Philly Sports Jabronis
Report From PhiladelphiaSoul.com
The Philadelphia Soul and Virtua, a comprehensive healthcare system headquartered in Marlton, NJ with four hospitals in the southern New Jersey area; South Jersey Elite Invitational Youth Football League (SJEIYFL), recognized as the leader of youth Football and Cheerleading in New Jersey; and Carz N’ Toyz, a Virtua Foundation Community Partner known for its philanthropic efforts which benefit hospitalized children as well as funding for concussion impact testing for young athletes, have teamed to create Virtua Certified, Soul Approved” Concussion program.
“Virtua Certified, Soul Approved” is a concussion-based program with a mission to reduce concussion-related incidents as well as the effects of any incidents, short term and long term, by directly educating every person involved in the care of young athletes, including athletic administrators, trainers, coaches, parents and the athletes on proper concussion prevention and management.
To kick off the program, Virtua is using funds donated from Carz N’ Toyz to Virtua Foundation to provide over 600 concussion baseline tests to young athletes in the SJEIYFL.
The program will include a series of seminars run by Virtua health experts to educate attendees on concussion management as well as “eyes to the sky” proper tackling techniques training led by Philadelphia Soul coaches and players. Unlike many programs that exist where only the organization leader receives the proper training on concussion management and that person is expected to relay the information, “Virtua Certified, Soul Approved” is open to the public so that everybody involved in the young athletes care can be properly trained directly from the experts and understand their specific role with this issue.
“I have dealt with the concussion issue personally during my entire life,” said Soul owner and ESPN Analyst Ron Jaworski. “Playing football and working around the NFL for so many years, this program is exactly what needs to be done to educate everybody early in the athlete’s careers so we can greatly reduce the effects that concussions have on athletes and keep the best sport in the world thriving”.
“Concussions are a major issue in youth sports and the decline of participation in youth sports”, said Paul Kasper, director of sports medicine at Virtua. “We see this as a case of ‘Knowledge is Power’, but it can’t just be the organization leader that has the power. We need to educate every administrator, every trainer, every coach, every parent and every athlete about this issue and only then can we make significant positive results with reductions in incidents and effects from any incidents.”
“This program is exactly what the youth sports community needs,” said Mike DiFlorio, president of SJEIYFL. “We feel so strongly about this program, that we have made it mandatory that every coach must attend one of the seminars in order to be eligible to coach in our league. Every coach must be ‘Virtua Certified, Soul Approved’!”
“As the concussion issue has become more and more prevalent in our society, we felt an obligation to be proactive in making a difference,” said Carz N’ Toyz president Sam LaCroce. “It is our mission to support children in our community in various ways. We have worked closely with Virtua Foundation over the last three years to ensure our fundraising efforts can have the greatest impact on children and families, and believe that the concussion testing program is a perfect fit for our initiatives.”
The first of a minimum of three seminars will take place on Saturday, March 29th at 2 p.m. at Cherokee High School located at 130 Tomlinson Mill Rd, Marlton, NJ 08053. The seminar is open to the public. Space is limited and registrations will be taken on a first come-first serve basis. Additional seminars will be announced shortly. There will be a minimum of three seminars between today and August, and additional seminars may be added based on demand. To register or for more information, go towww.philadelphiasoul.com/virtua.
