Troy Athens' Winning Work Promotes Importance of Becoming MI HEARTSafe
By
Geoff Kimmerly
MHSAA.com senior editor
July 22, 2022
Troy Athens, and more specifically its girls soccer team, has been selected as this year’s winner of the MI HEARTSafe School Video Contest promoting the importance of Michigan schools becoming an MI HEARTSafe school.
The Kimberly Anne Gillary Foundation partners with the MHSAA to promote cardiac awareness – and Athens’ student-produced video (above) earned the school $5,000.
Michigan has lost at least 81 students to sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) and related causes since 1999, according to data compiled by the Kimberly Anne Gillary Foundation. Randy and Sue Gillary lost their daughter Kimberly to a cardiac arrest in a high school water polo game in April of 2000. Randy and Sue Gillary founded the Kimberly Anne Gillary Foundation, a 501 (c)(3) charitable foundation within days of losing Kimberly. The mission of the Foundation is to donate automated external defibrillators (AEDs) to Michigan high schools and to advocate cardiac screening and testing of Michigan high school student athletes.
A major drive of the foundation is for every Michigan school to become an MI-HEARTSafe School. This is a designation given by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHSS) when a school has met the criteria to demonstrate it is prepared to respond to a cardiac emergency on school property. Schools receive a banner and other materials that can be displayed in the school to let those who attend and visit know that the school is an MI-HEARTSafe School.
Coaches Guide to Nutrition: Snack on a Smoothie
November 12, 2024
A smoothie is a perfect pre- or post-exercise snack.
Making a smoothie can be an easy way to get a serving of dairy, fruit and vegetables. Add milk, yogurt, berries, bananas, avocado, spinach, and kale to the blender and let the magic happen.
Along with protein and carbohydrates, it will provide vitamins, minerals and fiber.
Snacking can be detrimental when done out of boredom or in place of regular, balanced meals. But, for an athlete, healthy snacks can aid performance and recovery.
Having a snack in the hour or two before practice and in the “window of opportunity” following practice can help maintain energy levels and ensure proper recovery.
Snacks are important to maintain energy between meals, before exercise and after workouts. Snacks before and after exercise help performance as well as aid optimal recovery.
Information above is excerpted from UDIM’s A Coach’s Guide to Nutrition.