Building the Perfect Star

About the Authors

Dr. Bob Ward

Dr. Bob Ward was born on the Fourth of July, the son of a World War I veteran. He came from modest means, even living with his three siblings in a sort of orphanage at the age of six. Ward became a self-made man and one of the most important players in the evolution of professional sports. A former small college All-American, Ward learned by doing. He trained. He played. He coached. Ward earned his Doctor of Physical Education from Indiana University and studied sports science at its infancy with the U.S. Olympic team. He took that education and went on to implement it with Dallas Cowboys in the mid-70s where he joined Tom Landry’s coaching staff as the NFL’s first full-time conditioning coach. While activities such as yoga, CrossFit, and martial arts are now common, Ward was already implementing these programs with pro athletes and would revolutionize the way they athletes prepared and trained. Ward believed in analytics long before it became a part of sports vernacular. His ideas studying and analyzing athletes and movement completely changed the way individuals trained and prepared in sports. What strength and performance coaches, and the athletes themselves, do today to prepare can be traced back to Dr. Bob Ward.

Mac Engel

Mac Engel is a sports columnist with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. He has written two books: Tony Romo: America’s Next Quarterback and Texas Stadium: America’s Home Field. He has covered the Texas Rangers, Dallas Stars, Dallas Mavericks, and Dallas Cowboys as well as multiple Super Bowls, Olympics, NBA Finals, Rose Bowls, and college football championships. His blog, “The Big Mac Blog,” was named the Best Blog in Texas according to the Associated Press in 2012. It finished third in 2014. Engel has served as an adjunct professor of journalism at TCU Schieffer School of Journalism and currently serves as an on-air personality and contributor to CBS KRLD The Fan in Dallas.