Hello, I am Liz Scott
The Doctor is in
Dr. Scott is a Sports Medicine fellowship trained orthopedic surgeon & fencer turned sports performance specialist. She brings a wealth of musculoskeletal knowledge to her coaching which exceeds the education and training most fitness coaches can offer.
Education
Bachelor of Arts
Medieval & Renaissance Studies
Duke University
Medical Doctorate
(MD)
Duke University
Orthopedic Training
University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics
Sports Medicine
Fellowship
Boston Children's Hospital
Certifications
In addition to being licensed by the North Carolina and Massachusetts Medical Boards, I am a certified personal trainer, Bioforce Conditioning Coach and trained health and wellness coach through the Mayo Clinic. I continue to pursue continuing education for sports performances, strength, and conditioning.
My Story
I wasn’t an athletic kid. I never played on a school sports team. Growing up I liked other things - horses, reading, and dance.
I had no motivation to take care of my body. In high school I’d stop by Dunkin Donuts on the way to school. Lunch was pizza and chocolate chip cookies, and I’d get Taco Bell on the way home. On weekends it was movie popcorn, candy, and video games. This is it, I told myself. I’m not meant to be an athlete.
Then I discovered fencing. In the mid-2000s someone kind put a blade in my hand at a public park and I discovered the joy of learning something new, meeting new people, and working to be stronger, faster, and more agile than my opponent.
But, I had no experience. No sports coach or athletic trainer had shown me how to train for a sport or choose foods that fueled my body. I associated the gym and lifting weights with toxic fat-shaming and a gym-bro mentality that certainly wasn't me. I remember feeling like fitness was a foreign world that I was not actually a part of.
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I remember that fog of not knowing where or how to start. Which exercises will help my fencing? Strength or cardio? Dumbbells or weight machines? Do I just do what I see others around me doing at the gym and hope for the best? What is it i'm missing?
2005, proud computer nerd
2024, proud sword nerd
Finding Balance
In college and medical school I explored my new athletic hobbies with passion and intensity. I was dancing competitively 10+ hours a week, fencing other evenings and hitting the gym for extra conditioning before morning academics. Weekends were a combination of dance performances, fencing competitions or shows/demos with studying fit in between events and late at night.
Despite being in my early twenties and becoming more and more educated about nutrition and fitness, my body eventually found and hit its limit - hard. A series of stress fractures, repetitive muscle strains and eventually disabling hip pain stopped me dead in my tracks.
It ultimately took my body several years (and surgeries) to recover. In that time I did the challenging work of self-reflection and learning to love and take care of my body so that I could continue to enjoy any of the athletic pursuits I had fallen in love with. It was a journey of self-compassion as I began to understand how my type-A personality, perfectionist tendencies, and a desire for external validation had morphed into disordered eating, overtraining, and unhappiness.
Showing off scars from hip surgery
A return to dance several years later
A Better Way
Now as a Sports Medicine doctor and sports conditioning coach my mission is to help athletes stay strong, resilient, and injury-free—so they can continue pursuing their passions at the highest level. I continue to enjoy fencing (epee as well as historical saber, longsword, and smallsword) and I bring firsthand experience and a wealth of musculoskeletal knowledge to my instruction as I help my students build the skills, physical prowess, and confidence needed to excel.
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No matter the discipline, for every athlete I work with we take a balanced, whole-body approach to their conditioning and performance, ensuring that movement, strength, and recovery work together to support long-term success. ​This holistic approach to athletic performance and training provides a foundation that fencers can build off of their entire lives instead of burning out in what should be the prime of their sport.
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Ready to be a part of the growing group of fencers and coaches training and thinking differently? Don't wait until you are sidelined by injury to rethink your training: find your conditioning program and let's help you become the resilient, extraordinary fencer you were meant to be.
