Physician · Athlete · Coach · Husband · Father · Author

Build the athlete.
Form the person.

William Kumprey, MD, brings medicine, elite athletics, coaching, family, and faith into one practical pursuit: helping people become the best version of who God created them to be.

Discover the bookMeet William
William Kumprey with his wife and five children
Faith begins at home.Husband and father of five remarkable, homeschooled Christian children and athletes
01Evidence, made useful.
Clear principles for real decisions.
02Faith, offered openly.
Unashamed, unmistakable, invitational.
03The whole person.
Performance that serves a larger purpose.
The first book

More than performance.

Today’s athletes have more data, tools, and advice than ever—and still struggle to know what matters. The Optimized Athlete turns that noise into a coherent system for building health, performance, character, and purpose.

Full book jacket for The Optimized Athlete by William Kumprey, MD
The Optimized Athlete · Current full-wrap cover concept
Manuscript in development

A system for the athlete—and the life beyond the scoreboard.

This is not a collection of shortcuts. It is an evidence-aware, experience-tested framework for athletes, parents, and coaches who want to train wisely, recover fully, compete with courage, and keep the person ahead of the performance.

  • Training & physiology
  • Sleep & recovery
  • Nutrition & hydration
  • Mindset & resilience
  • Injury risk reduction
  • Technology & evidence
  • Relationships & identity
  • Faith & purpose
Explore the framework
A second excerpt

Powered by Faith. Fueled by Science.

Faith and science have never been opposing teams in my life.

Science helps me study the created world. It teaches me to measure, compare, question, test, and revise. It helps explain how sleep supports recovery, how training creates adaptation, how nutrition supplies demand, how injury changes capacity, and how an intervention can help, harm, or do nothing at all. Good science requires humility because every honest answer also reveals the limits of what we know.

Faith answers questions a laboratory cannot settle for me. Why does truth matter? What are my gifts for? What gives a person value when performance disappears? Whom do I serve? Where do I stand when suffering does not resolve according to plan?

My faith does not relieve me of the responsibility to investigate. Science does not relieve me of the responsibility to discern. I pray, study, listen, measure, and decide. When new evidence corrects an old conclusion, I should be grateful for the correction. Truth does not threaten God.

The practical method: Optimization is not finding the perfect answer. It is building a reliable process for finding the best answer you can—for this person, for this purpose, at this point in time—and being willing to change it when the evidence changes. Ask it. Test it. Track it. Tweak it. Match supply to demand.

Selected passages from The Optimized Athlete
A durable foundation

Rock. Wind. Fire.

Three images carry the book’s central rhythm: build on what lasts, recover and listen, then act with disciplined intensity. Each matters. None works well alone.

R
Foundation

Rock

Faith, identity, character, and principles strong enough to hold when outcomes do not go as planned.

W
Renewal

Wind

Breath, recovery, adaptability, and the humility to pause, listen, learn, and change course.

F
Action

Fire

Passion directed by purpose—the disciplined work that turns knowledge and conviction into practice.

From the book

Stewardship, Not Perfection

I believe our bodies, abilities, opportunities, relationships, and time are gifts. Optimization, then, is stewardship. It is not vanity. It is not perfection. It is not becoming obsessed with appearance, status, or performance.

It is asking: What have I been given? What is being asked of me? How can I develop these gifts responsibly? How can I use them in service of something larger than myself?

Athletic talent becomes something to develop, not worship. Health becomes something to protect, not assume. Strength becomes something to use. Knowledge creates accountability.

From Chapter 1 · What Does It Mean to Be Optimized?
William Kumprey and his wife
About William

Medicine, sport, family, and faith—lived together.

William Kumprey, MD, is an emergency physician and healthcare leader who has spent his career making complex decisions under pressure. Long before medicine, wrestling taught him the power—and the limits—of discipline. Coaching—and raising five remarkable, strong, homeschooled Christian children and athletes, each of them far more than an athlete—deepened the lesson: excellence is not merely something we achieve. It is something we steward.

His Christian faith is the foundation beneath the work. His writing welcomes committed believers, curious readers, and skeptics alike to examine the evidence, ask better questions, and pursue a life of courage, service, and purpose.

