As head athletic trainer, Ed Lacerte is the man responsible for keeping the Celtics players in top condition throughout the long NBA season. His medical background positions him among an elite group within his profession. He just finished his 20th year with the Celtics, making him the longest serving trainer in the history of the the team.
Lacerte's resume is impressive. He is a Licensed Physical Therapist, a Certified & Licensed Athletic Trainer, a Certified Strength & Conditioning Specialist, and a Board Certified Sports Clinical Specialist. He is the only NBA trainer with all of these credentials. Along with his training duties, he was also the Celtics' Physical Therapist and Strength and Conditioning Coach for eight seasons. The team now employs Walter Norton and Brian Doo as strength and conditioning coaches, leaving Lacerte to concentrate on his duties as head trainer.
In 1993, his peers, selected him as the NBA Athletic Trainer of the Year. Other honors that he has earned include being the Trainer to the Dream Team, the 1992 gold medal-winning US Olympic Basketball Team, and Trainer for the U.S. Olympic Gymnastic Trials in both 1996 and 2000 as well as serving on the local organizing committee.
Lacerte is a native of Lowell, Massachusetts and earned his undergraduate degree in Physical Therapy from Boston University in 1982 and his Master's Degree in Education in from Boston University in 1987. Lacerte was the 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 high school level for the next two years before joining the Celtics in August of 1987.
Lacerte is an associate of the National Athletic Trainers Association and the National Strength and Conditioning Association. He serves as the Treasurer of the NBTA, a post he has held for the past eight years. Lacerte also runs a physical therapy clinic, Pro Sports Therapy, at HealthPoint, Boston's new practice facility.
Ed and his wife Maureen have five children: Devin, Taylor, Arianna, Graham, and Thea. Their family lives in Westford, Massachusetts.
With all the injuries on the Celtics over the past couple of years, Ed Lacerte has been very important to the team. It was Lacerte who recognized the symptoms of appendicitis in Al Jefferson last season and quickly got him to the hospital. If it wasn't for his quick thinking, things could have been much worse. When a player goes down, it is Lacerte who is responsible for their rehab and for giving them the ok to play. He certainly earned his money last season with one injury after another. It is Lacerte who is working with Tony Allen on his rehab and if Tony comes back strong from the injury, he will have Lacerte to thank for it. We have heard a lot of fans say something to the effect of "We will be very good, if we can stay healthy this season." It is Lacerte who's job it is, along with Norton and Doo, to keep the team healthy. With our team now suddenly much older, Lacerte's expertise will be even more important in keeping the players healthy and helping them to come back from injuries when they occur.