Understanding organization structures of the college, university, high school, clinical, and professional settings.

Athletes participate at many different levels of competition--from amateur to professional, from backyard sandlot to Yankee Stadium. There are as many different organized structures involved in providing medical care to athletes as there are types of athletes themselves. Although the organizational structures involved in providing medical care for a little league team in a small town are different from those involved in providing care for a professional baseball team, the mission is the same-caring for athletes. This is the central theme of this article. Though there are different organizational structures, there are more common threads than differences in the mission of those who provide medical care for athletes at any level.