Spring 2013 - D'Youville College

PROFESSOR SPEAKSAT NATIONALSUMMIT ONACADEMICBENEFITS OF SPORTDr. Donald F. Sabo, a professor in theD’Youville College health servicesadministration program and director of theCenter for Research on Physical Activity,Sports and Health (CRPASH), spoke at theinaugural LA84 Foundation Summit inNovember 2012 in Los Angeles.His focus was on research and educationpolicy links to high school sports and theeducation benefits of such a policy.Sabo was joined by leading researchers,educators, journalists, philanthropists,athletes and sports administrators toexamine the benefits of youth sports andtheir connection to academic achievement.“Youth sports and high school athleticsare among the best kept secrets in U.S.education,” Sabo said. “Thinking about theeconomic downturn, no one is looking athigh school athletics as a national asset toincrease our competitiveness in the globaleconomy.”Sabo is the author of several nationalreports on the social impact of sports and arecognized expert in the field.The foundation, named for “The Legacyof the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games,”studies and funds youth sports. “Thissummit brings together experts to examinethe available research and how to best useit to highlight the importance of sport inkeeping kids connected to school andachieving better academic outcomes,” saidfoundation president Anita L. DeFrantz.The keynote speaker was Pat Haden,University of Southern California athleticdirector and a Rhodes Scholar.A key topic was the need to better alignsports and academics and tackled how toencourage and strengthen the relationshipbetween sports and school in an era ofshrinking school budgets that threatenathletics and physical education.Editor’s Note: Look in our next issue fora follow-up article detailing Dr. Sabo’sresearch.D’Youville physical therapy students and faculty shown at the 2013 American Physical TherapyAssociation Combined Sections Meeting in San Diego in January.DYC PHYSICAL THERAPY STUDENTS ACTIVE INTHE COMMUNITY AND PROFESSIONDuring the 2012/2013 academic year theStudent Physical Therapy Association(SPTA) has been very active atD’Youville College. Some of the mostnoteworthy efforts include their continuedparticipation in the Feed My StarvingChildren campaign, initiation of the firstSPTA curling tournament fundraiser, andpromotion of students to attend a nationalphysical therapy conference.Physical therapy students at D’YouvilleCollege collaborated with other physicaltherapy schools in the Buffalo area,including Villa Maria College, to fundraiseand participate in a one-day mobile-packingevent for the non-profit organization FeedMy Starving Children (FMSC). SPTAsupplied over 20 volunteers, made up ofstudents and faculty, and donated $1,000 tothe organization. As a volunteer team, withother community members, DYC packagedenough food to feed approximately 40children for an entire year.The SPTA embarked upon their firstHalloween curling event on October27, 2012 at the Niagara Curling Club inNiagara Falls, Canada. Participants wereinvited to play individually or form a teamof four. Prior to the competition, everyonewas given a curling lesson. Prizes wereawarded for best team theme, first place,last place, best team costume and bestpotluck contribution. When players werenot on the ice, they socialized over a potluck dinner and supported a basket auctionand 50/50 raffle. The response from thisevent was overwhelming. People were ableto try a different sport and have fun in theprocess. Proceeds from the event went tosupport both FMSC and SPTA.For the second time, the SPTA organizedover 30 physical therapy students to attendthe Annual American Physical TherapyAssociation’s Combined Sections Meetingin San Diego, Calif. in January. Thisconference, with an attendance of over9,000 physical therapists, is the largestconference of the American PhysicalTherapy Association. The nation’s highestregarded practitioners and researcherspresented state-of-the-art physical therapytopics. This was an excellent educationaland networking opportunity for D’Youvillestudents. As a group, all students activelyparticipated in fundraising efforts to helpdefray costs. The fundraisers includedproceeds from the curling event; sellingpoinsettias, chocolate bars, and koozies;bake sales and a massage-athon at alocal shopping mall. Students had theopportunity to actively participate in thephysical therapy profession outside of thecampus. They build a camaraderie withfellow classmates as well as with studentsand professionals from across the country.The excitement for our profession ofphysical therapy was infectious!alumni.dyouville.edu 17