Welcome
This committee was formed in an effort to provide support for minorities in the professional sports industry with an emphasis on those in the field of sports science and data privacy. Our objective is to network, exchange ideas, stay up to date with the latest research applicable to our industry, and harvest an inclusive community in the sports industry.
Board Members
Mauricio Elizondo, DPT, PT, MTC, ATC, CSCS
Board Member
ATP Physio and Co-owner of Performance Sport Physio
As an athletic trainer and physical therapist, as well as a former national team swimmer, Mauricio Elizondo understands injured athletes. At 18 years old, he suffered a shoulder injury and had his appendix removed (yes, both happened at the same time!) that forced him to withdraw from his swimming national championship meet that year. Frustrated by being sidelined, his passion to understand the human body and injury began as he started rehab to get back in the pool for the 2004 Olympic trials.
Mauricio continued following this passion as he earned his Bachelors in Science in Athletic Training and Exercise Science from Oregon State University and his Masters in Science in Exercise Physiology from the University of Idaho. He furthered his education and training by earning his Doctorate in Physical Therapy from the University of St. Augustine with a certification in manual therapy.
Mauricio spent 10+ years in professional baseball, working in the Boston Red Sox, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Toronto Blue Jays organizations. In addition to Performance Sport Physio, Mauricio currently travels with the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) World Tour, the men’s professional tennis tour, as a physiotherapist.
Manual Therapy Certification – University of St. Augustine
Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist - National Strength and Conditioning Association
Certified Selective Functional Movement Assessment
Postural Restoration Institute
Dry Needling
Functional Movement Screen
Functional Range Conditioning
Active Release Techniques
EXOS Performance Specialist Certification
www.performancesportphysio.com
Lorena Martin, PhD
Founder
Assistant Professor at
University of Southern California
Former Director of Sports Performance Analytics for the Los Angeles Lakers
Lorena Martin is the founder of Sports Science Diversity And Inclusion Association. She is an Assistant Professor of Data Sciences and Operations at the University of Southern California. She is also sports performance consultant helping professional athletes optimize their performance using analytics. She is the first-woman in professional baseball to be Director of High Performance, overseeing the medical team, strength and conditioning coaches, athletic trainers, sport scientists, and nutritionist. Prior to working in professional baseball, she was the Director of Sports Performance Analytics for the Los Angeles Lakers where she analyzed data and developed algorithms to help select players in the draft and monitor on court load to help reduce the risk of injury.
Dr. Martin completed her postdoctoral fellowship in the field of analytics; GIS spatial analysis, biostatistics, and epidemiology from the University of California San Diego. She earned her Ph.D. in Exercise Physiology from the University of Miami where she had also obtained her bachelor’s degree in Psychology. Her master’s degree was attained in Mental Health Counseling from Nova Southeastern University.
She has been awarded consecutive research funding by the National Institutes of Health including the National Cancer Institute, the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, and the National Institute on Minority Health and Health Disparities along with having a strong record of publications in peer-reviewed journals. Lorena has also been a contributing author in the following books, Sports Injury Prevention and Rehabilitation 2nd edition, and Improving Exercise Adherence. She then sole-authored the book, Sports Performance Measurement and Analytics.
Lorena is a former collegiate tennis player and nationally ranked bodybuilder. She is certified by USPTA, PTR, and ACE. She has been invited to speak at international conferences in the area of sports performance and analytics at prestigious institutions such as MIT Sloan Sports Analytics Conference and NASA.
Mike Mancias, ATC, CSCS
Board Member
Athletic Trainer and Athletic Performance Liaison for the
Los Angeles Lakers and
Chief Human Performance Advisor of Lebron James
Mike Mancias is the Athletic Trainer and Athletic Performance Liaison at the Lakers and the Chief Human Performance Advisor to LeBron James. He is a world-renowned expert in the world of Professional Basketball as an athletic trainer and recovery specialist. Mike’s experience includes working with NFL, MLB, PGA, and top NCAA athletes.
Throughout his tenure with LeBron James, Mike has quietly developed a winning human-performance blueprint that encompasses everything from preventative medicine, strength training/ rehab, nutrition, and the latest recovery techniques that many athletes and trainers today utilize as part of their training programs. Nutrition has always been a vital component of Mancias’ program for LeBrons’ performance, and it continues to remain invaluable to his daily recovery program as well.
