Press Release

For Immediate Release

June 3, 2019

Contact: Kira Smelser

585-624-5555

[email protected]

 

New Conference Will Teach Coaches about Opioid Addiction in Student Athletes

 

Rochester, NY ~ Camp Good Days & Special Times and Partners Against Violence Everywhere (PAVE) along with important members of the community are hosting a brand new, half-day conference: Opioids, Pain & Sports: How to Recognize and Prevent Addiction Following a Student Athlete’s Injury on Saturday, June 22 at St. John Fisher College from 9:00AM to 12:30PM.

 

The conference will have five important speakers from the community:

• Monroe County Sheriff, Todd Baxter
• Monroe County District Attorney, Sandra Doorley
• Chief, Division of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry at U of R Medical Center, Dr. Michael A. Scharf
• Executive Director of RCSD Health, Physical Education and Athletics, Carlos M. Cotto Jr., Ed.D
• Former Monroe County Crime Lab Scientist, Jim Wesley

 

The conference will give coaches information on ways to help their student athletes navigate injury and will give them a firsthand look at what can happen when students fall into opioid addiction.

 

Registration for the conference along with breakfast and the information tables will start at 8:00AM and the program will begin at 9:00AM.  The conference will be located in St. John Fisher College’s Basil 135.  The conference is free to all who attend.

 

“Unfortunately, injury is inevitable when you are an athlete,” said Gary Mervis, Founder of Camp Good Days & Special Times, “and coaches need comprehensive ways to help their athletes battle pain after injury and they need to know the warning signs of opioid addiction.  I was an assistant football coach at St. John Fisher College for almost 30 years and I feel that this conference will provide vital information to coaches who are such an important part of their athletes’ lives.”

 

With the opioid epidemic currently happening in the United States, studies have shown that student athletes could be at a higher risk of developing an opioid addiction due to the stress of their day-to-day lives and the pressures they face.

 

For more information about the conference or to register, visit www.campgooddays.org in the calendar section.  If more information is needed, please contact Kira Smelser at 585-624-5555 or [email protected]