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Ed Lacerte begins his 20th season with Boston Celtics, making him the longest-serving trainer in the history of the club. A Licensed Physical Therapist, a Certified & Licensed Athletic Trainer, a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist, and someone who, in 1993, became Board Certified as a Sports Clinical Specialist by the American Physical Therapist Association, Lacerte is the only NBA Trainer with these credentials. Along with his training duties, he used this vast background to serve as the Celtics' Physical Therapist and Strength and Conditioning Coach for eight seasons. In 1993, the National Basketball Athletic Trainers Association (NBATA), in a vote of his peers, selected Lacerte as the 12th annual recipient of the NBA Athletic Trainer of the Year. Other remarkable honors bestowed on Lacerte include being the trainer to the "Dream Team," the unforgettable 1992 gold medal-winning US Olympic Basketball Team, and trainer and member of the local organizing committee for the U.S. Olympic Gymnastic Trials in 1996 and 2000. In 2005, he completed course work and became a Performance Enhancement Specialist through NASM. A native of Lowell, Massachusetts, Lacerte collected his undergraduate degree in Physical Therapy from Boston University in 1982 and his Master's Degree in Education in 1987 from the same academy. Lacerte was Head Trainer for the Boston University hockey and football teams from 1982 through 1985. He was employed in a physical therapy clinic and was a trainer on the interscholastic level for the next two years before his selection by the Celtics in August, 1987. Lacerte is an associate of the APTA, the National Athletic Trainers Association, and the National Strength and Conditioning Association. He serves as the Treasurer of the NBATA, a post he has held for the past 18 years. Lacerte also maintains a physical therapy clinic, Pro Sports Therapy, at Boston's practice facility, HealthPoint. Lacerte is a frequent and eloquent speaker regarding physical therapy/sports medicine, and spends part of his summers discussing the topic with a variety of organizations in the New England region and throughout the country. He also is one of five NBA head athletic trainers who contributed to a HarperCollins Publishers book titled, NBA Workout Training Guide, which was published in January, 1999. Ed and his wife, Maureen, have five children: Devin, Taylor, Arianna, Graham and Thea. The family lives in Westford, MA. | 