Nurse practitioner Heather Milea (right), clinical lead of the University’s HEALTH for All program, conducts a sports physical at the Newark Charter School while athletic training graduate student Cassie Lee observes.

Keeping young athletes in the game

Article by Tabitha Groh Photos by Kathy F. Atkinson August 12, 2026

UD athletic training students provide free physicals to local middle and high school athletes

There are many challenges that can keep middle and high school students from playing school sports, but getting a physical exam shouldn’t be one of them.

As part of a network of efforts across the state, the University of Delaware — through its HEALTH for All (H4A) program and its Master of Science in Athletic Training program (ATP) — and Newark Charter School partnered this summer to offer free sports physicals that will allow middle and high school students to be eligible to play school sports in the coming academic year. The initiative also creates a vital connection between the students and the health care system, potentially contributing to their long-term wellbeing.

“These students want to play,” said H4A’s Heather Milea, family nurse practitioner and adult-gerontology acute care practitioner at UD’s Nurse Managed Primary Care Center. “Play is health for students. It's a big part of social engagement. It's cardiovascular health. It's learning how to be a team player and the skills of a game. It's not just going to school; it's the fun part of school.”

While the H4A team travels across Delaware year-round, this one-day event was an excellent opportunity for the ATP students to get into the community early in their master’s program.

Graduate students in UD’s Athletic Training program assisted with the free sports physicals under Heather Milea’s supervision.

“It just takes everything from the classroom and puts it all into practice,” said Cassie Lee, one of six ATP students who assisted with the physicals.

For Newark Charter School’s Assistant Athletic Director Shannon DiMauro, this was the first time offering free physicals for students looking to play for one of the school’s 26 teams.

“To host an event like this helps target families that might have a hard time getting a physical,” DiMauro said. “Even in strong communities, there are those who still need help or appreciate it when help is offered and that's what this event did — it offered help to those who needed it.”

Most Newark Charter School students live within five miles of the school, which sits minutes from UD’s Newark campus.

Part of the power of the experience, said ATP student Steph Alves, is “being able to gain the trust of our community.”

Athletic training goes beyond taping ankles, said Program Director Nicole Wilkins. “[It] isn't just health care. It's public health as well.”

For the student-athletes, a free physical is more than an item to check off on their way to play sports.

“By creating a warm and welcoming experience,” said Wilkins, the athletes “are now plugged into their health care providers here at the school. People are going to be more apt to seek out treatment because they've already had a really good interaction.”

H4A, an initiative of the University’s Partnership for Healthy Communities (PHC), has provided sports physicals to student-athletes across Delaware for the past five years. The vast majority of those physicals have been for underserved students, helping ensure safe participation in athletics while expanding access to preventative healthcare.

During past free physicals, Milea has found both acute and chronic issues, from enlarged spleens to vision problems.

“It's sometimes the first medical touch some students have had for a really long time,” Milea said. “The playing field is not the same for everybody.”

Providing free sports physical exams, though, gets everyone into the game.

Community Engaged University

The University of Delaware has a long tradition of applying knowledge, creativity and civic commitment to the critical challenges facing communities in Delaware, across the nation and around the world. Community-based projects and activities strengthen UD’s identity as an engaged research university.

UD was reaffirmed in 2026 as a Community Engaged University, after its original 2015 designation, by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, which recognizes institutions of higher education for reciprocal collaboration with their larger communities.