49ers’ head of player health and performance heads to NBA

According to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, the Atlanta Hawks have hired Ben Peterson, the San Francisco 49ers' former head of player health and performance, as their VP of player health and performance.

"Peterson was well-regarded in SF. He oversaw athletic training, functional performance, nutrition and strength & conditioning since 2019," wrote Pelissero.

Below is Peterson's bio from the 49ers' official website.

Ben Peterson is in his fourth season with the 49ers as head of player health & performance, overseeing athletic training, functional performance, nutrition and strength & conditioning. In his role, he manages and orchestrates all available resources to ensure 49ers players are provided the best standard of care, with the goal of maximizing their availability.

He joined the 49ers after spending more than two years as the director of sports science with the Philadelphia Flyers of the National Hockey League. In his role with the Flyers, he helped integrate strength and conditioning, sports medicine, physical therapy and nutrition.

Prior to his time in Philadelphia, Peterson was the director of research and analytics for Catapult, a global category-leader in elite sports technology. At Catapult, he worked with teams in every major professional league around the world, helping them identify and evaluate contextual analytics by measuring training loads and biomarkers to improve the performance outcomes and reduce soft tissue injuries of their athletes.

A native of Plymouth, MN, Peterson received his PhD in applied exercise physiology from the University of Minnesota and his bachelor's degree from Northwestern University. He spent three years as a graduate research assistant at Minnesota, while working as director of performance at P3, which brings a data-driven approach to understanding athlete movement and development for performance optimization.

Peterson and his wife, Michelle, have one son, Beckett, and one daughter, Brinley.