Country House Athletics LLC was established in 2024 in order to provide a variety of consulting services in the areas of athletic administration and sports medicine. 

Country House Athletics LLC is committed to assisting coaches, athletes and parents about sports injury prevention and management through innovative approaches and expert guidance.

Our main focus on the athletic administration side is taking a comprehensive approach toward emergency planning to ensure the safe participation of all young student-athletes at the junior high and high school levels. 

Our President, Tom Nowakowski, also serves as the Director of Athletics & Transportation/Athletic Trainer for the Mid Valley School District in Throop, PA. He is a dedicated Athletic Trainer with over 20 years of experience working with junior high and high school student-athletes. His experience as the Director of Athletics spans over a decade at Mid Valley.

In 2019, just days before his mother passed unexpectedly, the two of them placed a bet on a Kentucky Derby long shot horse – Country House. He won that bet and that horse’s name resonated with Tom as he began to build this company in his mother’s memory. To him, it’s more than just sports medicine or athletic administration – it’s about helping families and honoring the people who shape us all.

While serving for over a decade at Mid Valley, Tom has taken on a number of leadership positions throughout the area; Vice-President of the Lackawanna Football Conference (2017), President of the Lackawanna Boys Basketball League (2015), and Vice-President of the Lackawanna Track & Field Conference (2020). He currently serves as President of the Eastern Football Conference having served for a number of years on the organization’s Steering Committee. He is also a member of the PIAA District II Basketball Steering Committee and collaborated toward the implementation of the current PIAA District II Power Ratings used in many sports throughout our area. Most recently, in 2024, Tom was appointed to the Pennsylvania State Athletic Directors Association Executive Council and Treasurer of the Lackawanna Interscholastic Athletic Association.

In addition to his conference and district leadership roles, Tom played a key role in the planning and implementation of Mid Valley School District’s $9.5 million outdoor athletic facility renovation project completed in 2023. The project included significant upgrades to the district’s athletic complex and provided valuable experience in facility planning, stakeholder collaboration, project coordination, risk management, and the long-term operational considerations associated with modern athletic facilities.

His Athletic Training career has been almost exclusively at the interscholastic level. From December 2004 to June 2014, Tom was employed by Physical Therapy Associates of NEPA. During that time, he served as the Athletic Trainer at Pittston Area HS (December 2004 – June 2006) and returned to his alma mater at West Scranton HS (August 2006 – June 2009) before arriving at Mid Valley.

Tom worked as a Graduate Assistant Athletic Trainer at Syracuse University from June of 2003 until December of 2004. His time at Syracuse was instrumental in emphasizing a proactive approach to emergency planning and trying to bring the Division I approach to interscholastic athletics. His primary responsibilities were with the Football team and the Men’s Lacrosse program while assisting with many other Men’s and Women’s programs with the Orange. While with the Men’s Lacrosse program, he worked with the team throughout the 2004 NCAA Tournament in which culminated in the Orange’s 22nd consecutive Final Four appearance and the program’s Ninth National Championship in Baltimore, MD.

Tom is a proud 2003 graduate of Indiana University (Bloomington, IN) with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Kinesiology with an emphasis in Athletic Training. During his undergraduate years, he had the opportunity to work with a number of Hoosier sports programs that included Football, Baseball and Women’s Soccer. He also worked with the Bloomington South HS Athletic Program in the Fall of 2001. During his senior year in 2002-2003, he served as the student athletic trainer for the Hoosier Men’s Basketball team under the supervision of Tim Garl. Tim’s mentorship, along with the exposure to the work of longtime Team Physician, Dr. Larry Rink, sparked a career long interest in cardiac-related conditions in athletics. That season, the Hoosier basketball program was ranked as high as #6 in the country. The Hoosiers fell to Illinois in the Big Ten Tournament semifinal at the United Center in Chicago and saw their season end with an NCAA Tournament Second Round loss to the Pitt Panthers at the Fleet center, now known as TD Garden Arena, in Boston, MA.

Tom became a Licensed Athletic Trainer through the National Athletic Trainers Association Board of Certification in May of 2003. He also holds Pennsylvania licensure as an Athletic Trainer through the State Board of Medicine since 2004. In 2012, he became certified as a Performance Enhancement Specialist through the National Academy of Sports Medicine. He also became a Certified Athletic Administrator through the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators’ Association in 2018. Most recently, in 2023, he completed his Master’s of Science degree in Sport Management and holds a Graduate Certificate in Athletic Administration through Southern New Hampshire University.

He is a member of the National Interscholastic Athletic Administrators’ Association, the Pennsylvania State Athletic Directors Association, the National Athletic Trainers Association, Eastern Athletic Trainers Association and the Pennsylvania Athletic Trainers Society. 

A 1999 graduate of West Scranton High School, Tom was a three-sport student-athlete playing Football, Basketball and running Track & Field for the Invaders. He played in the 1999 Dream Game as a member of the City squad.

Tom resides in Scranton with his wife Dawn and their two daughters: Natalie and Madison.