Originally from Brownsville, Texas, Mike attended the University of Texas-Pan American and graduated with a degree in Health Education. He is Licensed and Nationally certified by the Accredited National Athletic Trainers Association.
Carlos Jimenez, DPT, SCS, CSCS
Board Member
Physical Therapist for U.S. Soccer Federation
Carlos Jimenez is currently working at the US Soccer federation as the women’s national team physical therapist.
Prior to this, he worked as a High-Performance Health Care Services Provider in the Sports Medicine Clinic for the United States Olympic and Paralympic Committee (USOPC) in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Before working for the USOPC, Carlos spent many years in South Florida developing a strong soccer background through his work with both academy- and professional-level soccer teams, including the Fort Lauderdale Strikers FC. Also, he worked internationally with soccer teams, including the Venezuela men’s U-20 and senior national teams and the Legia Warsaw FC in Poland.
Originally from Caracas, Venezuela, Carlos relocated to Miami, Florida, when he was 16. He enrolled in Miami’s Florida International University and earned his Bachelor’s degree in Health Science and Doctorate of Physical Therapy. He is pursuing a master’s degree in high-performance training in team sports and educating himself in data analytics.
Joe Resendez
Board Member
Head Athletic Trainer at Sacramento Kings
Joe Resendez joined the Sacramento Kings as the Head Athletic Trainer prior to the 2018-2019 season. Resendez was previously with the Los Angeles Clippers as the Assistant Athletic Trainer since 2010.
Prior to coming to Los Angeles, Resendez spent four seasons as the athletic trainer/strength and conditioning coach for the Rio Grande Valley Vipers of the NBA Development League.
Joe came to the Vipers for their inaugural season after a two-year stint as the Men’s Basketball athletic trainer at Louisiana Tech, where he earned his Master’s Degree of Science in exercise physiology in 2006 and earning his Bachelor’s Degree of Science in kinesiology with an emphasis in Sports Medicine from the University of Texas-Pan American in 2003.
A certified athletic trainer through the National Athletic Trainers Association (NATA) and a licensed athletic trainer (LAT), Resendez specializes in joint and soft tissue manipulation/mobilization and restorative therapies. He is also licensed as a Performance Enhancement Specialist and as a Corrective Exercise Specialist through the National Academy of Sports Medicine (NASM). Additionally, Mr. Resendez also has FMS, SFMA, FSTT (Gray Institute), ART, Mulligan Specialist, Blood Restriction, and Dry Needling Certifications.
A native of Brownsville, Texas, Resendez developed an interest in athletic healthcare after being a standout multi-sport athlete at the high school and collegiate level.
Bill Burgos, MS, CSCS*D, RSCC*D
Board Member
Head Strength and Conditioning Coach, Minnesota Timberwolves
Bill Burgos is the head strength and conditioning coach for the Minnesota Timberwolves. Burgos is also an adjunct professor for Austin Peay State University and Mississippi State University, where he created an online course discussing the current trends of sports science and strength and conditioning. He has over 16 years of experience in collegiate and professional sports, including as head of strength and conditioning for the Orlando Magic and the New York Knicks. Burgos also has over 13 years of military service (U.S. Army and Air Force combined). Burgos served with the 101st Airborne Division with deployments to OEF and OIF.
Mr. Burgos has obtained two masters of science degrees. The first of these, in exercise science, was obtained from Austin Peay State University, where he also obtained his undergraduate degree in exercise science. His second MS, in human movement, was obtained from A.T. Still University. He is currently pursuing a doctorate in health sciences, with an emphasis on leadership and organizational behavior, from A.T. Still University. In addition, he is certified by the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) as a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist (CSCS) and a Registered Strength and Conditioning Coach (RSCC). Mr. Burgos also has FMS (Functional Movement Screen) certification, Data Analytics certification (Cornell University), an EXOS Performance Specialist, is MWOD certified (The Ready State), and is certified in myokinematics by Postural Restoration Institute (PRI).
