Vince Beam, MS, LAT, CSCS, FMS, SFMA

Vice President Sports Medicine

Wellness Coach

Athletic Trainer for West 

Plains High School

Dry Needling Level 1

Over 30 Years of Service

Vince Beam came to the Ozarks to make a difference. It was a job at Physical Therapy Specialists Clinic that drew him to southwest Missouri – and what has kept him here for nearly three decades.

Beam, who serves as PTSC’s vice president of Sports Medicine, began his career as a high school teacher and athletic trainer. The foundation for that future was laid when he was still in high school and experienced minor injuries, but had little support in days before athletic trainers were regularly in the picture.

“It’s a really typical story of being a high school athlete and having some injuries and really no one at the time could manage them,” says Beam, referencing minor injuries such as deep bruising. “They didn’t really know what to do for that.”

That reality – challenge and opportunity – helped lead him to pursue the profession. After graduating with his bachelor’s in Physical Education from Iowa State University, he headed to Texas, where he spent those initial years of his career.

Then, in the early ’90s, he learned of an opportunity in Missouri: Physical Therapy Specialists Clinic was growing its Athletic Training program, and there was an opportunity for him to join the team. He took it, and he’s been there ever since.

“I love my profession and that I get to help athletes achieve their goal of returning to activities that bring them joy,” says Beam. “Whether it’s a middle school basketball player, high school runner, high school football player, adult CrossFit athlete or a golfer well into their forties, helping them return to an activity they live and breathe is the very definition of rewarding.

“I planned on being here at least five years – not necessarily 28 as of next month. But that’s the way it works out for people,” he says. “And if they’ll have me, I’d like to continue working with this awesome community and work family into my ‘retirement’ years.”

Vince Beam is a Licensed Athletic Trainer, a certified member of the National Athletic Trainers Association, and a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist of the National Strength and Conditioning Association.