‘I am incredibly grateful to be a small part of the team’

Heather Graves

Staff

April 14, 2025

NORTH CENTRAL WISCONSIN – Though she didn’t necessarily always know she wanted to pursue a career in medicine, Jasmine Wiley – a ThedaCare family medicine physician who cares for patients in Clintonville, Tigerton and Shawano – said it was definitely something she was thinking about as she graduated high school.

“My mom is an occupational therapy assistant and an advanced myofascial release practitioner – so I had a little exposure to a medical background there,” she said. “But I think it kind of naturally evolved. In college, when you’re taking all your pre-med classes, you’re like, ‘maybe I don’t want to do this.’ But it is definitely the best fit for me. I can’t think of anything else I would want to do career-wise.”

Growing up in Clintonville, Wiley said one thing she was sure of was that she wanted to “come back home and work in the communities that I grew up in.”

A childhood spent on 30 acres in rural Wisconsin, Wiley said her family oftentimes could be found cross-country skiing through the woods.

“I skied growing up with my family, just for fun,” she said. “I didn’t ski really at all in high school, just because skiing in Wisconsin is not a WIAA sport – it’s a club sport.”

Wiley said she got back into skiing while attending college at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire.

“I had some friends who skied, and I was like, ‘Oh, yeah, I liked doing that. I should try that again,’” she said. “I rekindled my love for it.”

Wiley said it quickly became an outlet for her – not just for physical activity, but as a stress reliever.

“I not only enjoy the physical challenge of it – because it is quite a demanding sport – (but also) the ability to be outside and in nature and kind of decompress,” she said.

Over the years, Wiley said cross-country skiing became a big part of who she is today.

“I have met some really amazing people through skiing,” she said. “I have made lifelong friendships through skiing. (Many of those people) have been a big part of who I am now – both as a physician and a person.”

During medical school in Madison, Wiley said she started sharing her passion for skiing with younger generations through coaching.

Though that aspect of her skiing journey may have started for personal reasons – “I initially got involved because if you helped coach, you got a free trail membership, and as a med student, that was a great deal” – Wiley said it has grown to be far more than that.

“I really fell in love with it,” she said. “Having a bunch of three-, four- or five-year-olds that you’re just playing games with. You’re teaching them to move on skis, and it’s not about how fast anyone is going or technique – it’s chaos, like any other young youth sport is, but it was really a ton of fun.”

Though she didn’t coach during her residency – “residency was just too dang busy” – Wiley said she knew when she returned to North Central Wisconsin and got her practice going that she wanted to become more involved in coaching.

“I got connected with the Bay Nordic (Ski Club) out of Green Bay,” she said. “I was an assistant coach for a season, and then head coach for three and now back in an assistant coaching role with our middle school and high school – primarily the high school – team.”

Though Wiley said coaching is “completely different from my day job,” helping others create a healthy, active lifestyle with cross-country skiing resonates with what she does on a daily basis.

“It’s really fun to help create that passion and see the confidence that comes with that and all the things that kids, athletes and families learn through sport,” she said. “Obviously, in Wisconsin, it’s hard to stay active year-round. Even if you have an active lifestyle during the warmer months, winter rolls around and it’s hard to find things that you can do to stay active. Skiing is definitely one of those things.”

With that in mind, Wiley said one of the focuses of Bay Nordic is to “simply inspire a love of the sport,” but also make it accessible for everyone – especially those who may not have access to it otherwise.

“Cross-country skiing is not nearly as expensive as alpine skiing, but there is a lot of investment with equipment – especially for kids,” she said. “As they grow, and their boot and ski sizes change, you have to buy all the new equipment. So as a club, we’ve really tried to make the youth program accessible for anyone who just wants to try the sport out.”

Though she still cross-country skis as often as she can, Wiley said “I honestly think I get more joy out of watching my athletes’ progression as they improve every season.”

“I got a lot of confidence back in my life through skiing, and I knew I wanted to help kids and athletes kind of find that in themselves,” she said. “That definitely has been one of my favorite things about coaching.”

“I love watching them fall in love with the sport, and sometimes helping them navigate other life things without them necessarily knowing you’re helping them become really good people, too,” she said. “I would say our club – and really the whole state of skiers that I’ve worked with – does everything it can to create a positive environment that also encourages not only athletic growth, but personal growth.”

A unique opportunity

As she began to coach the higher-level athletes through Bay Nordic – traveling with them to national competitions, Wiley said she got to know some of the folks involved in the U.S. Ski and Snowboard (USSS) development program. 

