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The E xtra Point
Monthly News and Notes from Play It Smart
May 2009
Volume II | Issue IX
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Grady HS (Atlanta, GA) student-athletes and Academic Coach, Alexis Yancy take a break from the campus clean-up project during National Service Week.
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Mark Your Calendar:
May 1st
PAST DUE
2009-2010 Membership Intentions Letter
May 22nd
May Play It Smart Student-Athlete of the Month Submissions Due July 29th-August 1st Play It Smart Annual Conference (Houston, TX) Remember to submit ACT/SAT scores directly to the NCAA Eligibility Center using code"9999"
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2009 Play It Smart National Conference
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As we head to the home stretch of the academic year we are already making plans for our 12th annual conference in Houston, Texas. This event promises to be a tremendous opportunity to gain a deeper understanding of Play It Smart and the field of youth development.
The conference is set for Wednesday, July 29th through Saturday, August 1st at the JW Marriott Hotel in Houston. On-site registration for first year Academic Coaches will be Wednesday from 12:00 PM-5:00 PM. with the first training session beginning at 5:30 PM. Veteran Academic Coaches arrive on Thursday, July 30th with registration from 12:00-5:00 PM. We will host a kick-off reception at 6:00 PM. Thursday for all attendees.
On Friday and Saturday, we will have general information sessions with a variety of guest speakers and breakout sessions covering an array of important topics. The conference concludes Saturday evening with the Annual Awards Dinner at 7:00 P.M. Your Academic Coach's attendance includes access to all conference sessions, materials, a gift bag and all scheduled meals.
The current room rate at the JW Marriott for those attending the Play It Smart conference is $99.00 per night (plus tax) for a double or single room. For those interested in reducing their costs and sharing a double room, you will be able to indicate your preference for a single or double room and request a roommate.
For those traveling outside of the Houston area, Play It Smart will provide up to $400 to reimburse hotel and travel related expenses for a school's Academic Coach attendee, payable to either the school district, school, or Academic Coach individually. Please note: Only attendees that sign the attendance form at the end of the Awards Dinner on Saturday night will be eligible for that reimbursement.
To assist in your travel plans the National Football Foundation has negotiated group discounts with Continental Airlines and American Airlines.
For the Continental discount: Log onto www.continental.com and enter the code ZFXGAYYCWE when searching for your flight.
For the American Airlines discount: Log onto www.aa.com and enter the code 9579BH.
Academic Coaches and additional school attendees are asked to register for the conference by June 26, 2009, and make airline reservations as soon as possible. Please plan on using Sunday, August 2nd as a travel day, since the conference and awards dinner will end late Saturday night. If you have any questions, please contact your designated program officer.
We are enthusiastic about the future of Play It Smart and the exciting opportunities we have to help young people. We hope we will be able to see your school's Academic Coach and any additional attendees in Texas as we prepare for the 2009-10 school year!
Charles Gomes
Executive Director
National Football Foundation's Play It Smart Program
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 NFL Drafts Play It Smart Graduates
Five graduates of the National Football Foundation's Play It Smart
program were selected in the 2009 NFL draft. All five
players were selected during the first three rounds.
Click here to read full article.
First round draft pick of the Miami Dolphins
Vontae Davis (Dunbar/Washington DC)
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Camping Season
On May 30th,
The CFM Foundation and Cleveland Browns Head Coach Eric Mangini, will host their annual Football Fundamentals Mini Camp in Hartford,
CT. NFL players and coaches will join other
professional coaches and staff to help young people learn that football skills
are taught as a mechanism to developself-confidence, trust and a positive self-image. With more than 500 participants expected at the camp, close to 100 Play It Smart student-athletes will represent seven Play It Smart schools from Connecticut,
Massachusetts, New York,
and Rhode Island.
The 7th Annual Jason
Garrett Starfish Charities Clinic for Play It Smart participants will take place on June 20th on the campus of Princeton University. More than 250 Play
It Smart participants are expected to attend from New Jersey, New York, Connecticut and Pennsylvania.
Garrett, the current Assistant Head
Coach and Offensive Coordinator for the Dallas Cowboys, will be joined by
current and former NFL players and coaches, as well as coaches and former
players from Princeton
University. The team of volunteers will organize a
fun-filled day for participants that will include on-the-field seven-on-seven competitions
and an off-the-field life skills workshop. (Photo: Scenes from the 2008 Starfish Charities Clinic)
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National Service Week Recap
Click on the link below for a recap of National Service Week.
http://www.playitsmart.org/service%20week.php
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| National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA)
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Options for Sustaining the Academic Coach Position
In these challenging economic times sustaining Play It Smart in our member schools takes commitment and creativity. Upon returning from school site visits, our Program Officers reported that many school administrators were interested in hearing about the variety and creativity in funding scenarios being employed among our member schools. Accordingly, we want to share some of those with you.
