Athletics News

SAINTS ATHLETIC STAFF ATTENDS GNAC PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SEMINAR

The Emmanuel College Athletic Staff attended the Annual Great Northeast Athletic Conference Professional Development Seminar on Thursday, August 12th, at the Doubletree Guest Suites in Boston.

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Aug. 12, 2010

The Emmanuel College Athletic Staff attended the 2nd Annual Great Northeast Athletic Conference Professional Development Seminar on Thursday, August 12th, at the Doubletree Guest Suites in Boston. Administrators and coaches from all fourteen member institutions were in attendance at the GNAC seminar. In conjunction with the NCAA Strategic Conference Grant program, this year's seminar focused on student-athlete emotional health. Dr. Stephen Durant was the seminar's keynote speaker and gave an educational presentation to the hundreds in attendance. GNAC Commissioner Joe Walsh also presented several annual awards to institutions and administrators. Finally, capping off a phenomenal day, the inaugural class was inducted into the GNAC Hall of Fame.

Keynote speaker, Dr. Stephen Durant, is the Co-Director of the Sport Psychology program and a clinical psychologist at Massachusetts General Hospital. Also a distinguished author and speaker, Dr. Durant is the chief consultant for the MGH medical team that serves the Boston Red Sox and Boston Bruins. Coming from a family of Rugby players, Durant continues to play and coach, which enables him to easily relate to the struggles that student-athletes may face.

Student-athlete mental health is not a topic frequently discussed and often misunderstood, but Dr. Durant led the seminar, which was one of the first of its kind in any division of the NCAA. In addition to Dr. Durant's keynote speech, he served on a panel with Medical Director Kenneth Duckworth (National Alliance on Mental Health), Director of Counseling Kelly Moran (Mount Ida College), and a former Division III student-athlete, who struggled with the pressures of collegiate academics and athletics.

Throughout the course of the day, several awards were presented to both individual recipients, as well as to member institutions. Norwich University and Saint Joseph College (CT) received the conference's 2009-2010 awards for Outstanding Sportsmanship. GNAC Commissioner Joe Walsh elucidated, "It is a very prestigious award. We are one of the only conferences that has sportsmanship awards and the fact that it is voted on by the student-athletes makes it such an honor."

Emmanuel College Assistant Athletic Director and Head Athletic Trainer Ron Laham received the 2010 GNAC Athletic Trainer of the Year award. Dan Booth of Johnson & Wales University was named the 2010 Sports Information Director of the Year and the 2010 Administrator of the Year award went to Jim Nelson, Athletic Director at Suffolk University.

The Great Northeast Athletic Conference inducted its inaugural class into the GNAC Hall of Fame. Among the inductees were Emmanuel College's Associate Athletic Director and Head Women's Basketball Coach Andy Yosinoff, as well as the 2000-2001 Emmanuel College Women's Basketball Team. The complete list of GNAC Hall of Fame inductees is as follows:

2010 Inaugural Hall of Fame Inductees:

Andy Yosinoff - Emmanuel Women's Basketball Coach
2000-01 Emmanuel College Women's Basketball Team
Dan Dix - Southern Vermont College Cross Country
Rob Hennigan- Emerson College Basketball
Katie Norton - Suffolk University Softball
Sara Pray - Pine Manor College Softball and Soccer
Noel Kusek - Saint Joseph College (CT) Volleyball
Milton Johnson - Johnson and Wales University Soccer
2000 Suffolk University Baseball Team
Krista Dacek - Simmons College Soccer