Raptors Tab McKechnie As Director Of Sports Science

July 21, 2011

The Toronto Raptors announced Thursday the hiring of Alex McKechnie as their director of sports science. He will oversee all athletic training, rehabilitation and strength and conditioning. McKechnie worked for eight seasons as the athletic performance coordinator of the Los Angeles Lakers. He is regarded as a leader in core training and movement integration.

“I am delighted to be a part of such a quality organization and look forward to working with the Raptors, as well as living in a great city like Toronto,” said McKechnie.

McKechnie, a native of Glasgow, Scotland, came to Canada in 1974 to be the head physiotherapist to the Varsity Athletic Program at Simon Fraser University in Burnaby, British Columbia. During his time at Simon Fraser, McKechnie also served as the team physiotherapist for the Vancouver Whitecaps of the North American Soccer League (1974-82) and team physiotherapist for the 1976 Canadian Olympic Soccer Team.

McKechnie left Simon Fraser in 1977 to open his own private practice specializing in Orthopedics and Sports Medicine. Three years later, he began working on a consultant basis with the Vancouver Canucks (1980-2000).

In 2001, after two years of work and research, McKechnie was issued a United States patent on the Torsion Board which he subsequently licensed with Reebok to produce the Reebok Core Board, a device widely used in the NBA, NFL, NHL and gyms in North America. He also developed the Core X system which has been widely adopted in the NBA, NFL, NHL, Premier League and European soccer.

A member of the Chartered Society of Physiotherapists and Canadian Physiotherapy Association, McKechnie continues his individual consulting work spending his off-seasons in Vancouver developing functional movement screening and training for players in the NBA, NHL and NFL.