Dr. Boyd addresses importances to female athletes at Sturgis
STURGIS — Dr. Nancy Boyd spent part of her Sunday speaking to Sturgis High School female athletes.
Boyd, a 2004 graduate of Sturgis, was on site to speak of the importances of being properly fueled and prepared as a younger female athlete. Boyd is now a sports medicine, orthopedic and pelvic health trained Doctor of Physical Therapy. In addition to running her practice, she also has started to bring back public speaking and giving presentations to athletes and coaches.
There are plenty of important things for young female athletes to be at their best. Boyd said one of the more important things for the to consider is there is no particular body shape or size needed for someone to be able to perform at their best.
"When you're properly fueled, you'll find out how your own unique physiology is going to help you perform at your best," she said.
Boyd is no stranger to being a strong athlete. She ran both cross country and track during her time at SHS and went on to run for two years at Michigan State University in both sports as well.
Injuries ultimately derailed her running career. Even though she would continually run and work harder in her training, she saw slipping back and earning fewer results were tough to experience.
Now, she does her best to keep younger athletes properly motivated when she can. In her practice, she sees younger female athletes, recurrent bone-stress injuries and everything in between.
"I wanted to be the resource my younger self and my teammates needed when I was younger," she said. "That's where I see a lot of athletes struggle. It's normal to go through puberty, so let's get on the other side of that because it's normal."
Sturgis head athletic trainer Ashley Hopkins was on site for Boyd's presentation.
She said she was very happy to have Boyd on site for the demonstration in addition to Boyd answering some questions individually as well.
"With our female population, we do see a number of girls coming in and being more open with their struggles," Hopkins said. "We want them to see they are not alone and that there are resources out there to help them properly fuel themselves."
Hopkins said the school plans to bring Boyd back for a future appearance as well. Boyd said she enjoys being able to help out as much as she can. Plenty of younger female athletes do have struggles and she wants to help bring an end to that, if possible.
"It can be a struggle when you try to look like someone else and not perform as yourself," she said. "Helping people find confidence in themselves again is a big deal."
You can check out Boyd's website at ancoeurwellness.com if you are looking for more information.
Contact Sports Editor Brandon Watson at watson@gannett.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as twitter, @BwatsonSJ.
This article originally appeared on Sturgis Journal: Dr. Boyd addresses importances to female athletes at Sturgis
