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Before a �Ը������� University basketball player can score a basket, grab a rebound or defend an opponent, that player has to be ready to take the court. That readiness is built long before tipoff, through treatment, strength training, recovery, hydration, nutrition and the daily work of professionals who understand what athletes need to perform.

For Juju Seki, athletic trainer for the men’s basketball team, and SJ Novak, athletic trainer for the women’s team, the goal is to keep players healthy and help them return safely when injuries occur. Working alongside them are Bob Lemieux, who oversees sports performance and nutrition for women’s basketball, and Henry Briscoe, who leads the same for the men’s team.

Their work is different, but their responsibilities intersect every day. Athletic trainers monitor players’ health and respond when something goes wrong. Performance coaches build strength and conditioning. Nutrition helps athletes fuel their bodies and recover. Together, they help give the coaches the best opportunity to put a prepared team on the floor.

For Novak, success often means that fans barely notice she is there.

“My biggest asset is if I can keep the girls healthy. Their best ability is their availability,” Novak said. “Bob and I work really closely together in keeping the girls as healthy as we can, as strong as they can, and as available to their coaches as we can.”

That partnership with Lemieux means the physical demands of basketball are considered from multiple angles. Training has to challenge athletes, but it also has to account for how their bodies are responding, how they recover and what they need to sustain their performance throughout a long season.

Lemieux sees the weight room as a place where players develop more than physical strength.

“We get to put athletes in situations to do hard things. Do things they’re not good at,” he said.

The work is intentional. Athletes have to learn how to handle challenges, respond to setbacks and keep working when something feels difficult. Those lessons can carry over to the court, where players must react to pressure, adjust to opponents and perform when the stakes are high.

Lemieux also emphasizes another part of the work.

“Our role, whether you’re the strength coach or the athletic trainer, we are providing a service to those student-athletes,” he said.

That service requires the staff to work together rather than operate as separate specialists. A player’s training plan, recovery needs and readiness for competition are connected. The more effectively those professionals communicate, the better they can help coaches make informed decisions about the team.

For Seki, much of athletic training consists of tasks that are not seen by many.

“I come in for the shootaround on game days,” she said. “We’ll stretch the guys out, make sure their hydration levels are in the right place and then keep a close eye on practices and games for facial expressions or gestures that may indicate something is off.”

Those routines matter because preparation is cumulative. Making sure players are hydrated, stretched and ready for practice helps establish a foundation for the harder work ahead. And when an injury does happen, the athletic trainer must be ready to respond.

Seki sees a direct relationship between that work and the team’s ability to compete. Keeping players healthy does not guarantee wins, but it gives coaches more options and helps athletes continue developing.

Novak shares that philosophy. Her ideal game day is one in which she goes unnoticed and the players can do what they have prepared to do.

“My goal would be that you never see me other than behind the bench, maybe just giving a high-five to somebody because I don’t want to be seen,” she said. “I want our girls to be healthy.”

Briscoe’s responsibilities add another dimension to the preparation of the men’s team. Sports performance and nutrition work together to support the physical demands placed on players. The effort extends beyond a workout or a meal. It involves helping athletes build habits that support their performance throughout the season.

Briscoe describes the larger operation as a system in which each person has a role to play.

“We are all one part of a machine that if we all just concentrate and focus on doing our job, the machine will run perfectly,” he said.

That system depends on trust and communication between the people who prepare players and the coaches who lead them. Fran Recchia, head coach of the women’s basketball team, said the relationship between athletic training and performance is especially important when players are recovering or need additional care.

“If SJ and Bob didn’t work together as a cohesive unit, then our return-to-play players or our healthy individuals that need recovery, that would slip, which then would affect us on the court,” Recchia said.

The staff’s influence also extends to how coaches understand the people on their teams. Their conversations with players can provide insight into how athletes are feeling and how they are responding to the demands of the season — information that may not be apparent during practice alone.

Suzette McQueen, �Ը�������’s deputy athletics director, senior woman administrator and sport administrator for both basketball programs, sees the staff’s work as part of a shared mission. Her role involves supporting the coaches while helping align the resources around each program.

“Athletic Director Randale Richmond is really big on that we’re student centered, coach led, and administrative supported,” McQueen said, describing the approach that guides the athletics department. “That is in the mantra of what we do.”

For McQueen, the principle is that coaches should be able to lead their programs while the people around them provide the support necessary for players to develop and compete. That includes making sure the expertise of the athletic trainers and performance staff can be put to use where it matters most: helping student-athletes succeed.

Rob Senderoff, head coach of the men’s basketball team, said the people working behind the scenes are essential to the program’s ability to function.

“It would probably be impossible,” Senderoff said when asked what coaching would be like without the people supporting the team. “I can’t coach the roster without having all of the people that help us. Without those people in their roles, it would be impossible for me to coach the team.”

Senderoff pointed to the range of support players receive, from academics and publicity to the many other responsibilities that surround a college basketball program. Athletic training and performance are critical parts of that larger picture.