Lemak Athletic Trainer Selected For 2012 Olympics Medical Team

Pinson native Jamila Kindall was selected out of 250,000 volunteer applicants to go to the 2012 Summer Olympic Games in London as part of the medical team for the athletes.

The Olympics begin July 27 and Kindall, 29, will be practicing sports massage and sports medicine in the Athletes Village, where the athletes live during the games.

“I’m elated,” she said. “I’m super excited to even have the opportunity. It’s a once in a lifetime opportunity that most people don’t get. I’m definitely honored and I feel privileged to be able to act as an ambassador for Alabama or the United States. Just to be represented on the medical team in London is definitely something I’m extremely excited about and proud to be a part of.”

Kindall is a certified athletic trainer and a licensed massage therapist. She received a bachelor’s in exercise science from Georgia State University in 2005 and a master’s degree in health and human performance with a focus in athletic training from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga in 2008. She then went on to get her certification in professional massage in neuromuscular therapy from the Birmingham School of Massage in 2010.

“All of my professional jobs have been in athletic training or the sports medicine world,” Kindall said. “I’ve been here in Birmingham for much of that time.”

She currently works with Lemak Health and Drayer Physical Therapy Institute, both located in Gardendale. In her free time, she mentors students from different middle and high schools about the world of sports medicine. Kindall has also been doing clinical outreach at local high schools including Clay-Chalkville, Carver, and Fultondale.