A breakfast gala was recently held in honor of the 21 student athletes selected for the Aria 3B Orthopaedic Institute High School Sportsmanship Award. The students were presented plaques, and will also be given $1, 000 scholarships sponsored by the Aria Health Foundation, to be used towards the college of their choice.
“With so much competitive pressure put on young athletes today, we developed the High School Sportsmanship Award as a way to recognize and honor those students who are dedicated to their team and principles of sportsmanship, ” said Arthur Bartolozzi, M.D., medical director of Sports Medicine at the Aria 3B Orthopaedic Institute, in the March 14, 2016 news release. “It gives us great pleasure to honor these students who set an excellent example of what it means to be a good sport, and help make athletics fun.”
Dr. Bartolozzi told OTW, “In today’s ever-competitive athletic landscape, our society tends to focus on personal statistics, breaking records and winning, rather than promoting healthy, active lives and the fun of the game. Last spring, Aria Health commissioned a study to see if those in our community shared our view that the focus should be on the latter. We found that 71% of respondents agreed that youth sports have become too competitive. This, among other findings, led to the creation of the High School Sportsmanship Award.”
“In all of my years in sports medicine, I cannot recall another program within our community that had such a positive local impact. The creation of this award allowed us to honor student athletes who might not have had the chance to be recognized otherwise. The High School Sportsmanship Award was created to identify and honor those students who are often the unheralded heart and soul of their teams; easily identified and recognized by their teachers and athletic directors for their personal qualities of integrity, enthusiasm, team spirit, loyalty and industriousness. These are essential personal qualities that our society appreciates but does not usually pay tribute to or honor. In his ‘Pyramid of Success, ’ legendary UCLA basketball coach John Wooden listed all the qualities beyond basketball skills that were essential components of success for individuals and for teams. This award presented a unique opportunity to catapult the students who display these traits to the limelight, even for a brief moment. Our award ceremony was a wonderful way to acknowledge special student athletes, and I would encourage other orthopaedic sports medicine practices to emulate this. It is a great way to interact with and give back to the community, and it presents an opportunity to develop personal relationships with school officials, athletic directors and athletic trainers.”
“This program evolved from our desire to develop a relationship with the community at large. Recognizing student athletes with these special qualities of sportsmanship encourages athletic participation for the fun of the game, and not simply to encourage victory. One message that was delivered to the students who were recognized through this program is that many times, athletes sacrifice their own health and well-being for the team, and societal pressures dictate this behavior. We feel it is most important to recognize the health benefits of athletic participation and admire the personal qualities and attributes that Coach Wooden taught.”
“Practicing safe sports is the responsibility of all participants, parents, coaches and athletes alike. Our responsibility as orthopaedic surgeons caring for athletes is also to emphasize safety first and to include prevention of injury in our message. Our hope is that by communicating these messages to our community, more athletes will continue to play for the love of the game.”
Award recipients of the Aria 3B Orthopaedic Institute High School Sportsmanship Award
(Top left to right) E’drise Hightower of Tacony Academy Charter High School; Jacob Small of Franklin Towne Charter High School; George Alston of William Tennent High School; Patrick Donahue of Holy Ghost Preparatory School; William McCarthy of Father Judge High School; Brandon Teel of New Foundations Charter School; Jarrett Patman of Conwell Egan Catholic High School; Taylor Champ of MaST Community Charter School
(Bottom left to right) Nicole Cripps of Archbishop Ryan High School; Arnold Gonzalez of Community Academy of Philadelphia; Olivia Sargent of Pennsbury High School; Denise Sacco of Morrisville High School; Katelyn Santana of Bristol High School; Miranda Ruk of Arts Academy at Benjamin Rush; Janmarilyn Ramirez-Matos of Jules E Mastbaum Area Vocational Technical School; Alison Wilson of St. Hubert High School; Kayla Winter of Archbishop Ryan High School; and Lucy Smith of Northeast High School
Three students were unable to attend the ceremony and are therefore not included in the photo: Jeff Days of Philadelphia Academy Charter High School; Ani Javardian of Villa Joseph Marie High School; and Taylor Lanzillo of Haddon Township High School.
