As National Hockey League (NHL) legend Wayne Gretzky once said, “You miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take.” For trimester 8 student Ashley Fox, one shot—or, in her case, one Instagram message—was all it took for her to realize her dream of working with professional hockey players.
Ashley found a new way to network: social media. While scrolling through Instagram during her seventh trimester, she came across the profile of retired Boston Bruins player Jeff LoVecchio. Originally from St. Louis, Jeff now trains young, elite hockey players from the 18U AAA-NHL level.
“He has over 11,000 followers on Instagram, so I didn’t think he would even see my message, but I thought, ‘Why not?’ and direct messaged him to see if there were any opportunities to work with him,” Ashley said. “He got back to me right away and invited me to come check out their gym and watch his training sessions.”
Before she knew it, Ashley was assisting Jeff’s athletes during training sessions. Now, having worked under Jeff’s leadership for the past year, Ashley is looking for the next opportunity in her path toward providing chiropractic care to professional hockey players.
“I want to work with hockey players because it’s an area of sports medicine that isn’t fully understood since they are biomechanically different than any other athlete,” Ashley said. “I want to create a space where I can observe their skating and see how I can help them improve while they’re on the ice.”
Originally from north Detroit, Ashley’s goal is to work as a team chiropractor for her hometown team, the Detroit Red Wings. On a recent trip to Detroit to observe the USA National Hockey Team’s training session, she ran into Missy Holas, the Red Wings’ team chiropractor. The two connected, and Ashley is now under Missy’s mentorship.
“My biggest advice to other Logan students is to not be afraid to reach out, even if someone seems like they are high-profile and out of reach,” Ashley said. “I’ve found that most people are willing to help others and want to spread their knowledge.”
As she gears up for graduation this April, Ashley is thankful for the opportunities she’s had at Logan to not only network and provide care to elite hockey players, but also to specialize in her field by simultaneously pursuing her Master of Science in Sports Science & Rehabilitation (MS-SSR) degree.
“If you focus your attention on one area throughout the entire program, you will discover so many treatment options for the sport you want to go into,” she said.
Ashley is excited to continue working toward becoming an NHL chiropractor while also paving the way for future Logan students interested in treating hockey players. This year, Logan partnered with St. Louis AAA Blues Hockey, and Ashley worked with Logan faculty clinician Devon Akroyd, DC, MS, DACBSP®, Cert. MDT to cover hockey games at the Centene Community Ice Center in Maryland Heights, Missouri.
“I’ve had amazing help from Logan; each of my clinicians has encouraged me and my career vision,” Ashley said.