Meet the team
Sam oft
Samantha Oft PT, DPT, ATC is a Doctor of Physical Therapy and a Certified Athletic Trainer practicing in the Orlando, Florida area for the past 10 years. Sam is an orthopedic physical therapist specializing in rehabilitative management and emergency care of athletes.
Sam received her Bachelor’s of Science in Education degree with a focus in Exercise and Sport Science and Athletic Training from the University of Georgia in 2007. There she became an Emergency Medical Technician and assisted with rehabilitation and care of Division I football, basketball and volleyball athletes. Upon graduation, Sam completed a professional internship at ESPN’s Wide World of Sports before settling in Rome, GA as the Assistant Athletic Trainer for Berry College. After two years in Rome, Sam moved back to Florida as the result of promotion to Director of Sports Medicine and spent a year helping to restructure Sports Medicine programs for local high schools in North Florida.
Sam received her Doctor of Physical Therapy degree from the University of St. Augustine for Health Sciences in 2013. During her graduate program, Sam worked with performers from the Walt Disney World Resort and tactical athletes in the Central Florida area. Upon graduation, she began working as the Head Therapist for Cirque du Soleil’s La Nouba production in Disney Springs where she remained until the show’s closure in December of 2017. While at Cirque du Soleil, Sam helped to progress advanced level emergency extrication techniques specific to acrobatic apparatus, developed screening tools to assess biomechanical movement specific to acrobatic specialities, and helped to build a comprehensive care model encompassing bio, psycho, and social aspects of rehabilitation and performance.
Following La Nouba’s closure, Sam and Cirque colleague, Nicole, opened Next Level Physiotherapy and Performance. Next Level is a small, private, concierge physical therapy practice with a mission to make elite-level physical therapy and performance services available to everyone.
Sam currently lives in the Orlando, FL area with her 3 kids. She enjoys running, reading, and playing beach volleyball in her spare time. Sam has a passion for working with postpartum mothers to destigmatize conversations surrounding pregnancy and postpartum health.
Nicole Ferguson
Nicole Ferguson is a licensed physical therapist working in Orlando, Florida for the past 15+ years. She is also a certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist through the NSCA, a Nationally Registered Emergency Medical Technician, and Polestar certified Pilates instructor. She has extensive experience working with amateur to elite-level athletes of various disciplines.
Originally from the Chicago area, Nicole moved out of the Windy City to receive a college education at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. She graduated in 1997 with a Bachelor of Science in Exercise Science and soon after received her Master of Science in Physical Therapy from Regis University in Denver, Colorado.
In 2000, Nicole moved to Orlando, Florida and began working as a physical therapist at Sport Specific Training and Rehabilitation. It was here that she gained experience rehabilitating the amateur, professional and tactical athlete. Due to her background as a competitive gymnast and the rapport she developed for her good work, Nicole was offered a job at Cirque Du Soleil’s production of La Nouba. Nicole worked as a physical therapist for 14 years until the show’s closure in December of 2017. While at La Nouba, Nicole designed return-to-work programs for the injured and post-partum performer, assisted in developing emergency rescue protocols for complex situations, and became very familiar with working within a multi-disciplinary team. Currently, she is working as a fly-in physical therapist for the company’s touring show division.
Nicole has also been part of the United States Olympic Committee’s Sports Medicine Volunteer Program and helped rehabilitate Paralympic and Olympic athletes in swimming, wrestling, and shooting at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
Nicole believes in the philosophy, “practice what you preach” and strives to lead a healthy, active lifestyle. In her free time, Nicole enjoys being outside and participating in activities such as wakeboarding, mountain biking, hiking, snow skiing, golf, tennis, and yoga. She is a mother of a twelve-year-old daughter and works hard to keep work and family life in balance. She is a genuine person who truly cares about the well-being of her patients. She joined forces with Samantha Oft to start their company, Next Level Physiotherapy and Performance, in order to provide the one-on-one attentive care that she believes everyone deserves.
