Issue link: http://latinschool.uberflip.com/i/686133
a collegiate Division I program. However, to him, watching a Latin/Parker game was "as exciting as working the Rose Bowl game." It was during his time at Latin that Mark Kaufman started Athletico. In August 1991, Kaufman opened Athletico's first clinic on Clark Street – not far from Latin – where the company still has a location today. Athletico never planned to open more than one clinic, but the company opened a second location in 1994. By the end of the decade, Athletico had nine sites across Illinois, then 50 by the end of the next decade, and then close to 100 when they acquired competitor Accelerated Rehabilitation in 2014. Today, Athletico has 350 sites in nine states. ough the company has grown well beyond what Kaufman ever intended or imagined, he hasn't forgotten about where it all started, noting, "e relationship with Latin is the foundation for how we do things at Athletico. "e relationships we started with 25 years ago are as important as the ones we have with the Blackhawks or the Bears today," Kaufman said. "I have a lot of respect and pride for what we started many years ago." Latin has employed six trainers in the time the school has worked with Athletico. Jessie Heider, Latin's current athletic trainer, joined the Romans in 2011 and works with athletes at school six days a week. Her training room is always bustling with students after school preparing for games and practices – and fortunately they can all fit inside. I've never seen anybody better in a crisis than Jessie – assessing things quickly, keeping the situation totally under control and knowing what steps to take." – Tom Bower, Latin athletic director Latin Magazine » Spring 2016 21