When Marquis Curtis, a 17-year-old junior at Crenshaw High School, broke his left femur this past year, he never thought he’d play football again.  But with the help of his athletic trainer through a Los Angeles-based non-profit organization called Team HEAL, Curtis may not only play his senior year, but advance to a successful college career.

            Team HEAL stand for “Helping Enrich Athletes Lives.”  It was founded in 1994 by Clarence Shields Jr., MD, an orthopedic surgeon at Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic in Los Angeles, to provide world-class medical care, injury prevention services, fitness instruction and nutrition services to student athletes.  He started the program after noticing the financially bleak sports budgets of inner-city high schools.  Team HEAL is active at Crenshaw, Dorsey, Banning, Manual Arts and Carson High Schools.

            “Thanks to Team HEAL, my left leg is a lot stronger now,” Curtis says.  “After I hurt my leg, I had to get surgery and take two weeks off.  When I can back to school, my trainer helped me right away through stretching, running and weightlifting.  Hopefully I will be able to play next season.  Right now, things are looking good.”