01
Emergency physician & healthcare executiveLeading teams and improving care across complex health systems.
02
Division I All-American wrestlerTwo-time national pin leader, national freestyle and Greco-Roman champion, and Hall of Fame athlete.
03
Coach, mentor, husband & homeschool fatherLessons tested in gyms, emergency departments, classrooms, and family life.
Education & credentials

Experience behind the work.

Clinical training, active professional credentials, and decades of leadership inform the medical and scientific perspective throughout the site and The Optimized Athlete.

Active credentials

Emergency Medicine

  • Board-certified in Emergency MedicineActive certification
  • FAAEMActive Fellow, American Academy of Emergency Medicine
  • Emergency physician & healthcare executiveMore than 25 years in emergency medicine
Medical education

Training

  • Emergency Medicine ResidencyResurrection Medical Center · Chicago, Illinois · June 20, 2001
  • Doctor of MedicineMedical College of Wisconsin · May 16, 1998
  • Bachelor of ScienceMarquette University, College of Arts and Sciences · May 23, 1993
  • Greenfield High SchoolGreenfield, Wisconsin · 1989
Continued learning

Health & Longevity

  • American Academy of Anti-Aging MedicineCertificate of Membership · March 30, 2022–March 30, 2024
  • Evidence-aware practiceOngoing study across performance, recovery, wellness, and longevity

Credential clarity: The A4M item reflects a time-limited certificate of membership, not medical board certification. Current clinical credentials are identified separately above.

Creativity & invention

See the problem. Build the answer.

The same habit that drives clinical improvement also drives invention: identify a real problem, understand the people affected, test a practical solution, and keep refining it.

Issued U.S. patent

Fist Furnace

A hand-warming invention developed with my brother, Troy Kumprey, translating an everyday cold-weather problem into a practical product concept.

U.S. Patent 10,010,121 · William T. Kumprey & Troy Kumprey
Published patent applications

Ladder Lockdown

Created by Troy Kumprey to address ladder stability and safety. Troy is the named inventor on published U.S. and international patent applications for the system.

US20190048661A1 · WO2017151527A1
Healthcare innovation

National Transfer Registry

Co-developed with Anthony Macasaet, MD, to improve how hospitals locate appropriate transfer destinations and coordinate time-sensitive patient movement.

NTR · Provisional patent application filed
Life in motion

Where the ideas become real.

The work is lived in ordinary places: around the cabin fire, on a Driftless trail, with family, and in the moments when an athlete has to trust the preparation.

The central living room at the family cabin
The cabinA place for recovery, reflection, and family.
William Kumprey with his wife and five children outdoors
The first teamFaith and family keep every other pursuit in perspective.
Wildflowers along a green ridge in Wisconsin's Driftless Area
The Driftless AreaPerspective is easier to find outside.
A young athlete attacking the volleyball above the net
VolleyballPreparation meets the point.
One of William Kumprey's daughters performing a split leap during a childhood gymnastics competition
GymnasticsPlay became courage, control, and commitment.
William Kumprey competing as a collegiate wrestler
College wrestling
“Affliction produces endurance, and endurance, proven character, and proven character, hope, and hope does not disappoint.”
Romans 5:3–5
Colorful chairs surrounding the fire pit in the woods
Make room for the windFire, conversation, and enough quiet to listen.
Horseback riding through a wooded stream
Get out in creation

Move beyond the screen.

Not every form of movement needs a stopwatch, a scoreboard, or a training plan. Ride. Hike. Paddle. Climb. Walk into the woods. Creation gives the body room to move, the mind room to quiet, and the soul room to remember what matters.

Stars visible above the family cabin at night
Make room for stillness
“Be still, and know that I am God.”
Psalm 46:10

Stillness is not the absence of effort. It is making enough room to remember who God is, who we are, and what matters.

Night sky above the rope swing at Fort Wilderness, with a shooting star appearing as a green streak
A shooting star at Fort WildernessLooking up from the pier beside the rope swing, I caught the shooting star as the green line crossing the night sky.
Built for play

Make movement easy to choose.

Children move more when activity is visible, accessible, and shared. The goal is not an impressive collection of equipment. It is to create many invitations to climb, swim, skate, play, imagine, and spend time together.