Those conversations, she said, naturally evolved into “Hey, we need a doc to kind of come with us on this trip, would you be interested?”

“Since I am a doc and a coach, I can fill two roles depending on the need,” she said.

Starting with the U.S. Ski’s junior development team in 2023, Wiley said she has traveled with the team to various competitions and training camps in several different countries – Finland, Slovenia, Austria and Italy – for the past three seasons.

“The first trip I went on was with the under-18 athletes to Finland,” she said. “Last year, I went with the junior teams for the world junior, under-23 championships – I did again this year. That is kind of the Junior World Cup-level event – it’s the best junior athletes from all the different nations that compete in World Cup racing at the under-23 junior level.”

Though she has been to competitions in the past as a coach, Wiley said it was a unique experience being at the events as a doctor.

“I’ve really loved the ability to be there as a physician to keep athletes healthy – helping them deal with anything acute that comes up and also helping them perform at their top level,” she said.

To be part of the USSS’s volunteer medical pool, Wiley said, “you have to apply.”

“You are required to do some additional on-snow emergency training, and then can travel with the team,” she said. “We volunteer our time and our resources to travel with the World Cup team.”

Wiley said volunteer physicians serve as the primary resource for the team’s head coach, physical therapist/athletic trainer and medical director regarding any medical issues relating to an athlete’s ability to train or compete during her assigned trip.

She said they also make recommendations regarding any follow-up care or ongoing treatment plans in collaboration with USSS sports medicine director and the head team physician.

“We sometimes have to help make those tough health-related calls about whether or not the athletes should compete if there is injury or illness – but the support teams are excellent and collaborative,” she said.

Wiley said USSS takes volunteer coverage for all of the disciplines.

“It’s not just cross-country skiing that needs volunteers, but that’s primarily where I spend my time and energy, because it’s what I’m most familiar with,” she said.

Being part of USSS’ volunteer medical team, Wiley said, is a dream come true.

“I guess it’s always been a goal of mine since I’ve been a doc to be a doc with the World Cup team,” she said. “The most fun part about it for me is getting to watch the racing, and (to) be there on the sidelines and at the start and finish areas.”

Wiley said the travel that accompanies the volunteer doc gig “is a really fun perk.”

“I’ve been to some really awesome places, and I have been able to personally ski in some really awesome places as a result of that,” she said.

Uniquely qualified

Since she is a skier herself, Wiley said she understands the demands of the sport, which “sets me up in the USSS doc role really well.”

“As a family medicine doc, I think I’m well suited for their role, in the sense that I see a little bit of everything in the clinic,” she said. “I think having an appreciation for the physical demands, as well as the mental demands that come with endurance sports, helps (me succeed in this role).”

What USSS athletes do on a daily basis in regard to training for high-level competition, Wiley said “is really impressive.”

“Being able to be a small part of how we keep them healthy, moving forward and being at their best, is pretty rewarding,” she said. 

Wiley said she takes the knowledge and understanding she gains through her time working with athletes on the skill trails and applies it to her everyday life, both personally and professionally with her patients at ThedaCare.

“All the teams and staff – whether at the junior level or the World Cup level – are incredible people,” she said. “They are really inspiring, both in the sense of what they do every day and just who they are as people.”

Wiley said the culture created within the USSS – “one that supports, yet pushes each other to be the best they can be” – is something she integrates into her work as a family medicine physician.

“That is something that I hopefully bring back to work here – that same mindset of everyone is important and everyone brings something unique to the table,” she said. “I hope my experience carries over and helps create that same positive, welcoming environment that encourages people to be their best.”

Wiley said she’s also found ways to bring back some of the things she’s seen at the World Cup level to her local team to help them continue to grow as athletes and people.

No surprise

Though not many people outside her bubble of close friends know she volunteers as a World Cup doc, Wiley said it doesn’t come as a surprise when folks find out.

“Everyone knows how much I love skiing,” she said, “so it seems like a natural activity for me.”

ThedaCare’s annual three-month sabbatical policy, Wiley said, has worked well for her role as a World Cup doc.

“We do have a unique kind of thing here in Shawano, where we have a three-month sabbatical every 15 months,” she said. “So that provides me with an opportunity to volunteer as a team doc. This year, I have October, November, December off, so I’ll probably try to travel with the team early in the season.”

Wiley said ThedaCare has been very supportive of her volunteer work with the U.S. team.