

Soft tissue hygiene – sports performance isn't only about helping elite athletes do their best. It's also about basic human movement, which is at the program's core. It includes vital components that can teach anyone how to take care of their body to keep it moving and feeling good. Soft tissue hygiene sessions can help athletes looking to meet or exceed their pre-injury performance goals, as well as everyday people wanting to improve their strength and range of motion. See the full overview of soft tissue hygiene.

Sport-specific camps – our team hosts a variety of camps tailored to specific age groups and sports, collaborating across our sports medicine teams and inviting elite athletes who partner with us to guide your athletes through training.

Training – our program offers one-on-one, group, and team fitness programs consisting of strength and conditioning, personalized regimens for one-on-one clients, and several of the services above depending on each individual athlete’s or team’s needs and performance goals.

Ron DeAngelo, director of sports performance at UPMC Sports Medicine, is nationally known for training many notable athletes in professional hockey, basketball, football, tennis, and golf – as well as working with recreational and competitive athletes of all ages.

He has worked in the sports medicine field for over 35 years as a certified athletic trainer and has worked in sports performance since the concept really first began in 1994. Ron is a movement specialist, certified strength and conditioning specialist, and a certified performance enhancement specialist by the National Academy of Sports Medicine.

Ron earned his bachelor of science degree in physical education from St. Bonaventure University, and received certification in athletic training from the State University of New York at Cortland. He earned his master of education with a sports medicine concentration from the University of Central Florida.

Strength and performance manager Colleen Rosensteel is an Olympian, certified strength and conditioning specialist, youth exercise specialist, corrective exercise specialist, K-12 physical education and health teacher, and US track and field level one coach. She has worked at UPMC since 2004 and specifically with South Fayette high school since 2012.

Colleen earned her master of science degree in exercise and sports science from the University of Florida. She has been recognized numerous times for her athletic achievements, including earning Most Inspirational Female Judo Athlete in 1998, Best Comeback for 2000 Judo Athlete in 2001, Distinguished Alumni for the College of Health and Human Performance in 2003, and being inducted into the University of Florida Athletic Hall of Fame in 2014.

Ryan Dandrea is the sports performance manager at UPMC Rooney Sports Complex and is a certified strength and conditioning specialist through the National Strength and Conditioning Association. He has a master’s degree in exercise science from California University of Pennsylvania. Prior to working at UPMC, Ryan spent time as a strength and conditioning coach at Saint Francis University, Coastal Carolina University, and Duquesne University. Ryan has experience coaching athletes in many sports from the private sector and collegiately.