Score! Alumnus was rinkside to help Team USA men's hockey win gold

“The gold medal game. USA versus Canada. It doesn’t get better than that.”

Kevin Morley DAT '21 sat rinkside during Team USA’s gold medal match against the powerhouse team from Canada. An athletic trainer for the U.S. Men's Hockey team, Morley saw it all: Matt Boldy’s first goal, which placed the U.S. team in the lead. Jack Hughes losing a few teeth after getting whacked by a high stick. Jack Hughes then scoring the golden goal in overtime after taking a pass from teammate Zach Werenski. Of Team USA's win, Morley says, “I’m generally not at a loss for words, but that was one time when I was nearly at a loss for words.”

For the first time in 46 years, the U.S. Men’s Hockey team won the gold medal. (The last time was the famous Miracle on Ice in 1980 when Team USA defeated the Soviet Union, then Finland.)

As the final game sped into overtime, thoughts raced through Morley’s mind. “I was trying to tell myself, ‘This is just another hockey game.’” But then, standing on the bench, looking at the players in front of him, the names on their backs, Morley realized, “This isn’t just another hockey game.”

Morley is the head athletic trainer of the NHL’s Nashville Predators. The year before the Olympics, he worked as part of a team of athletic trainers and staff at the NHL’s 4 Nations Face-Off, an international tournament held in Montreal and Boston. Following this experience, Morley and the team were charged with providing Team USA players with medical support in the form of both preventive and acute and chronic care of injury and illness during the Olympics.

After months of preparation that included sending supplies to Europe via cargo ships, Morley and the players arrived with a “prepare for everything” mindset, something he developed during his time at FIU where he earned his Doctor of Athletic Training (DAT) degree.

That education came into play as he executed his Olympics duties. Morley explains, “It helps you prepare for every role, honestly. My DAT changed me in terms of my more global approach to both medical care and understanding different medical systems,” their similarities and differences and learning how to pivot gracefully to adjust to those changes. The “three pillars” of the FIU DAT – education, the globalization of athletic training and entrepreneurship – have assisted him with logistics and interacting with various medical communities from around the world, he says.

Adaptability and flexibility were key to Morley's success as he found himself at the Olympics in the middle of the NHL season. While the latter was on hiatus during the worldwide competition in Italy, he still had a hand in what was happening stateside.

“It was a lot,” he says. “I was reminded every day that I still have a day job. It was a little bit of a dance trying to [manage it all]." Fortunately, “My colleagues here in Nashville are incredible. They took care of everything while I was gone.”

Incredible memories and special bonds forged overseas will last a lifetime, he says. "To have gone through this with that group of people is more valuable than any memento."

Accompanied by his family, who attended the games, Morley flew home with gratitude for having participated in a historic, global event: “To have played albeit a small part in bringing home [gold] is such an honor, and that’s not lost on me.

“Some days, it’s almost like it never happened. It was surreal. I should just retire now because we’re never going to top this. Just ride off into the sunset.”