A wide backyard with climbing equipment, swings, open grass, and places for children to play
Build athleticism first. Specialize later.Room to climb, ride, skate, imagine, and play together.
An indoor pool and hot tub used for swimming, recovery, and family play
Year-round movementSwimming, recovery, and family time under one roof.
Josh and William Kumprey's son beside a trailer carrying donated skateboard ramps
A gift passed forwardJosh and Silas with the ramps that found a new home.
A family recreation space with table tennis, pool, exercise equipment, and games
Movement within reachMore ways to play, train, compete, and connect.
A young children's playroom with gymnastics mats, rings, balance equipment, large balls, and a ball pit
Start with playMats, rings, a ball pit, and room for young children to explore movement.

When Josh and his family prepared to move to Tennessee, he wanted the skateboard ramps to go to another family that shared his commitment to raising active children. A cardiac perfusion technologist, Christian homeschool father, and generous neighbor, he refused payment. The ramps became more than equipment; they became an example of community, stewardship, and one family helping another keep childhood active and adventurous.

From the book

Developing the Child

We aren’t raising vertical jumps. We’re raising people who jump. We aren’t developing batting averages. We’re developing people who hit baseballs. We aren’t manufacturing wrestling records. We’re developing human beings who happen to wrestle.

Some of those children may become elite athletes. Most won’t. The childhood needs to have been worth it either way.

Today we could probably have a performance specialist analyze childhood play and identify acceleration, deceleration, lateral movement, reactive agility, hand-eye coordination, balance, trunk rotation, irregular-surface proprioception, and aerobic conditioning. We called it playing in the woods. A child’s body doesn’t care whether you call something “neuromuscular training.” It responds to the stimulus.

An excerpt from The Optimized Athlete
The Optimized Series

A larger conversation.

The first book begins with athletes, but the deeper questions—how we live, lead, serve, and form a family—reach far beyond sport.

Book one

The Optimized Athlete

Performance, health, character, relationships, and purpose—built as one system.

In development
Future book

The Optimized Parent

Raising capable, grounded children while protecting connection, curiosity, and faith.

Planned
Future book

The Optimized Life

Applying disciplined stewardship to health, work, relationships, meaning, and legacy.

Planned
Medical offshoot

The Optimized Physician

Sustainable excellence, healthy teams, and humane leadership in modern medicine.

Exploring
Media & national speaking

Medicine made useful.

Selected television interviews, national healthcare conversations, and practical reporting on emergency care, environmental health, leadership, and the health of families and communities.

CNNNational physician interview · August 2026
Flood recovery
Featured national appearance

The danger does not end when floodwater recedes.

Live from CNN New York, Dr. Kumprey discussed the injuries and illnesses that can follow a flood: unsafe structures and electricity, contaminated wounds, carbon monoxide, heat illness during cleanup, gastrointestinal illness, skin infections, mold, and respiratory problems.

Read the CNN transcript
WBAY · May 2026

Preventing tick bites

Clothing, tick checks, outdoor habits, and the symptoms that should prompt a call to a clinician.

View coverage
WBAY · August 2026

Back-to-school health

Physical, emotional, social, and digital well-being—and asking children better questions than “How was school?”

View coverage
WBAY · July 2025

Poor air quality

How smoke and unhealthy air affect vulnerable people, and how to make sensible decisions without unnecessary fear.

View coverage
WBAY · January 2026

Frostbite & hypothermia

Why extreme wind chills can injure within minutes and why children and older adults need added protection.

View coverage
WBAY · July 2025

Nicotine poisoning in children

The hidden potency of vapes, cartridges, gum, and other nicotine products—and when immediate evaluation matters.

View coverage
WBAY · November 2025

Hunting & tree-stand safety

Practical prevention for falls, equipment injuries, and the risks that accompany Wisconsin’s hunting season.

View coverage
NBC 26 · Summer health

Heat-related illness

Preventing dehydration, heat exhaustion, and heatstroke—and recognizing when overheating becomes an emergency.

View coverage
FOX 11 · National syndication

Lyme disease cases rise

Northeast Wisconsin reporting on tick exposure, prevention, symptoms, and the changing reach of tick-borne disease.

View nationally syndicated story
Healthcare leadership

Becker’s Healthcare

National panels and published executive perspectives.

