Like father, like son

From the start of its current ownership in 1997, Summit Physical Therapy and Sports Performance has grown from one provider, owner Kyle Smith, to four full-time physical therapists (PTs) and three other part-time employees.

Now, his son, Brady, has followed in his father's footsteps and joined the Summit team as a full-time provider.

The younger Smith is a 2015 graduate of CHS, and attended Valley City State to earn his undergraduate degrees in biology and health science in 2019. He then entered the Physical Therapy program at UND, and earned his DPT degree in May.

Brady assisted around the office and on the CHS sporting sidelines while he studied for his boards, which he took on October 26 and could start at Summit pending a passing grade.

Six days later, he found out he was good to go.

"Those were the longest six days of my life," Brady said. "The whole experience has been awesome. Dad's a big reason why I wanted to go into physical therapy in the first place."

He recalled a fond memory from his childhood.

"I remember being a little kid walking around the PT department and messing around on all the equipment and wanting to 'help' him treat patients," he chuckled.

Kyle and his wife, Layne, witnessed Brady's progress towards the present day with pride, and he says that the two of them didn't try to nudge him to his career one way or the other.

"I'm certainly proud of Brady for working hard and for his perseverance in pursuing the same path that I took," said Kyle. "The educational process is not easy, and it takes a tremendous amount of commitment and sacrifice to complete the journey."

"I respect him greatly for putting his nose to the grindstone for the past seven years and achieving his goal."

During his time at VCSU, Brady was a member of the baseball team, successfully balancing being a college athlete and a dedicated student.

"Like many people that choose physical therapy as a career, he had experienced PT first hand as a patient after a sports injury n college," Kyle explained. "Many times, that positive interaction is what motivates kids to choose it as their career path, and that was the case with Brady, also."

Brady agreed, saying that the comebacks involved with returning to the diamond from injuries that were his main motivating factor to pursue physical therapy as his vocation.

"With my surgery, I was required to rehab my shoulder for 4-5 months before being cleared to play again. I remember how difficult it was for me to do anything, and how frustrated I became as I could only use one arm to complete daily tasks like brushing my teeth, getting dressed, or typing on my computer," he said.

Because of this, Brady says, he empathizes with and is able to connect with the patients that he has treated both as a student and now as a physical therapist.

"By once being in their shoes, it's very rewarding watching people progress throughout therapy, and knowing you played a part in it makes it even more special."

Having an interest in the classes needed to pursue the degree helps too.

"My favorite classes in high school and college were biology, anatomy and physiology, so I knew PT was a good choice for me," he said.

Brady's particular interest is orthopedics, but he will treat a case-load of a wide variety of diagnosis and age groups in different settings, as well as maintain his presence at sporting events offering his services whenever they are needed.

"Living in rural North Dakota, you have to be prepared to see anything and everything," Kyle noted.

At the present time, it's too early for the Smiths to discuss what having a familial connection at CMC West means for the future.

"I'm sure that will come up at some point," said Kyle. "Right now, I just want to make sure that he has a good experience here, and wants to make Carrington his home for many years to come."

Brady says that his plan for the moment is to stick around the area, and he has not ruled out possibly taking over Summit one day.

"There's a lot to learn about the business side of things before that happens, though," he concluded.

Summit Physical Therapy and Sports Performance provides physical therapy services to inpatients and outpatients at CHI St. Alexius Health Carrington Medical Center, to residents at Golden Acres Manor, and to school children through the East Central School for Exceptional Children.

Along with that, Summit also provides sports medicine coverage to Carrington High School, speed and acceleration training at Iron Fit Gym and Wellness Center, and is a provider for the Workforce Safety and Insurance (WSI) North Dakota Ergonomic Initiative.