The following link contains a brief description of some of the methodologies and sources of funds being used to sustain Play It Smart in schools across the country:
Sustaining Options
http://www.playitsmart.org/pdf/Play It Smart Academic Coach Sustaining Options.pdf
Making the Case for Title I
http://www.playitsmart.org/pdf/Play It Smart and_Title_I.pdf
We hope these will spark some ideas for those of you deciding how best to fund the program in your school. If you would like more detail on any of these alternatives, please do not hesitate to contact your Program Officer in the national office.
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END OF YEAR REPORTING
As we move towards
the end of the academic school year, Play It Smart
would like to remind our Academic Coaches the importance of submitting end-of
year data by June 15, 2009. I understand that many of the information
that is requested can be tedious and time consuming. However the
information Play It Smart request is
very important and it is not our intention to request useless data from our
member schools. Below is a quick list of how we use the "End-of-year
Data".
Uses
for "End-of-year Data"
- Grant Compliance: We receive grants from
various organizations and government programs. A stipulation from
many of our grants is to update them on the progress of our member
schools. It is important for us to turn this information in on time.
In addition, it helps us with future grant money.
- Sponsors/ Donors: Our donors love to get
updates on their Play It Smart
partner schools. We try to provide sponsors with team's statistical
data as well as everyday stories focusing on individual students, team
progress, and community projects. The information we give them helps
them decide to donate to the program again.
- Tracks the Play It
Smart program: The "End-of-year Data"
gives us an insight on which programs work and which programs need
improvement. Also, it helps us plan for our annual Play It Smart Conference.
- Top Honors/Acknowledgments: Acknowledge
top Play It Smart schools at
our annual Play It Smart
Conference. In order to qualify for top honors, Academic Coaches
must submit their "End-of-year Data" on time. If you need
an extension on "End-of-year Data" please notify your program
officer.
If
you need assistance on how to fill out the "End-of-year Data"
information, please do not hesitate to contact me. I will be more than
happy to walk you through the process. Thank you for all of your hard
work through out this academic year.
Student-athletes from Aiken HS (Cincinnati, OH) participate
in reading program during National Service Week.
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 2009 Baltimore Raven rookie Cedric Peerman took time to visit the Play It Smart student-athletes at E.C. Glass (Lynchburg, VA). (photo left)Fulton High (Knoxville, TN) student-athlete Devin Crawford signed with Maryville
College and his teammate Jemichael Williams
signed with Kentucky Christian University to continue their football careers. Wayne High's Kam Bright (Fort. Wayne, IN) recently signed with Purdue Calumet. Worthing High (Houston, TX) athlete Kelcey Solomon signed with the University of Incarnate
Word. Teammates Jamarcus Green, Denzel Courtney, Evans Norris, and
Jarrod Lewis also signed to play football at Southeast Preparatory Football Academy. The Castlemont Knight (Oakland,
CA) football team was recently honored by the Oakland City council for
there efforts on the field, in the classroom, and in service to
others. The team finished the season with a nOakland Athletic League
Championship and the team also had the highest GPA in there
conference. The council also recognized the team for its community
service projects with East Oakland Youth Development Center and at
Lakeview Elementary School. Akin Aydoyle of the Miami
Dolphins sat down with student-athletes from Blanche Ely (Ft.
Lauderdale, FL) to discuss a wide range of topics including: the
importance of hard work, perservance, and getting good grades.  Several young men from Arlington High (Indianapolis, IN) were volunteers for a
business promotion by the Indiana Pacers and also gave out several awards during this time. The young men from
Arlington were
also given the opportunity to work the scoreboard and sound system for the
Pacers. (photo right)
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STUDENT-ATHLETES OF THE MONTH |
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National Student-Athlete of the Month
April 2009 National Student-Athlete of the Month
Quinton Watson., Huguenot (Richmond, VA)
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Student-Athletes of the Month
Click below view entire list of student-athletes for the month of April.
http://www.playitsmart.org/april09_students.php
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Our mission is to help student-athletes take responsibility for their futures through lessons learned on the playing field, in the classroom and in service to others. |
If you're going to play...Play It Smart
Sincerely,
Play It Smart Staff
1-800-486-1865 | |
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