If the U.S. national soccer team ever were able to make a strong showing at the World Cup, possibly even winning it all, Dr. Brian Babka would like to think he was a small part of it.
Babka, who lives in Sugar Grove, practices occupational and sports medicine with Central DuPage Physicians Group in St. Charles and Naperville. Since 2004, he’s lent his expertise on a volunteer basis to the U.S. soccer program, traveling a couple times per year with various teams throughout the world as a team physician. Just last month, Babka traveled with the U-17 (under 17 years old) men’s team to Montaigu, France, for an international tournament in preparation for this summer’s U-17 World Cup in Mexico.
His duties with the team are to work with coaches and trainers to treat all sorts of injuries, illnesses and other ailments – hopefully minor, but sometimes more serious.
“When we travel to Europe, England and France ... if we had to rely on local physicians and ERs, not a big deal,” Babka said. “But sometimes when we travel to China and other places that don’t have medical systems that we’re used to, it can be difficult.”
Babka and the medical staffs attempt to control as much as possible for the players, relying on themselves as much as possible so to keep players on the fields or at least with their teams as much as possible. While they see “a lot of bumps and bruises,” other trips might require them to treat concussions, more serious strains and sprains, illness unrelated to the sport and even dehydration, Babka said.
The toughest part of this volunteer job would definitely be the moment after a couple weeks with the team when he starts to miss his wife and children back at home, but the benefits are worth the sacrifice. Having played varsity soccer in college at Santa Clara University in Santa Clara, Calif., (including on the 1991 national final four team), Babka maintains a lifelong passion for the sport.
“For me ... it’s fun first and foremost; I mean, I have a blast,” he said. “The work itself is a lot of fun, being with the athletes. You get to see parts of the world you’d never get to see, and I love to travel.”
On last month’s trip, one of the team’s assistant coaches actually played against Babka’s Santa Clara team in the final four appearance they made in 1991. In this way, the volunteering he does also allows him to reunite and stay in touch with people he’s known through his own soccer pursuits for years.
“I’m indebted to the sport,” Babka said. “In my lifetime, I would love to see our national team be very competitive at a national level. If and when one of our teams gets there, to know that I may have been a part of that, that would be fantastic.”
As much as he enjoys traveling with the teams on a personal basis, the professional benefits are not to be overlooked. While the soccer injuries he treats aren’t drastically different than what he treats in his everyday work, the way in which he treats them certainly is. Indeed, the differences between a doctor’s bed in an exam room and a patch of grass just off the field of play are pretty obvious.
“It helps your decision making, it helps your treatment plans,” Babka said. “So every trip I go on, I’m always learning something new.”
The athletes Babka travels with and treats are almost exclusively focused on soccer, but he cannot stress enough how important it is for parents not to push their children into one sport to early in their development.
“I think first and foremost, you want your kids to have fun,” he said. “The lecture I have with parents of my patients is the early specialization.
“We see a lot of kids now focusing on one sport too early – it can lead to a lot of repetitive use injuries.”
By playing many sports and staying active in a variety of ways, Babka says younger athletes can set themselves up for longer, healthier pursuits of a single sport they may one day choose fits them best.
“A well-rounded active child is going to be better off in the long run,” he said.