There is one major looming reality that all athletes must face sooner or later. Eventually, a time will come when the body is unable to face the rigors of competitive play, whether that comes about from injury or the natural aging process. Regardless, it is wise to plan for life after the game. Unsurprisingly, many current or former student-athletes seek out careers that are connected to athletic performance in some way.
Here at Life University (Life U), we offer many degree programs that support future athletically-focused careers, such as our B.S. in Exercise Science and our M.S. in Sport Health Science. Yet, one career focus area has emerged as particularly suited to many current and former student-athletes: Chiropractic.
Today, we are going to revisit some Life U student and alumni stories that illustrate this worthwhile path that athletically-inclined individuals have taken for an exciting, meaningful career in Chiropractic.
Dr. Marc Ellis
Dr. Marc Ellis is the founder of Georgia Chiropractic Neurology Center located in Marietta, Georgia. His ongoing work in the field of chiropractic neurology, coupled with years of experience in neuromuscular therapy and martial arts, enables him to address complex conditions with a multi-faceted approach. Caring for the underlying connective tissue has yielded dramatic results in chronic cases.
Before attending chiropractic school at Life U, Dr. Ellis became a certified neuromuscular therapist. He obtained a master’s degree in clinical neuroscience from Parker University in 2020 and has spent countless hours studying human biomechanics, nutrition, homeopathy, functional medicine and kinesiology. His passion since chiropractic school has been functional neurology, in which he has completed thousands of hours of postdoctoral studies and graduated as the Valedictorian of the Clinical Neuroscience program from Carrick Institute in 2004.
His most recent public claim to fame has been his work with top-tier athletes, particularly Sem Verbeek, winner of the 2025 Wimbledon Mixed Doubles Championship with Katerina Siniakova. Ellis’ team has worked with Verbeek for years to harness the power of Chiropractic Neurology to improve his game as well as his health.
For example, they use special glasses to track his eye movements on the court and then find areas of less-than-ideal focus to recorrect, resulting in stronger hits. Verbeek has been so joyful and in awe of his progress that he made a point to have the Georgia Chiropractic Neurology Center logo on his shirt in the Wimbledon Finals. That shirt will be displayed in the Wimbledon Hall of Fame as well. It is truly exciting and powerful to see Chiropractic showcased in this way!
Dr. Josh Glass
Dr. Josh Glass is a 2001 alumnus of Life University’s College of Chiropractic. He is the owner of Georgia Sports Chiropractic, as well as the Team Chiropractor for the University of Georgia and Georgia Institute of Technology’s Track & Field teams and Emory University Athletics. He also previously served as the Team Chiropractor of the Atlanta Hawks (NBA). Check out his podcast episode on Living Life at Life U as Dr. Glass speaks on his gravitation toward working with athletes and sports teams.
He notes that he considers all people who want to move as athletes. Listen in on this insightful conversation to learn more about the amazing work that Dr. Glass has done and continues doing to improve the expression within every individual he cares for.
Esa Tsoi
Esa Tsoi is a chiropractic student at Life U who has made the recent switch from student-athlete to chiropractic student, as well as serving as an assistant coach for Life U Men’s Volleyball. Tsoi had been an active volleyball player for over 15 years, so she was excited to play at the collegiate level during her undergraduate studies while keeping the dream alive to one day continue to medical school (or so she thought). Yet, as the old saying goes, the only constant in life is change. Sadly, a career-ending injury occurred that required Tsoi to figure out the next steps in her journey if she wanted to stay connected to her sport. She eventually made the switch to coaching, first as an assistant coach for Campbellsville University Men’s Volleyball.
As fate would have it, Campbellsville University and Life U are athletic rivals in several sports, including volleyball. In something of a university meet-cute, Tsoi played an away volleyball game against Life U and quickly became charmed by her scenic, compelling surroundings. She keenly remembers asking a teammate about the prominent sculpture that serves as a key campus landmark, the detailed bronze hands that she later learned were modeled after Life U founder Dr. Sid Williams performing a toggle adjustment. That is when Tsoi learned about Life U’s rich chiropractic history, unearthing a latent curiosity in chiropractic care and holistic healing from career talks she had participated in back in high school.
To learn more about the possibility of Chiropractic as a career, Tsoi inquired with a local chiropractor in Campbellsville and became a chiropractic assistant there, completing internship hours as part of her degree program.
“I was just learning how a chiropractor runs his office. I learned a lot about Chiropractic, what they do […] and also, I always knew that I wanted to help in health – to help athletes in their sense of improving performance and preserving their health,” Tsoi said.
It became clear after a few months of seeing “all the fun stuff” and vital work that the chiropractor was doing that Chiropractic was the right path for her. As a Life U graduate, the chiropractor encouraged her to check out Life U, and it wasn’t too long after her undergraduate program finished that she moved to Marietta to enroll in Life U’s D.C. program. She has enjoyed being able to continue in her athletics passion as an assistant coach for Life U Men’s Volleyball, as well as having a front row seat to see how chiropractic care can give that edge to sports performance.
“[Life U] has [developed] a different way to coach, to teach, to help this group of young people grow. That was a really interesting thing for me to see, and also what’s special here is the athletes here get adjusted, so I can see like ‘OK, athlete not getting adjusted and athlete getting adjusted – like there’s actually some difference in there.’ I think it’s really interesting to see how their body adapts,” Tsoi said.
For Esa Tsoi’s full Faces of Life U story, check out her Faces of Life U profile.
Dr. Brad Walker
Life U D.C. alumnus Dr. Brad Walker has the honorable distinction of competing as a two-time Olympian and World Champion in Men’s Pole Vault. He has represented Team USA 12 times on the world stage and coached USA medalists at the last two Olympic Games. He and his wife Sage Walker own and operate their own chiropractic office in Kennesaw, Georgia, called Walker Wellness.
“Competing at the highest level and biggest stages in the sport and traveling all over the world – getting my passport stamped almost everywhere I could have wanted to go – was an amazing part of track and field. And the opposite side of it – the hard work, determination and willpower to succeed – are the lessons that sports at the highest level teach you,” said Dr. Walker.
Life U is no stranger to welcoming Olympians on campus, with past student-athletes who have previously competed in the games or student-athletes who have gone on to compete post-graduation. Retired from professional competition, Walker has reinvented himself as a coach mentoring the next generation of elite pole vaulters, and his vision of fully realized coaching involves a background in chiropractic education to help his athletes unlock their ultimate potential. Walker coaches a team of Olympic-hopeful and Olympic-champion pole vaulters. Some of the athletes he has worked with include Katie Nageotte, 2020 Gold Medalist in Women’s Pole Vault, and Sandi Morris, 2016 Silver Medalist in Women’s Pole Vault.
“It’s a very different set of emotional feelings being an athlete versus being a coach. […] I don’t get super nervous because I know it is the athlete’s responsibility to go and get the job done,” said Dr. Walker.
Dr. Walker consistently utilized chiropractic care throughout his athletic career to perform at peak condition and stay healthy, so it makes sense to him to work as a Life U-trained chiropractor and incorporate those skills on the sidelines as needed, along with his coaching.
For Dr. Walker’s full Faces of Life U story from his time at Life University, visit his Faces of Life U profile.
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