Education

Very Real Problems
Face Young Athletes In The Inner City.

Educational Opportunities:

Team HEAL's efforts have expanded beyond the playing field and into the classroom. A partnership has been established with a local university where kids showing academic promise are tutored at no cost for college placement tests, such as the SAT. Additionally, a program is being introduced in partnership with the NFL Player's Association where former professional players are on-site at the schools providing counseling for the kids. The goal? Help kids stay focused on academics, not only athletics. Athletics and academics can be the key to a bright future. Team HEAL and its partners are dedicated to helping ensure their health and unlocking the enormous potential in each one of these kids.

Made up of dedicated doctors, trainers, student athletes, and donors, Team HEAL truly is a team effort with caring people who take an active interest in the well-being of student athletes. The mission of Team HEAL is to bring medical advice and treatment to more than 1,600 kids at inner-city high schools. In doing so, Team HEAL has been successful at doing so much more. Why is this so significant? By participating in sports, these kids are influenced by the positive results of team work, the joy of competition, and building of self-confidence. They embrace a sense of responsibility, due in large part to positive interaction with compassionate, committed individuals who take an active interest in their well-being. The benefits aren't restricted only on the field of competition. In addition to providing medical treatment and athletic trainers, Team HEAL's coaches and mentors have been successful in efforts to encourage student athletes to stay in school.

Since one of the most critical factors in injury prevention involves education, Team HEAL's medical team, including its Athletic Trainers, present a series of educational clinics for student athletes and their parents. These clinics include emergency medical treatment, medical care for orthopedic injuries and problems, non-emergency medical needs, and information on nutrition and rehabilitation. This collective effort provides a valuable opportunity to build positive relationships, not only for the kids, but for the entire community.

An added dimension of Team HEAL is the Student Athletic Trainer Program, which gives high school sophomores and juniors an opportunity to explore possible careers in the health care field. These include physical therapy, nursing, paramedics, athletic training, and of course, physicians. With encouragement and opportunity through Team HEAL kids are discovering how smart they really are! And, what promise each of them hold inside themselves. Many kids who have been touched by the Team HEAL program are now in college, pursuing specialties that were once unfamiliar to them, or thought unreachable.

Team Heal Has Been Providing
Interscholastic Athletes With Hands-On Expert Training
Since Fall 1995

An important added benefit for these kids is that, through sports, they have an opportunity to use their unique athletic talents to earn college scholarships. Undoubtedly, the future for these hard working and deserving kids can be much brighter if they get the chance.

Participation in athletics is often the door to an extended world for kids residing in the inner city. Whether dreaming of advancing individual skills into opportunities provided by a college education, setting sights on a career in professional sports, or simply enjoying sports for its own sake, kids learn valuable lessons about individual responsibility, discipline, and self-esteem through sports participation.

The intangible benefits are as important as the obvious. Youth, discovering a sense of hope and promise, learn to believe in the power of dreams and responsibility by continually interacting with role models who teach the very essence of commitment and dedication. What a powerful combination!