Move the Needle: The Human Performance Podcast Phoenix Mercury Roundtable: Navigating the W
Feb 11, 2026
Hannah Wengertsman, Director of Health and Performance who oversees medical, S&C, PT and sports science. Garrett Kendall, team physical therapist who blends rehab and performance care. They discuss coordinating care across leagues, return-to-play benchmarks, in-season loading and travel challenges, communicating medical data to staff, and resource disparities across the W.
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Rehab-To-Performance Is A Continuum
- Transition from medical to performance is a gradient where involvement shifts by phase, not a hard handoff.
- Garrett stresses everyone stays connected to monitor setbacks even after primary responsibility moves.
Map Load To Swelling; Microdose Progression
- Map tissue stress and swelling to load and adjust dose rather than eliminate activity.
- Prioritize recovery late in season while using objective monitoring to 'microdose' progressive load.
Plan For Equipment Limits And Travel
- Road resources constrain what you can do, so plan for multiple scenarios and adapt on the fly.
- Hannah stresses that availability decisions must consider equipment, travel, and schedule density.