Butler Baseball Alumni Spotlight: Ryan Harber

In the second edition of Butler baseball's Alumni Spotlight, we visit with former Bulldog pitching great Ryan Harber. Harber was an all-conference and COSIDA academic all-district player and was selected in the 7th round of the 1998 draft by the Florida Marlins.

1.       What is your current occupation?
Performance Specialist at St. Vincent Sports Performance in Indianapolis.

2.       What year did you graduate from Butler and what was your major?
Secondary Education with an emphasis in Athletic Training, graduated in 2002.

3.       What is your favorite Butler Baseball memory?
My favorite memories revolve around my teammates and all of the good times we had on the field, in the dugout, in the clubhouse or around campus.  There are too many stories to choose from (and ones I cannot tell!).  But winning the 1998 MCC Tournament was a career highlight for sure.

4.       Who was the best hitter you ever faced, college or pro?
Current New York Yankee Mark Teixeira (he hit a homerun so far… even I was proud to be apart of it!)

5.       Favorite Butler professor
Dr. Lisa Farley

6.What you like most about your current job? Tell us a little about what you do.

I am a certified athletic trainer and strength & conditioning specialist at St. Vincent Sports Performance.  I train athletes/weekend warriors in all aspects of sports performance. In addition, I help bridge the gap between rehabilitation and return to sport for athletes recovering from injuries or surgery.  For the past 7 years I’ve also trained the pit crews and drivers of Andretti Autosport (formerly Andretti Green Racing) of the IndyCar Series.  I oversee the strength & conditioning programs, treat injuries, perform video analysis on pit stops to improve ergonomics and efficiency and have even been a tire changer on a pit crew on a part-time basis. 

The thing I like most about my job is helping athletes rehab from an injury and then making them better than they were before the initial injury.  Its very rewarding knowing that I have a small part in helping an athlete reach their goal, attain an athletic scholarship, prolonging their professional career or even reviving it.