Dr. Lamar brings orthopedic expertise to high school football fields

On Friday nights in the fall, when the stadium lights go on and the stands fill up, Dr. Daniel Lamar is ready on the sidelines.

As an orthopedic consultant for Manatee High School’s football team and several other high school teams in the area, Dr. Lamar tends to injured players, volunteering his time each game to make sure the team is well taken care of.

The orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine specialist from Coastal Orthopedics Sports Medicine & Pain Management isn’t new to Manatee High football. He was a wide receiver, kickoff returner and team captain during his four years at Manatee.

“It’s great to work with Manatee,” Dr. Lamar said. “It’s a coming home of sorts. It’s a privilege to remain connected to my roots and where I got my start. There’s always something really special about that.”

At a recent Manatee football game at Venice High, Dr. Lamar stood on the sidelines with his dad, Daniel Lamar, watching the game unfold on the field.

“My father has been following me since high school, and he’s been following Manatee football since the late 1970s,” Dr. Lamar said. “He goes to all of the games with me.”

Because the previous week’s game was rescheduled due to bad weather, Manatee was playing just three days after their last game. By the second quarter, Venice was leading on the score board and it was obvious that the Manatee players were losing steam.

When players started getting injured, Dr. Lamar headed out to the field to check on a downed player. Manatee training staff, including head athletic trainer Chris Peters, helped the player get to the sidelines where Dr. Lamar examined him. The doubled-over player had a hip pointer, a deep, painful bruise on the point of his hip.

As Venice continued to bring the heat, more Manatee players got injured. One had a back injury, another an ankle injury and a fourth had a knuckle injury. Dr. Lamar, who is also the lead orthopedic consultant for the NFL’s Tennessee Titans, studied each of them.

“I like taking care of kids,” Dr. Lamar said. “I’m lucky to hopefully positively influence these kids, not only to help them recover and play, but to give them a bigger sense of their situation and what they’re going through having been there myself.”

After graduating from Manatee, Dr. Lamar went to Davidson College where he also played football and served as team captain.

Today, in addition to working with Manatee and other local high school football teams, Dr. Lamar and several other Coastal Orthopedics physicians work with the Pittsburgh Pirates, Baltimore Orioles, U.S. Soccer Team and IMG Academy.

“There’s nothing quite like football – the complexity and variety of injuries is large because it’s an aggressive sport,” Dr. Lamar said. “The Friday night lights really evoke something in anyone who ever participated in high school football. There’s just a natural energy, every game is very emotional and the kids are really committed to it. They’re playing because they really enjoy it, not because they’re getting paid for it.”

This time, Manatee lost the game to Venice, but despite the lopsided score, there was some consolation for the Manatee High football team – there’s another game next week. And Dr. Lamar and his dad will be there, standing on the sidelines, ready for anything that might happen.