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Passion & Risk: Confronting The Dangers Of Youth Sports

Passion & Risk: Confronting The Dangers Of Youth Sports

Is the risk of serious injury tempered by the love of sport, the desire to compete and win, and the potential scholastic benefits of being involved in team sports? What are the stresses young athletes contend with as they try to maintain grades and excel at their sport? And is Vermont doing enough, along with its schools, to protect these developing minds and bodies?

Credit VPR
Passion & Risk panelists, from left to right: Wendy Leeds, John Stawinski,Erin Quinn, Sean Farrell, Mitch Wertlieb (moderator), Matthews Gammons, MD, Kelsey Smith and Sheila Stawinski

On Thursday, October 1, 2015, VPR's Morning Edition Host Mitch Wertlieb hosted a dynamic panel discussion tackling the topic of risks and rewards faced by high school and college level athletes. This free, public event was held at 7:30 p.m. at Town Hall Theater in Middlebury this discussion included local experts Erin Quinn, Director of Athletics at Middlebury College; Sean Farrell, Athletic Director at Middlebury Union High School; Dr. Matt Gammons, sports injury specialist at Vermont Orthopedic Clinic in Rutland and a member of the 2013 Vermont Concussion Task Force; John and Sheila Stawinski, owners of Fit2Excel in Essex and specialists in injury rehabilitation and sports psychology, respectively, as well as Wendy Leeds, varsity girls' soccer coach, and Kelsey Smith, captain of the girls' soccer team, both from MUHS.

UPDATE 10/12/15: This post was edited after the event, notably with the addition of the audio and picture.

Michelle leads the team that oversees station branding, marketing, events, communications, and audience services. She joined VPR in 2002.
A graduate of NYU with a Master's Degree in journalism, Mitch has more than 20 years experience in radio news. He got his start as news director at NYU's college station, and moved on to a news director (and part-time DJ position) for commercial radio station WMVY on Martha's Vineyard. But public radio was where Mitch wanted to be and he eventually moved on to Boston where he worked for six years in a number of different capacities at member station WBUR...as a Senior Producer, Editor, and fill-in co-host of the nationally distributed Here and Now. Mitch has been a guest host of the national NPR sports program "Only A Game". He's also worked as an editor and producer for international news coverage with Monitor Radio in Boston.
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