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The Washington Spirit is the premier professional women's soccer team based in Washington, D.C. And their Performance, Medical, and Innovation (PMI) Department is changing the landscape of athlete care by developing a female-specific approach to training, health, and performance.
Spearheaded by Dawn Scott, the team’s Vice President of Performance and Innovation, the PMI Department aims to create a “global blueprint for female athlete support” under the leadership of team owner Michele Kang.
Scott, a veteran in women’s sports performance, has worked with elite teams like the U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team and the Lionesses, helping to drive their success in major tournaments.
At the heart of the PMI Department’s work is personalized care tailored to each player’s needs. The team, composed of 18 specialists, covers four key areas: physical performance, mental health, female health, and innovation.
Their goal is to maximize player availability and performance, using individualized plans and cutting-edge data analytics. Scott emphasized the uniqueness of their work:
“We don’t want to train our players based on a manual designed for the white, 70kg male.”
Instead, they focus on training women as women, factoring in female-specific physiology and health.
The department operates with a "360-degree care" approach, ensuring players receive comprehensive attention from mental to physical well-being. Eric Marchek, the Director of Medical, describes the importance of collaboration among staff members:
“No one person is more important or stronger than our whole team, and everyone has a voice.”
This team-driven model helps the Spirit innovate in ways other sports teams have yet to achieve.
The PMI Department’s influence extends beyond injury treatment. Director of Mental Performance David McHugh provides players with mindset training, customized to different positions and situations.
For instance, the mental tools a forward uses to finish a shot differ from those required by a goalkeeper to stop one. The focus on proactive care also includes injury prevention screenings and integrating female-specific data, such as menstrual cycle impacts on performance.
Supported by Kang’s investment, the PMI Department is setting a new global standard for athlete care in women’s sports.
"We always have the female lens on, which is unique to our environment."
With groundbreaking research and a highly specialized team, the Spirit is leading the way in female athlete health and performance. Learn more about their unique approach here!
