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Chapter Programs A generous grant from the Fiesta Bowl is helping to underwrite the third year of the Play-It-Smart Program at Glendale High School where an Academic Coach works with the members of the football team in improving academic skills and furthering career and personal development opportunities. With funding from the Foundation, NFL Charities and the Arizona Cardinals, Chandler High is one of 18 schools to have taken on the program this year, bringing to a total of 88 across the country, including four in Arizona. National statistics show that 95% of the Play-It-Smart participants graduate from high school (compared to 89% of their peers), and 87% go on to college (versus 57% of all seniors). Physicals for Athletes Save Lives Team of Physicians for Students (TOPS), founded in 2002 by Valley of the Sun Chapter Board Member Paul Steingard, D.O., recently launched the 'Save an Athlete' program through financial support from Royal Philips Electronics. Devoted to educating communities and preventing Sudden Cardiac Arrest (SCA), Save an Athlete provides student athletes opportunities for early cardiac screenings while supplying information to their families, doctors, athletics directors and coaches. Since 2002, TOPS has provided free screening physicals with cardiac testing to approximately 7,500 Phoenix-area high school and college athletes and has plans for expanding Save an Athlete throughout the country. "If one student athlete dies, it is one too many," said Dr. Steingard. "But sudden cardiac arrests can be prevented through early diagnosis and treatment."  Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM), a type of congenital cardiovascular condition, is a major cause of SCA in young athletes and affects as many as 1.5 million Americans. Most athletes don't know they may be at risk for SCA until it strikes, which can be prevented through TOPS's efforts. More information on the Save an Athlete program can be found at www.saveanathlete.org. Youth Football Coaches Clinic Is Planned for Aug. 1 at ASU The Valley of the Sun Chapter of the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame in conjunction with the Arizona Youth Football Federation will sponsor an NFL-NFF Coaching Academy Clinic for youth coaches on Sunday, Aug. 1 on the Arizona State University campus. The Coaching Academy was developed by the Foundation and National Football League to facilitate the growth of the game, elevate the quality of coaching not only in terms of football skills and strategy, but life skills and player development and safety as well, and to insure that participants have a positive experience. Among those who will be speaking are veteran high school coach Thurman Simmons, Desert Mountain Coach John Burke, Sunnyslope trainer Jade Paskiewicz, and Jim Ewan and Kelly Moore along with their coaching staffs from Chandler and Independence High Schools. Classroom session will be held in Murdock Hall, with the on-field demonstrations taking place on the adjacent Intramural Field. Two hours of the morning session will be devoted to on-field demonstrations of fundamental techniques such as blocking and tackling as well as drills and position play. Classroom discussions will cover successful offense, defense and special teams, coaching philosophy, team management, player-coach communications and proper equipment and safety. Registrations are closed as 450 youth coaches have signed up for this annual event. New Academic Coach at Chandler Matt Lewis, Play-It-Smart Academic Coach at Chandler High School this past year, has taken a coaching position at Saguaro High School, and Curtis Owen has been chosen as his replacement. Curtis was captain of the ASU wrestling team and an Academic All-American this past year and is now working on his Master’s in counseling. Both he and John Peterson, the Glendale Academic Coach, attended the annual Play-It-Smart training session at Springfield College in July.Brandon Alderman, our original Academic coach at Glendale High School, received a wonderful endorsement of the program from one of his former participants who wrote: "I can definitely say that I wouldn’t be the same person today without the Play-It-Smart program and the people who ran it. It was a great experience that I will remember the rest of my life." 1,904 High School Athletes Receive Free Physical Examinations in a Single Day  For the past two years the Valley of the Sun Chapter has assisted a group of local doctors who have provided free physical examinations for high school boys and girls in all sports. On April 27, 2002, physicals were given to 1,777 students from 23 high schools, with 1,107 receiving an EKG (of which 132 identified abnormal conditions that were referred to the family physician).
