Standout Soccer Star Honored as Health Care Hero

Kyle Altman ’09, M.D., has spent his life turning challenges into championships—on the soccer field, in the classroom, and now in the operating room. This year, the San Antonio Business Journal named him a 2025 Health Care Hero, a recognition reserved for professionals whose talent, dedication, and humanity elevate the entire healthcare community.

For anyone who knows Kyle, the honor comes as no surprise. He is an orthopedic surgeon with Sports Medicine Associates of San Antonio, specializing in hip and knee replacements. But what sets him apart isn’t just his medical training—it’s the relentless drive, precision, and teamwork he’s carried with him since his days as one of Trinity University’s most decorated soccer players.

“My team is excellent in patient communication,” Kyle says. “We take pride in making sure our patients are heard and understand their diagnosis and treatment options. My goal is to be able to present a patient with choices and help them make the best decision for themselves.”

Before he was guiding patients, Kyle was controlling the midfield for the Tigers. A dominant defender/midfielder, he earned All-America honors in 2006 and 2007 and was named the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Defensive Player of the Year in both seasons. He finished his career with 23 goals—eight of them game-winners—and 14 assists.

Trinity Men’s Soccer Head Coach Paul McGinlay still remembers Kyle as a rare talent.

“Kyle had a number of opportunities to play college soccer, so we were so fortunate to get him. Kyle was one of the very few two-way players we’ve ever had. He was as comfortable going forward as in defending.” McGinlay says. “After graduation, he went on to a professional career in the game. Now he’s back in town as an orthopedic surgeon. He’s the poster child of what it is like to excel in the classroom and on the field. You are not going to meet a better kid!”

Athletic excellence ran in the family. Kyle followed his older brother, Kelly ’05, a key member of Trinity’s 2003 NCAA Division III Championship team, into the Tiger program from Albuquerque, New Mexico. After a stint in professional soccer, Kelly held a number of coaching positions. He is currently the assistant women’s soccer coach at the University of Florida.

The pro soccer ranks called Kyle in January 2008 when he was drafted by Major League Soccer’s New England Revolution. Unfortunately, he was injured in the preseason. The Minnesota Thunder of the United Soccer League’s First Division was next on the agenda, where he played for 15 games. Kyle also played in the Maccabiah Games, often called the “Jewish Olympics.” He helped Team USA Soccer win a gold and silver medal in the 2007 and 2011 Pan American Games, respectively.

After his first year of pro soccer, Kyle returned to Trinity, graduating with a bachelor’s degree in economics.

One might wonder how an economics major got interested in the field of medicine. He actually started with a pre-med focus at Trinity, but the material covered in his economics courses, paired with professors like Richard Butler, Ph.D., professor emeritus of economics and one of Kyle’s mentors, convinced him to make economics his major.

“The plan was always to go to medical school. I had finished my pre-requisites, which were mostly science-based courses, and wanted to explore other subjects. One of the benefits of a liberal arts education is that it requires you to engage in a broad curriculum,” Kyle says. “I took an intro to microeconomics class to fulfill a common curriculum credit, and it was really fascinating. The next semester, I took intro to macro and later enrolled in more advanced courses. I enjoyed understanding how people make complex decisions and how incentives could change people’s behavior. You could apply basic economic principles to any problem in life.”

After graduation, Kyle returned to pro soccer in 2010, signing with the Minnesota Stars FC of the North American Soccer League (NASL). He was named captain of the team during the 2011 campaign and led the squad to the NASL Bowl Championship. In 2012, Kyle was elected to the NASL All-Star Team, logging over 1,700 minutes and captaining the team to back-to-back Soccer Bowl appearances.

He announced his retirement at the end of the 2013 season to attend the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio. He later became an orthopedic surgery resident at Prisma Health in Greenville, South Carolina, and received an adult reconstruction fellowship at the University of Louisville in 2022. He joined Sports Medicine Associates of San Antonio in August 2023.

Kyle’s sports background helped him choose orthopedics as a specialty. 

“Orthopedics is about understanding biomechanics and is a natural interest for a former athlete. Orthopedics also provides the opportunity to make a substantial impact on someone’s life. Someone comes to you with a problem, you fix it, and, hopefully, their life is better. In that respect, orthopedics can be very simple and immensely rewarding,” Kyle explains.

Looking back, Kyle credits Trinity for shaping both halves of his remarkable career.

“Trinity gave me all the tools I needed to succeed after graduation. Playing soccer at a high level for Coach McGinlay prepared me for making the jump to playing pro,” Kyle says. “Likewise, Trinity’s challenging academic curriculum and small community forced accountability and helped develop good habits, which I use on a daily basis in practice.”

Kyle’s wife’s name is Hunter, and she is a pediatrician who works at San Antonio’s University Hospital in the neonatal intensive care unit. Kyle and Hunter have three children.