Brian Bratta: Bringing Home the Torch

Oct. 3, 2012

By Aimee Dulebohn, Michigan State Athletic Communications Staff Assistant

Newly appointed assistant athletic trainer, Michigan State's Brian Bratta is a world traveler.

In his career, Bratta has had the opportunity to work in 15 different countries with a variety of athletes-from MSU players here at home to elite Paralympians abroad.

A native of Rockford, Ill., a small town in Stillman Valley, Bratta accepted a graduate assistantship at MSU, never imagining the length of where it would take him. Wanting to expand on his skills, it wasn't long before opportunity knocked to gain experience on a much larger scale.

"It started with my mentors," said Bratta. "We have multiple staff members here that have been to the Olympics. They opened my eyes to what the US Olympic Committee does."

Banking his vacation days, Bratta has spent his past few summers volunteering for the United States Olympic Committee (USOC). He followed in his MSU colleagues footsteps and was able to work with a number of national teams and events.

"I've gotten to travel with men's and women's field hockey, indoor and outdoor, as well as the Paralympic swimming team," Bratta said. "I got to work the Indoor World Cup in Poland two years ago. Then I got to the Paralympics Pan-American games in Mexico last year. This past summer, I was in London for the Paralympics games."

This past summer, Bratta was requested to be one of the athletic trainers that helped the 2012 U.S. Paralympic team bring home 41 medals from London.

However, it was no easy feat to become part of the USOC staff.

"It's a big commitment," Bratta said. "It's been five years now. Once you've been certified for five years, you can start the volunteer process. You work at the facilities and they see how you do, how you are, what your personality is and how you interact with the teams. From there, they let you do some traveling with the team. Most of the time it is domestic first, then you go with the national team."

After years of volunteering for various events, Bratta proved his value to the staff and his ability to help the athletes succeed.

"My main role was to make sure the athletes were in shape and that their bodies were in good condition to be ready for competition," said Bratta. "There was a lot of soft-tissue work, stretching, rehabbing, and those types of things. I couldn't necessarily get a full rehab in with them, but just making sure they were able and ready for the games."

However, as he quickly realized being on a traveling team, Bratta was forced to learn a new approach to help his athletes.

"I picked up a lot of hands-on techniques," he said. "When you travel you don't necessarily have all of the toys and the gadgets. You really have to work on your skills and your hands-on abilities."

Bratta received his master's degree from MSU in 2004. He then worked at the Ingham Medical Center with a partnership where Michigan State graduate students would work at local high schools as athletic trainers. He was then brought back as a clinical coordinator at MSU while he pursued his PhD.

For his accomplishments, Bratta was recently named a `10 over the next 10' winner by the Lansing Regional Chamber of Commerce. The award recognizes the region's top young professionals who are expected to contribute significantly to the community over the next 10 years.

Currently the head athletic trainer for baseball, Bratta also oversees a graduate student and intern with the men's and women's soccer teams. In addition, he teaches clinical rotations in athletic training in the MSU kinesiology department.

"It's fun because I have seen and been a part of the learning process and now the teaching process," Bratta said. "One of the things that I can work with are my clinical skills. I can take those skills and experiences that I have and transition them into teaching with the students. I can give them lessons through my experiences."

His experience working with the USOC has also created many relationships with athletes from all over the country with awe-inspiring dedication.

"You get these athletes that are beyond motivated," he said. "They've had physical disabilities their whole life and they go out there without a care. Their disability is like an ability to them. It makes them stay motivated and move forward. To see joy and accomplishment in those athletes was awesome."

Now in his eighth year on staff as a Spartan, Bratta could have only imagined at the beginning where his time at MSU would take him, here and abroad.

"Michigan State has been great," said Bratta "They have helped me out in so many ways with a graduate degree, I'm just about finished with my PhD and I have a full-time job. They have been amazing."

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