Special Care for Young Athletes

Top-flight Dallas sports medicine center treats young athletes like pros

In many ways, the Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children Sports Medicine Center looks like a typical sports medicine clinic. With signed athletic jerseys and state-of-the-art physical rehabilitation equipment, you may expect to see Cowboys or Mavericks players working to become game-day ready.

The TSRHC Sports Medicine Center sees its fair share of linebackers and power forwards, but these patients are a little young for the pros. Focused on assessing and treating acute and chronic sports-related injuries in young athletes, these experts understand the importance of athletics to their young patients, both from a physical and emotional perspective.

Diagnosing and treating young athletes takes more than a skilled understanding of pediatric orthopedics; it requires a sensitivity and comprehension of what it means to be a child experiencing an injury that is keeping him or her from doing what he or she loves.

Pediatric sports physician and orthopedic surgeon Dr. Henry Ellis knows the impact an injury can have a young athlete’s body and mind. A graduate of University of Texas Health Science Center San Antonio with a residency at University of Texas Southwestern Orthopedic Residency, Dr. Ellis has diagnosed and treated hundreds of athletes throughout his career. As an athlete himself and former physician for the U.S. women’s ski team, Dr. Ellis understands athletes’ physical and mental drive, determination, and the potential psychological effect of an injury.

It is apparent when observing Dr. Ellis with his patients that taking care of their mental health is as important to him as treating their physical injuries. Eric is a 14-year-old football and baseball player with a serious elbow injury. He is currently in the middle of baseball season in Waxahachie, and his team is likely headed to the Little League World Series in July.

Dr. Ellis knows telling this young man and his mother that he should no longer play baseball will not be easy. After spending some time discussing how current pitching regulations and mechanics may have caused his initial injury, Dr. Ellis shifts the conversation. “I’m not here to lecture you. Let’s talk about goals and how we can address them.”

While talking about the injury and an upcoming surgery with Eric and his mother, Dr. Ellis agilely shifts between addressing technical details and pragmatic concerns, including the emotional impact of Eric’s leaving baseball mid-season. Eric is also a skilled football player, and Dr. Ellis encourages him to shift his athletic focus exclusively to football, which would not have the same damaging effects on his elbow as baseball.

Ultimately, Dr. Ellis leaves the next steps to Eric and his mom. “We have a little bit of soul searching to do right now.”

It is this care and attention to the whole child that makes Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children Sports Medicine Center such a special place. With a team of surgeons, physicians, nurse practitioners and physical therapists, every detail of this practice is focused on treating children. Sports-related concussions, sports-related injuries, growth-plate injuries and stress fractures are all treated with careful attention to the unique physiology of a child.

Dr. Ellis sums up the center perfectly when talking to a nervous 11-year-old boy about a procedure Dr. Ellis will perform on his knee.

“We’re talking a lot of adult talk, but we’re talking about you — your knee. We work in a place where everyone takes care of kids. So we’re all going to take really good care of you. Does that sound okay?”

The little boy nods, and with a high-five from Dr. Ellis, he says, “It’s okay.”

For more information on the TSRHC Sports Medicine clinic, please visit www.tsrhc.org/sports-medicine or call 469-303-5000.

Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children has been caring for children since 1921. TSRHC treats children with orthopedic conditions, such as scoliosis, clubfoot, hand disorders, hip disorders and limb length differences, as well as certain related neurological disorders and learning disorders such as dyslexia. For more information or to get involved, visit scottishritehospital.org or Facebook.com/tsrhc, or call 214-559-5000.

Dr. Ellis (second from right) is one of the medical staff who join Texas Scottish Rite Hospital patients on the its annual amputee ski trip in Winter Park.

TSRHC Ski Trip Airport

Photo courtesy of Texas Scottish Rite Hospital for Children

Dr. Ellis (second from right) is one of the medical staff who join Texas Scottish Rite Hospital patients on the its annual amputee ski trip in Winter Park.

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A+ for Plano

Surprising Dallas suburb makes new list of best college towns in U.S.

Southern Methodist University students at a football game

Southern Methodist University/Facebook

Dallas knows how to show out.

Dallas' spirited neighbor Plano has entered the spotlight as the No. 16 best midsize college town in the U.S., while Dallas ranks among the best largest college towns, a new study by WalletHub has proclaimed.

