September 22, 2017 - TCO
Variety is the difference for 3-sport athlete
There really wasn’t a time when Griffin Lanoue wasn’t playing a sport. Every fall there was football. Winter meant hockey season. And spring? You could find Lanoue on the pitcher’s mound, firing baseballs.
The recent Rosemount High School graduate credits the variety offered by playing multiple sports for making him the student-athlete he is today. This fall, Lanoue began college at Xavier University in Cincinnati, where he’ll play NCAA Division I baseball for the Musketeers.
Even within each sport, Lanoue liked to mix it up. When he wasn’t pitching, he wasn’t sitting on the bench. He played shortstop. In hockey, he played forward and defense. In football, he was a wide receiver on offense and safety on defense.
Entering his senior year of high school, though, with a baseball scholarship a possibility, Lanoue contemplated giving up football and hockey. But that didn’t last long.
“I always got excited from baseball in summer to football in the fall,” Lanoue said. “If I were to play just one sport in high school, I don’t think I’d enjoy it as much.”
Somewhere else Lanoue saw variety was Twin Cities Orthopedics. As a child, Lanoue broke his hand playing hockey and was treated at TCO. Along the way through youth sports, there were all kinds of bumps and bruises, including an elbow injury, dislocated shoulder and partially torn labrum. For every setback, Lanoue worked with physicians and physical therapists to help him achieve his best results.
“TCO has meant a lot to me for getting me back on the field as quick as possible,” Lanoue said. “They get me back where I’ve been, if not better than I was.”
Lanoue didn’t always have to visit a TCO location if he needed something. Since TCO is the Official Sports Medicine Provider for the Irish, Lanoue and his teammates had athletic trainer Ashley Bethke with them during games and practices.
Another connection to TCO was Lanoue’s relationship with Minnesota Mash Baseball Club, the year-round training and development program in Eagan of which TCO is a proud supporter. Mash’s training programs are available for all athletes, not just baseball players.
“What they’ve done is really cool. They started with nothing and slowly built it up,” Lanoue said. “I’ve met some really good friends because of the atmosphere they’ve created. You come in and hang out with your friends. I don’t know where I’d be without Mash.”
Next spring, when he’s facing batters in the Big East Conference, Lanoue may think about his non-specialized journey through youth athletics that helped prepare his body for the demands of Division I college baseball.
“It’s the little muscles that end up being a big difference and help you stay in shape,” Lanoue said. “I don’t think I could do it any other way. That has helped me a lot in baseball.”
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