Throwback Episode | Zach Cogen: From GRE Struggles to Pro Sports: Zachery Cogen’s Journey to D.C. United

Welcome to the True Sports Physical Therapy Podcast. In this episode, we sit down with Zachery Cogen, Director of Rehabilitation for D.C. United, to unpack what it takes to thrive as a sports physical therapist at the highest level of professional soccer.

Zachery shares his journey from wrestling in college and struggling to get into PT school, to eventually leading rehab operations for an MLS franchise. His story is one of relentless persistence, passion, and purpose, and it highlights what truly defines success in sports rehab: communication, adaptability, and the ability to collaborate across disciplines.

This episode dives deep into both career development and clinical mastery, covering how Zachery built his career from student volunteer to professional sports clinician, and how he now manages complex athlete cases under the pressure of performance timelines and front-office expectations.

In this episode, we cover the path from sports residency to pro sports and what separates top candidates, how to stand out in the hiring process through passion, initiative, and networking, what it’s really like to be a rehab director in Major League Soccer, a step-by-step management of hamstring injuries including imaging, PRP, and progressive loading. We also cover how to build athlete trust using objective data like force plates and GPS metrics, communication with coaches, front offices, and athletes under performance pressure, the art of progressive overload, asymmetry management, and movement screening and why learning from other professionals, not just PTs, is key to success.

Zachery’s blend of humility and expertise offers rare insight into what the day-to-day of professional sports rehab truly looks like. From managing multimillion-dollar athletes to creating individualized, data-driven care systems.

Whether you’re a student dreaming of working in pro sports, a sports PT refining your systems, or a coach building a high-performance culture, this episode delivers a roadmap built on persistence, precision, and people skills.

Watch now to hear how Zachery Cogen is redefining what it means to lead in sports rehabilitation.

Connect with Zachery Cogen:

📸 Instagram: @thesportsphysio_

Follow True Sports PT:

📲 Instagram: @truesportspt

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