While Plano might not be thought of as a "college town," it is home to primary campuses of Collin College (Spring Creek Campus and the Courtyard Center); Collin College has an annual enrollment of over 60,000 students. To qualify for the study, a city must have a university or college population of at least 7,500 students.

To determine the best college towns, WalletHub analyzed 415 cities based on their "wallet-friendliness," social environment, and academic and economic opportunities for college graduates. Cities are ranked overall and are sorted into one of three population categories: large, midsize, and small cities.

Several North Texas cities were represented across the three rankings by population, but none ranked higher than Plano. This Dallas suburb ranked as the 54th best college town in the nation overall, and ranks as the third-best college town in Texas.

Out of the three key dimensions, Plano ranked highest for its academic and economic opportunities – landing 25th nationally. This category analyzed Plano's quality of higher education, the earning potential for college graduates, unemployment rates, job growth rates, the share of part-time jobs and median income of part-time workers, and more.

In the remaining two categories for its "social environment" and "wallet friendliness," Plano respectively ranked 223rd and 271st nationwide. The social environment ranking compared the number of students per capita, the share of single people, crime rates, and the number of cafés, breweries, festivals, and shopping centers per capita, among others; the wallet-friendliness category examined local housing costs, student loan debt per person, the adjusted cost of living for young people, and other financial factors.

"As student living expenses can reach over $39,000 per year, it’s important to find the most bang for your buck," the report's author wrote. "Therefore, it’s best to live in a city with a reasonable cost of living, along with good academic and work opportunities. The ideal city should also provide a fun social environment to help students deal with the stress of college."

Dallas ranked as the 35th best large college town in the U.S., and it ranked 108th overall regardless of city size.

This is how the rest of North Texas fared in the report:

Denton – No. 77 overall, No. 23 among midsize cities
Fort Worth – No. 100 overall, No. 31 among large cities
McKinney – No. 110 overall, No. 31 among midsize cities
Richardson – No. 139 overall, No. 57 among small cities
Irving – No. 141 overall, No. 39 among midsize cities
Carrollton – No. 150 overall, No. 42 among midsize cities
Arlington – No. 189 overall, No. 53 among large cities
Grand Prairie – No. 230 overall, No. 71 among midsize cities
Garland – No. 265 overall, No. 83 among midsize cities
Mesquite – No. 317 overall, No. 111 among midsize cities

Other top college towns in Texas
Austin once again topped the list as the No. 1 best college town in America, boosted by the city's wealth of local colleges and universities and the local economy. The Capital City has outshone obvious contenders like Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Ann Arbor, Michigan, for five years in a row, and it also tops the large cities list.

According to the report's findings, Austin has the 15th best academic and economic opportunities for college students and graduates, and the 16th best social environment. WalletHub commends Austin for having one of the lowest unemployment rates in the nation and the "34th-best annual job growth rate," while also offering students ample ways to "de-stress after class."

"On top of that, Austin ranks 22nd in the nation for the quality of higher education among more than 400 cities in our study," the report said. "It also has the 112th-cheapest in-state tuition (including room and board), at $34,651 per year."

Four other cities in the Lone Star State appeared on the overall list of America's best college towns: College Station (No. 37), San Antonio (No. 72), Houston (No. 73), and Lubbock (No. 83).

In the rankings by city size, San Antonio ranked as the No. 2 best large college town in Texas and 23rd in the U.S., with Houston right behind as the third-best statewide and 24th nationwide.

San Marcos, a college town between Austin and San Antonio, ranked as the No. 2 best small college town in Texas, and 54th best among the small colleges nationally. In the overall list regardless of city size, San Marcos ranked 132nd nationally.

The top 10 best college towns in America for 2027 are:

No. 1 – Austin
No. 2 – Ann Arbor, Michigan
No. 3 – Charlottesville, Virginia
No. 4 – Raleigh, North Carolina
No. 5 – Atlanta
No. 6 – Tampa, Florida
No. 7 – San Diego
No. 8 – Scottsdale, Arizona
No. 9 – Orlando
No. 10 – Charleston, South Carolina

college towns reports wallethub dallas plano

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