On April 26, 2003, 1904 high school athletes from 41 schools were screened, a 7.21% increase over the previous year. Of this total, 1,812 received electrocardiograms, with follow-up echocardiograms given to 189 students. The examinations revealed 54 cases where there was a family history of sudden death, and 176 students who had high blood pressure, heart murmurs and other cardiac-related problems. Dr. Paul Steingard, D.O. has been a member of the Chapter Board of Directors since 1992 and is a former team physician for the Phoenix Suns. As a young osteopathic physician in 1962, he understood how important it was to encourage students to participate in sports and that many could not afford a physical examination. He initially did the physicals as a sole practitioner and in time brought in other doctors to form Team Osteopathic Physicals for Students (TOPS). As the numbers grew, Dr. Steingard organized a committee of volunteers and staff from various organizations such as the county health department, school districts, a local hospital and medical students from Midwestern and Apollo Universities. Over 100 student doctors and licensed physicians volunteer the day of the event. Additional health issues such as drug and alcohol abuse, tobacco and proper nutrition have been incorporated in the program. Dr. Steingard became aware of the importance of cardiovascular screening for student-athletes to weed out potential causes of Idiopathic Subarotic Stenosis, a type of heart disease that primarily affects young people and can result in sudden death to young athletes. He campaigned to include electrocardiograms as part of the physical exams and convinced Agilent Technologies to donate EKG equipment on the day of the physicals. Local cardiologists and technicians volunteer their time, and most of the athletes receive an EKG, with echocardiogram follow-ups on suspicious EKG tests. The one-day event held at Sunnyslope High School in Phoenix is open to both male and female athletes in all sports and tests the following: weight/height, blood pressure, heart/lungs, abdomen/hernia, vision, range of motion, flexibility and neurological testing. Members of the Valley of the Sun Chapter monitored the flow of students as they moved from one testing station to the next and coordinated the production of the informational packet dealing with health and safety issues. (A grant from NFL Charities provided funding for the printing.)
Play-It-Smart Athletes Gain Leadership Insight 
"Today's Society is out of control, and we are desperate for young leaders," was the opening statement by Ron Pritchard, a consensus All-American from Arizona State University who will be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame in December, speaking at the Leadership Conference for Play-It-Smart participants from Chandler and Glendale High Schools."They referred to the 1970s as the 'Me Generation,' but I believe we are living in the Me Generation right now," he continued. "It's due to the poor view we have of who we are and the arrogant attitudes that currently prevail. It needs to be more about US, not ME. As an athlete, you are a role model, and you need to set the right example. Live your life in terms of what you want people to say at your funeral." The day-long session held in Tempe, Arizona came about as a result of discussions at a review and planning meeting last November involving representatives of the four Arizona Play-It-Smart schools and Tom Taradash and Charlie McBride of the Valley of the Sun Chapter. The issue was continuing education during the off-season and getting the team seniors to take ownership of their leadership roles. The opening speaker was Charlie McBride, who was an assistant coach at the University of Nebraska for 23 years. "Character is the basis of life and the first thing that will make you a leader," he told the two dozen Juniors who will be next season's Seniors. "Character will influence your actions, and what you do will reflect on you and your family. You must choose to do things that are right and have the courage to make tough decisions." Dr. Dave Lewis, Director of Drug Education for the National Hockey League and Major League Soccer, followed along that theme by saying "What you are doing today will set you up for life. Drugs and alcohol are what will get you off track." He cited examples of the dangers of using such drugs as Ecstacy, Gamma Hydroxy Butyrate, Ephedra Alkaloids and other dietary supplements and stated "You have to take a stand against using drugs to be a leader." Russell Scott, a Prevention Specialist with Southwest Behavior Health and an assistant defensive coach at Chandler, led the group through an exercise in goal setting and in identifying team and personal goals. "Take care of the little things to get to the big goal," he advised. "Successfully visualize executing the details of each task repeatedly until they are firmly in your mind. Focus on specific details and not the outcome. Don't just set personal football goals, but team and school goals as well. You have to take care of business in the classroom because we need everybody on the field. Be positive with yourself and all others, and stand strong for what you believe." Chandler Head Coach Jim Ewan outlined the Six Pillars of Character that involve trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship. The participants broke into small groups to discuss their personal goals and topics brought up by the speakers. Glendale Head Coach Mark Smith brought the Conference to a close by stating, "Every day that you wake up you have choices to make. Some have good outcomes, some have bad outcomes. Know how to make the right decisions. Don't live your life depending on luck." |
