Our team

Naomi Albertson, MD, is Board Certified in Family Practice and specializes in Sports Medicine. She grew up in Palo Alto, California, received her medical degree from Tufts University School of Medicine in Boston, Massachusetts, completed her internship in family practice at Loma Linda University in Loma Linda, California and her residency and fellowship in sports medicine at Stanford University/San Jose Medical Center. 

As a previous collegiate athlete, she has personally had numerous visits to orthopedists and rehabilitation specialists and gained a perspective that allows her to blend her personal insight with her expertise in medicine, nutrition, exercise physiology, exercise programming, return to play assessment, and aging athletes. She has dedicated her career in sports medicine to assessing and treating musculoskeletal injuries and motivating her patients through recovery. 

Whether working with children, adults, or professional athletes, her goal is clear - to get each patient back to the activities they love, safely, injury-free and to the best of their ability. In her free time, you can catch her at Mt. Rose chasing her kids down the Chutes, paddle boarding on Lake Tahoe or at Moana Nursery, buying yet another bag of dirt.

Born and raised in Reno, Rich grew up enjoying all sports but had a passion for baseball that helped him play into college. Throughout high school and college ball, Rich experienced injuries that led to a couple of lengthy stints of rehabilitation and physical therapy. This helped fuel a new passion centered around helping people in the sporting world, culminating in a degree from UNR in Health Ecology.

Rich brings over 15 years of experience in account management, customer service and client acquisition to the NSS team, as well as a wealth of knowledge and relationships within the local athletic community. Serving as a liaison between clients and the various experts on the NSS team, he is committed to engaging with as many members of the Reno-Tahoe community as possible to help them get the most out of their athletic experiences, no matter what stage of life they are in.

On weekends, you can find Rich cheering on his amazing kids in their various sports, enjoying family time in the great outdoors via mountain biking, hiking or visiting the Tahoe basin. He is married to his best friend and enjoys taking in a good concert, working out in the yard and sharing some downtime with his wife and kids.

As a former hotshot firefighter living in Flagstaff, AZ who found himself injured, Matt Pendola relied on strength and mobility training to rehab his own injuries and get back to running pain-free. Inspired by the huge impact that strength and mobility had, he has gone on to become an EXOS Performance Specialist and Licensed Massage Therapist with a focus in sports massage therapy. 

Matt has been featured in Muscle and Fitness, Oxygen, and Triathlete magazine and is also an expert coach on the Any Questions app. As a strength coach, he’s worked with many professional athletes including Gabby Williams of the WNBA, Joe Wieland in the MLB, and the likes of Olympic Triathlon Champion Gwen Jorgensen and Ben Kanute, who in 2022 under Matt's guidance, placed 2nd at the 70.3 World Championships. 

Despite his success with high-performance pros, Matt’s greatest thrill is getting to teach athletes of all levels how to perform with more confidence and control.

Sydney is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist and Sport Dietitian native to Las Vegas. She earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Nutrition Sciences from the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. She also completed her Master of Science degree in Exercise Physiology at UNLV. Sydney has taught nutrition at UNLV, worked in the clinical setting, and owns her private practice, Spoon Nutrition, PLLC. 

Maintaining a high quality of life is what Sydney strives for, not only for herself, but for her patients as well. She promotes a healthy lifestyle and believes consuming food that tastes delicious while making you feel good, is the perfect approach to living a well-balanced healthy life. 

Dean Hinitz resides in Reno, Nevada where he has a practice working with athletes, high performers, and anyone committed to reaching for their personal stars. He also maintains a clinical and business consultation practice, and is an instructor at the University of Nevada, Reno.

Dr. Hinitz has been a champion gymnast and martial artist, and has pressed his limits in running, triathlon, and rock climbing. He works with Team USA and Team Peru bowling, while also working with many notable Division 1 collegiate athletic programs, champion athletes, and teams from a wide range of sports. 

Dr. Hinitz regularly gives seminars on coaching, competing, and maximizing personal potential. He is the author of two sports psychology books and has worked or presented at the Olympic training centers in Colorado Springs and in Finland.

Ultimately, Dr. Hinitz works with commitment. His mission is to help you win at whatever “game” you are declaring is important to you.