And of Nettuno the magic hand that follows the softball blues. It is about Elio Paolini is the physiotherapist of the national team. With them he celebrated a title
European, but this year the target is the July World Games in Alabama. He celebrated a European title with the softball blues and this year he will fly with them to the World Games, which will take place from 7 to 22 July in Alabama. Elio Paolini, 36, from Nettuno (Rome), is the magic hand of the women’s softball team. For five years he has supported them as a physiotherapist, taking care of following them in the preparation and in the problems related to competitive activity.
Paolini, who after graduating in physiotherapy and a master’s in sports physiotherapy enrolled in the master university student in osteopathy in neuro-musculoskeletal dysfunctions of the EOM Italia school in Rome, he has a passion for this profession in his blood. “My maternal grandfather Ciro, from Nettuno, was one of the first massage therapists. Virtually a pioneer of physiotherapy. He worked for forty years for the Fiamme Oro sports group and was also a physiotherapist for the women’s and men’s judo team. He was among the first to bring the art of judo to Neptune, giving a strong impetus to the growth of the sports movement. Thanks to him at the age of 15 I already had clear ideas: I wanted to become a physiotherapist. After all, I have always loved sport: I played football, judo and then baseball, and while I was studying I realized that this would be my path “.
In his hometown, Neptune, there is a long relationship with baseball, and therefore the young physiotherapist’s experience in sports started from there. “These have been fantastic years for me, in which I have been able to experiment and challenge myself as a professional. I was also able to deepen my skills in the upper limbs, which already fascinated me. Until 2015 I worked with the home team, which has always been in Serie A. Later I started following the volleyball team, in Cisterna di Latina, with which I still work. From 2017, however, a new challenge has come: to be a physiotherapist for the women’s softball national team. A bet that I accepted with enthusiasm, also because female athletes have a great potential that, with competence and delicacy, they can be able to express to the fullest. The preparation aimed also at accident prevention is very important. In softball the physical problems concern the lower quadrant of the hip or possible injuries such as joint, knee or foot injuries ”.
With the blue Paolini he celebrated two European titles, in 2019 and 2021, while at the Tokyo Olympics the team stopped in the quarterfinals. “The girls didn’t hurt, but they clashed with the six strongest teams in the world – he says -. However, theirs remains one of the few national teams to have won more at European level and for this year I expect a lot from the World Games in the USA. Then another European will be waiting for us, this time in Spain ”. Elio Paolini has a professional studio in Nettuno with his girlfriend Valeria, a physiotherapist in the neurological field. “Being a physiotherapist is not just a job, but a passion and a life mission. Osteopathy, which I am deepening thanks to my studies at the EOM school, gives an extra gear because it teaches us to look outside the box, broadening our horizons. And with the university master, the contents are above my expectations “.