Burgos is the immediate past president of the National Basketball Strength and Conditioning Association (NBSCA) and served on several committees in the NBA such as the NBA Sports Science Committee and the Junior NBA Leadership Council. Additionally, Burgos served on the NBA Gatorade Advisory Board. Burgos resides in Lake Nona, Florida with his wife Noemi, two boys Jesus and Joel, and son-in-law and daughter Quandre and Cynthia King. His oldest daughter Atia lives in Los Angeles, California.
Roderick Moore Jr.
Board Member
Assistant Strength and Conditioning Coach for the
NFL Falcons
Franc Garcia, PhD
Board Member
Sports Scientist for FC Barcelona Basket
John Saintignon
Board Member
Head Basketball Coach at FIBA
Roderick Moore, Jr. was hired as an assistant strength and conditioning coach for the Falcons on Feb. 22, 2021.
Moore joins the Falcons after spending the last two years as the Athletics Director of North America for Vald Performance, where they evaluated motion analysis, ground reaction forces, eccentric hamstring strength, and bilateral asymmetry at all levels (Military, NFL, NBA, MLB, NHL, NCAA).
Prior to his stint at Vald Performance, he was the Vice President of Sports (US & UK) for Sparta Science for a year and was the Vice President of Sports Performance at Catapult Sports two years before that.
Moore's career started at the University of Tennessee, where he began as a graduate assistant strength coach (1999-2001) to assistant head strength coach (2001-04) to associate head strength coach (2004-07).
After Tennessee, Moore became the head football strength coach for Florida International University (2007-10) and was promoted to co-director of strength and conditioning for the entire athletics department (2010-12).
Moore earned his bachelor's degree in psychology from Morehouse College (1993-97) before earning a master's in human performance/sport psychology from the University of Tennessee (1999-2001). Moore was a football varsity letterman and a track & field varsity letterman at Morehouse College.
Dr. Franc García is a team-sports performance coach and sport scientist specialized in basketball who works in Futbol Club Barcelona. Prior to assuming a role in Spain in 2017, he played professionally and worked as a basketball coach and strength and conditioning coach at Manchester Magic Basketball Club (England, United Kingdom).
Dr. García’s earned his Ph.D. in Sport Science from the University of Basque Country (Spain) in May 2021. He researched physical demands during basketball competitions using wearable technology (local positioning systems and inertial movement units). Furthermore, his educational background also includes earning a Master of Science in Strength and Conditioning from The University of Salford (Manchester, England, United Kingdom) in 2015; a Professional Masters in High Performance for team-sports from the University of Barcelona (Spain) in June 2018; and a Master’s in teaching in Physical Education from University of Vic (Barcelona, Spain) in June 2013. In addition to his BSc (Hons) in Sport Science from the University of Barcelona (Spain) in June 2011, he is an accredited basketball national coach (level 3) since August 2017 and certified strength and conditioning coach (CSCS) from the National Strength and Conditioning Association (NSCA) since April 2018.
Dr. García currently combines his role in elite basketball with teaching in EUNCET business school about applied technology to sports. He has also published more than 8 scientific papers in peer-reviewed sport science journals and has participated in numerous sport science conferences.
John Saintignon played college basketball at the University of California, Santa Cruz, where he became the All-Time Leading Scorer in University history. Saintignon went on to lead the entire United States NCAA college basketball with a scoring title.
In 1990 he transferred to the University of California, San Diego, and graduated with a degree in Economics. He then took up a Master of Arts degree in 2012 at Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia. He went on to successfully coach four high school programs and was recruited to become a member of the coaching staff at Oregon State University in the Pacific 10 Conference. His time at Oregon State University ended after three seasons, and he became the Head Coach of the Culiacan Caballeros shortly after. The Culiacan Caballeros managed to finish 6th place overall in the 24-team Liga Nacional de Baloncesto Profesional (LNBP), the top professional basketball league in Mexico.
Later in 2009, Saintignon was hired as the Head Coach of an overseas professional organization at Sitra Club in the Kingdom of Bahrain.
Saintignon has had worldwide experience with coaching basketball teams. He eventually came back home in 2018 to work with the Los Angeles Clippers as an independent scout.
Saintignon authored a book called “Take Your Shot, Make Your Play!” He is also scheduled to release another book soon, regarding his origins and his quest to rediscover his birth parents.
As a Latino who was adopted at birth, he provides a whole new perspective on life as a basketball coach.