May 9, 2017
With an impressive lineup of influential speakers set to attend, the 2017 Youth Sports Safety Gala and Conference — presented by the Program for Injury Prevention in Youth Sports (PIPYS) at Vanderbilt — will be held July 13-14 at the Vanderbilt Student Rec Center.
Candice Lee, Vanderbilt’s Associate Vice Chancellor for University Affairs and Deputy Athletic Director, will be among the special guests on the event’s speaker panel. Dr. Alex Diamond, the director of the PIPYS program, said the event will be educational for anyone with an interest in youth sports.
“We are really thrilled to bring some of the country’s leading experts to campus for this unique event,” said Diamond. “If you are involved in the care, coaching or life of young athletes, you will not want to miss this opportunity.”
The event will promote strategies to help prevent youth sports-related injuries, protect the health of pediatric athletes and improve physical literacy. Encouraged to attend are General Practitioners, Musculoskeletal Specialists, Athletic Trainers, Nursing & Allied Health Professionals, Mental Health Providers, Community Youth Sports Organizations, Pediatrics, Family Medicine & Emergency Medicine, Physical Therapists, Physiatry, Rheumatology, Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine, Emergency Medical Personnel, School Coaches, Teachers & Administration and Concerned Families.
“This meeting provides something for everyone and allows all stakeholders to sit at the same table at the same time as we discuss the key health and safety issues facing our young athletes, including the concepts of physical literacy and long term athletic development,” said Diamond. “Participation in sports provides so many wide ranging benefits and together we can take steps toward providing a critical and long-lasting positive change for our kids.”
Registration and all conference materials are now available online HERE and a promotional video can be viewed HERE.
The Gala on July 13 will include dinner, a silent auction, live music and a and soon-to-be-announced keynote speaker, followed by the Conference on July 14. The keynote speakers for the conference include…
Brian Hainline, M.D.
Dr. Hainline is the first chief medical officer of the NCAA, overseeing its Sports Science Institute. For over 20 years, Brian has been actively involved in sports medicine including as a founding member of the Executive Committee of the American Academy of Neurology Sports Neurology Section, and serving as chief medical officer of the United States Tennis Association.
Bob Sallis, MD, FACSM
Dr. Sallis serves as the chairman for the international Exercise is Medicine initiative and previously served as president (2007-08) of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM). He is a past-recipient of the Community Leadership Award from the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports, and the Leonardo da Vinci award for international leadership in sports medicine from the Italian Federation of Sports Medicine.
Avery Faigenbaum, BS, MS, EdD
Dr. Faigenbaum is a world-renowned professor at The College of New Jersey where he teaches a range of courses covering health promotion, exercise prescription, and clinical exercise physiology. His research interests focus on pediatric exercise science, resistance exercise, and preventive medicine. This involves exercise interventions in public schools and youth centers to understand changes in health, fitness, and athleticism in children and adolescents. In 2014, he was invited to the International Olympic Committee in Lausanne, Switzerland to develop guidelines on youth athletic development.
Alexandra “Ali” Flury
As the Sports Safety Manager for Safe Kids Worldwide, Ali is responsible for the planning, implementation, and evaluation of the sports safety program elements for the Safe Kids network of over 400 U.S. coalitions. With the goal to change the culture and promote a safer environment for youth sports, Ali continues to expand and enhance the national program targeted to parents, coaches, and caregivers with evidence-based research, advocacy, and awareness from the injury prevention field.
In addition to respected national and international Vanderbilt faculty, other featured presenters include …
* Dr. Allen Sills, Chief Medical Officer of the National Football League (NFL)
* Sean Henry, President & COO of the Nashville Predators
* Gabriel Brooks, Sports Physical Therapy Director at Texas Children’s Hospital
* Candice Lee, Associate Vice Chancellor for University Affairs and Deputy Athletic Director of Vanderbilt University
* Mark Reeves, Assistant Executive Director, Tennessee Secondary School Athletic Association (TSSAA)
* Gary Wilkerson, Professor in Graduate Athletic Training Program at UT Chattanooga
* Bob Mueller, Co-Anchor and Host, WKRN News 2 / ABC
* Coach Jerry Joslin, Goodpasture Christian School
* Rachael Heitmann, Injury Prevention Section Chief, Tennessee Department of Health
