Donald T. Kirkendall is uniquely positioned to author Soccer Anatomy. He earned a PhD in exercise physiology from The Ohio State University and went on to teach human anatomy, physiology, and exercise physiology as a faculty member at the University of Wisconsin at Lacrosse and Illinois State University. In 1995 he was recruited to join the sports medicine program at Duke University Medical Center and then at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. His research interests focus on sports medicine and physical performance with an emphasis on team sports—especially soccer. Since 1997 he has written a sport science column for the monthly magazine Southern Soccer Scene.

Dr. Kirkendall began competing in soccer during middle school and continued to play during high school and junior college and at Ohio University, where he competed in the NCAA tournament. He continues to play today in adult recreational leagues. He has coached soccer at various levels from U10 youth leagues to assistant coach at Ball State University in Indiana and earned the USSF B coaching license.

Dr. Kirkendall is a member of FIFA's Medical Assessment and Research Centre (F-MARC) based in Zurich, Switzerland. The Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) is the international governing body for soccer. F-MARC conducts and collaborates on medical studies to reduce soccer injuries and promote soccer as a healthful activity. Dr. Kirkendall is also a member of U.S. Soccer’s Medical Advisory Committee. Because of these affiliations and his expertise in applying sport science concepts to soccer, he is in demand around the world as a speaker on soccer-related sport science topics. He frequently lectures at coaching clinics and to local and national coaching organizations, and he has lectured to audiences in all six of FIFA’s confederations.