2025 · Addressing Burnout & Sustaining Staff Well-Being 2026 · Maximizing EHR Efficiency The Headwinds Are Real—So Is the Hope Underappreciated Trends in Healthcare
Medical Q&A & field notes

Know where to start.

Short, practical guidance for common questions—what deserves emergency care, what may fit urgent or primary care, how to reduce seasonal risks, and which daily habits support a longer, healthier life.

Emergency questions

Emergency department, urgent care, or your doctor?

Start with severity, speed, and risk. New severe symptoms, breathing trouble, fainting, stroke signs, major bleeding, or rapidly worsening illness belong in emergency care.

Open the first guides
Seasonal & outdoor health

Ticks, mosquitoes, heat, cold, smoke, and cleanup.

Prevention works best when it is specific: understand the exposure, lower the risk, recognize early symptoms, and know when to seek care.

Read the tick guide
Wellness & longevity

Build health that lasts.

Movement, strength, sleep, nutrition, relationships, purpose, prevention, and recovery—examined without hype and applied to real life.

Explore field notes
Tick-borne illness: prevent, recognize, and respond

Make the bite less likely.

Use an EPA-registered repellent, consider permethrin-treated clothing and gear, cover exposed skin when practical, check the whole body after outdoor activity, and remove attached ticks promptly.

  • Use fine-tipped tweezers close to the skin and pull upward with steady pressure. Do not burn, twist, or smother the tick.
  • Record the date and, when possible, save a clear photo of the tick and bite area.
  • Watch over the following days and weeks for fever, chills, headache, fatigue, muscle or joint aches, swollen nodes, or an expanding rash. A rash is not present in every case.
  • Contact a clinician if symptoms appear or if the tick was engorged or may have been attached for a prolonged period. Preventive antibiotics are appropriate only in selected circumstances.
CDC preventionAfter a tick biteLyme signs & symptoms
Chest pain: when seconds matter

Do not diagnose dangerous chest pain at home.

Call 911 for new chest pressure, squeezing, fullness, or pain—especially when it lasts more than a few minutes, returns, or occurs with shortness of breath, sweating, nausea, lightheadedness, fainting, or discomfort in the arm, back, neck, jaw, or stomach.

  • Call 911 rather than driving yourself when a heart attack or other life-threatening problem is possible.
  • New unexplained chest pain deserves prompt professional assessment even when symptoms seem mild.
  • Urgent care and routine appointments are not substitutes for emergency evaluation when warning signs are present.
American Heart AssociationMedlinePlus: when to use the ER
Abdominal pain: match the setting to the risk

Severity and associated symptoms change the answer.

Emergency evaluation is appropriate for sudden or severe pain, a rigid or very tender abdomen, fainting, vomiting blood, blood in the stool, chest pain, inability to pass stool with vomiting, or severe pain during pregnancy.

  • Same-day care is appropriate for persistent or worsening pain, repeated vomiting, dehydration, fever, urinary symptoms, or pain focused in one area.
  • Mild, stable, recurring symptoms without warning signs may begin with primary care, where patterns and longer-term testing can be addressed.
  • If the person looks seriously ill or you are uncertain about safety, choose emergency evaluation.
MedlinePlus: abdominal painRecognizing emergencies
Important: This material is general education, not a diagnosis or a substitute for care from a clinician who can evaluate you. If symptoms are severe, rapidly worsening, or feel life-threatening, call 911 or seek emergency care.
Coming next

Short articles, podcasts, and cabin conversations

Focused answers—often five minutes or less—on emergency medicine, seasonal health, athlete health, wellness, leadership, and the evidence behind common claims.

Follow the work
Field note

Optimization is not perfection.

The goal is not to control every variable. It is to identify what matters, act intentionally, and adapt when life changes the plan.

Wellness & longevity

Recovery is training.

Why rest is not the opposite of discipline—and why health is built between efforts as much as during them.

For parents & coaches

Develop the person first.

The athlete performs better when identity is bigger than the scoreboard.

The work continues

Powered by Faith.
Fueled by Science.

The book, essays, and videos are being built with one promise: respect your time, examine the evidence, and keep the whole person at the center.

WILLIAM KUMPREY, MD