EXPERT GUIDANCE FOR OPTIMAL SAFETY
Dr. Tom Fehring graduated cum laude from Wake Forest University where he played varsity football and received an NCAA postgraduate scholarship for excellence in athletics and academics. He completed his orthopedic residency at Vanderbilt University and completed a fellowship in Adult Reconstructive Surgery in Boston.
Dr. Fehring helped establish the OrthoCarolina Hip and Knee Center where he has practiced for over 30 years. During that time, he has been involved in teaching residents and fellows and helped establish the OrthoCarolina Research Institute. Dr. Fehring authored over 155 peer reviewed publications and has given nearly 400 academic presentations. In 2019 Dr. Fehring helped establish the OrthoCarolina Periprosthetic Joint Infection Center to improve outcomes and provide evidence-based guidance for prosthetic joint infections. He is also the Director of the OrthoCarolina Charitable Foundation which supports educational programs for the needy locally and internationally.
His clinical interests are in revision hip and knee arthroplasty. His research has focused on revision surgery, prosthetic design, osteolysis and infection. Dr. Fehring has served as President of The Knee Society and American Association of Hip and Knee Surgeons. He is also an active member of The Hip and Knee Society’s.
Mike Goforth is a native of Mercer County and is a proud Bluefield High School graduate class of 1987, received his BS in Athletic Training from ETSU and a Masters in Sports Administration from Virginia Tech. Mike is in his 25th year at Virginia Tech in his role as Associate AD for Sports Medicine. As associate athletics director for sports medicine, Goforth oversees the healthcare needs of all student-athletes and organizes the athletic training staff and physicians while working closely with all other healthcare-related services that Virginia Tech Athletics offers. Goforth has been very active with numerous sports medicine related educational opportunities for coaches, athletic trainers and physicians through his relationship with the Via College of Osteopathic Medicine and Carilion Clinic. He was awarded the inaugural Frank Beamer Staff Excellence award in 2016 and inducted into the VATA Hall of Fame in 2019. Mike is married and has two sons. Ethan (age 26) is a coach in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization and Luke (age 22) is a junior baseball player for Carson Newman University.
Smith joined NC State as the Head Football Athletic Trainer prior to the 2014 season. In his role, he manages all sports medicine operations for the Wolfpack football program.
A native of Honea Path, South Carolina, he began his athletic training career at The University of Alabama, where he earned both Bachelor’s (B.S. – biology, 1998) and Master’s (M.A. – Health Studies, 2002) degrees.
Upon graduation from Alabama, Smith assumed the role of Head Athletic Trainer at Miles College, an NCAA Division II institution in Birmingham, Alabama, providing care, prevention and rehabilitation of athletic injuries for the Golden Bears’ 11 varsity sports.
After three years at Miles (2003-06), Smith took over as the Head Athletic Trainer for the Rhein Fire of NFL Europe, spending two seasons (2006-07) with the Dusseldorf, Germany-based American football club. During the offseason, he returned to Alabama to serve as head athletic trainer at Pelham High School.
Smith most recently served seven seasons as the Head Football Athletic Trainer at Appalachian State where he coordinated the sports medicine health care for the Mountaineers.
Smith and his wife Stacey live in Raleigh with their son Bennett and daughter Campbell.
Dr. Craig Van Der Veer, MS, MD, FAANS, is a retired neurological surgeon with a distinguished 34-year surgical career at Carolinas Neurosurgery and Spine Associates, where he served as Senior Partner. During his tenure, he helped grow the practice from five to 38 neurosurgeons, establishing it as the largest neurosurgical provider in the United States. He specialized in cerebrovascular disease, minimally invasive spinal surgery, skull-based tumors, and trauma. Since retiring from active surgery in 2019, Dr. Van Der Veer has continued his work through VDV Neurosurgical Consulting LLC, a medical-legal consulting firm he has led for over two decades. His extensive education includes degrees from Calvin/Trinity College, Loyola University, and Chicago Medical School, followed by advanced surgical and neurosurgical training at Michigan State and Case Western Reserve University. Nationally, he has held numerous leadership roles with the Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS), American Association of Neurological Surgeons (AANS), and American Board of Neurological Surgery (ABNS), contributing to education, ethics, and examination standards. He also served as President and Chairman at Carolinas Medical Center/Atrium Health and was the founding Director of the Neuroscience and Spine Institute. Dr. Van Der Veer currently serves on several boards, including the Neurosurgical Education and Research Foundation (NERF), Work Zone Holdings, Analog Gold, and SAFR Sports.
Currently Employed as Director of Athletic Training Services for The United Football League. Has been consulting with The Aviv Brain Health and Performance Clinic in The Villages, FL since fall of 2021. Was Director of Health and Safety-SAFR (Scientific Advance Sports Reduction) Sports Technologies. Was Head Athletic Trainer for the XFL Washington DC and USFL Michigan franchises. Spent 2 years at University of Tennessee, Chattanooga as Director of Sports Medicine after spending the previous 6 years at his alma mater Penn State as Assistant Athletic Director, for Athletic Training Services and Head Football Athletic Trainer.
Bream returned to his alma mater after 19 years with the National Football League’s Chicago Bears. He had served as the head athletic trainer with Chicago since 1997 after spending the four previous years with the Bears as an assistant athletic trainer. Prior to working in the NFL, Bream held athletic trainer positions at several schools, including Richmond, where he was the director of sports medicine and head athletic trainer (1998-92), Vanderbilt (1986-88), Syracuse (1984-86) and West Virginia (1983-84). In addition, Bream has worked with the United States Olympic Committee medical staffs, including the 1991 World University Games in England and the 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France.
Bream graduated from Penn State with a bachelor’s degree in health and physical education, with an emphasis in athletic training. A native of Gettysburg, Pa., he earned his master’s degree in physical education with an emphasis in sports science from West Virginia. He has served as an instructor and lecturer in collegiate and professional settings, authored and co-authored articles for national publications and been a presenter at numerous national athletic training seminars and symposia.
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WARNING:
No helmet, helmet accessory or the SAFR Helmet Cover can prevent all head or neck injuries to a player. Do not use the SAFR Helmet Cover to spear an opposing player. This violates football rules and can result in severe head or neck injuries, paralysis or death to you and your opponent. Immediately report any dizziness, headaches, blurred vision or nausea to your coach, trainer, medical professional and parent. Do not return to play until you gain medical clearance from a qualified medical professional. Ignoring these warnings can result in more serious brain injury and could lead to lifetime impairment. The results of certain independent scientific test indicate that the SAFR Helmet Cover, when properly installed, worn and used as intended and in accordance with product instructions, had the potential to reduce the likelihood of head trauma to the wearing player. Football, however, is a contact sport and no device, including SAFR Helmet Cover, can completely eliminate the risk of concussion or other head or neck injuries. By using and wearing a SAFR Helmet Cover, the player is assuming all the risks of injury inherent with playing football. Ignoring this warning may lead to another more serious or fatal brain injury. We are not liable for any injury that may happen during the use of the SAFR Helmet Cover which must be used along with a properly fit and maintained football helmet. The SAFR Helmet Cover is not intended for any other use other than with a fit and maintained football helmet and is not intended to be used when riding a bicycle, motorcycle or in any other activity.
