The Phoenix Suns have announced additions to the team’s sports medicine staff, naming Daniel Bove director of performance, Brady Howe head strength and conditioning coach/assistant athletic trainer, Geoff Staton assistant athletic trainer and Devin Skinner assistant athletic trainer.
Aaron Nelson, entering his 26th season with the Suns and 19th as head athletic trainer, remains the senior vice president of athlete health and performance/head athletic trainer, Tom Maystadt, entering his 10th season with the Suns, remains assistant athletic trainer/rehabilitation coordinator and Stanford Williams, going into his second season with the Suns, is now assistant athletic trainer/assistant strength and conditioning coach.
“I am extremely excited to add four incredibly talented individuals that fit exactly what we were looking for both personally and professionally,” said Nelson. “Bove, Brady, Geoff and Devin will be great assets to the system we have in place, to not only keep our players healthy and on the floor, but also performing at a high level.”
Bove comes to the Suns following two seasons with the Atlanta Hawks as the team’s sports scientist/assistant strength and conditioning coach. Prior to joining the Hawks, Bove was a graduate assistant and performance laboratory supervisor at the University of South Florida from 2014-2016. He has also worked as head weightlifting coach at Horsepower Athletics in Tampa, Florida, and as a coach at Liberty Barbell in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
A graduate of Pennsylvania State University with a Bachelor’s in Kinesiology, Bove also holds a Master’s in Exercise Science from South Florida. The Philadelphia native is a certified strength and conditioning specialist (CSCS) and corrective exercise specialist (CES).
Howe joins the Suns following one season as assistant athletic trainer with the Hawks. Prior to joining Atlanta, Howe spent three seasons with the G League affiliate of the Utah Jazz, serving as director of athletic performance for the Salt Lake City Stars in 2016-17 and head athletic trainer/strength and conditioning coach for the Idaho Stampede from 2014-2016. He was the athletic trainer for the NBA D-League Select Team at NBA Summer League 2015 and 2016 in Las Vegas, and also served as athletic trainer/strength and conditioning coach for the D-League’s Utah Flash from 2009-2011. From 2011-2013, Howe worked at Weber State University as athletic trainer and strength and conditioning coach for the Wildcats’ football and basketball programs.
A graduate of Weber State with a Bachelor’s in Athletic Training, Howe also holds a Master’s in Sports Conditioning and Performance from Southern Utah University. The Ogden, Utah, native is a certified strength and conditioning specialist (CSCS), certified athletic trainer (ATC), corrective exercise specialist (CES) and performance enhancement specialist (PES).
Staton comes to the Suns after most recently serving as the senior associate athletic trainer for the men’s basketball program at South Florida. Previously, Staton had worked as athletic trainer for various sports teams at the University of North Carolina (2014-2017), High Point University (2010-2014) and the University of Kentucky (2008-2010). In 2017, Staton worked as athletic trainer for the USA Basketball U19 National Team coached by Kentucky’s John Calipari that won bronze at the 2017 FIBA U19 World Cup in Cairo, Egypt. In the summer of 2007, Staton worked in the NBA as athletic training intern with the Charlotte Bobcats.
A graduate of North Carolina with a Bachelor’s in Exercise and Sport Science, Staton also holds a Master’s in Athletic Training from Kentucky. The Greensboro, North Carolina, native is a certified athletic trainer (ATC).
Skinner comes to the Suns after serving as a performance healthcare athletic trainer for Baylor Scott & White Health, working out of the Sports Performance Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas. He had previously been an assistant athletic trainer at Allegheny College, head athletic trainer at Clarion Area High School and graduate assistant athletic trainer at Clarion University. Since 2014, Skinner has worked as a consulting performance healthcare practitioner for Fusionetics, implementing movement analysis through the Fusionetics Performance Health System to MLB and NFL athletes.
A graduate of Slippery Rock University with a Bachelor’s in Athletic Training, Skinner also holds a Master’s in Rehabilitation Sciences from California University of Pennsylvania. The Blacksburg, Virginia, native is a certified athletic trainer (ATC), corrective exercise specialist (CES) and performance enhancement specialist (PES).