Former World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) Stars, The Shipley School Discuss Wrestling with Concussions

On Tuesday, February 24, The Shipley School will host a presentation and discussion on WWE concussion stories, sports safety and Shipley’s progressive sports policy. The event is from 2:15 – 3:15 p.m. and open to the public, with over 600 Shipley students to be in attendance, ready to learn about the sports concussion crisis, the culture of sports and how Shipley is creating a safer environment for student athletes.

The presentation will feature Chris Nowinski, co-founder and executive director of Sports Legacy Institute, author of “Head Games”, former WWE superstar and Harvard University All-Ivy League football player; special guest Mick Foley, former three-time WWE champion and Hall of Fame inductee, actor, comedian and New York Times bestselling author; and Andrew Brandt, NFL Business Analyst at ESPN, who will be the moderator. Dr. Thomas P. Drake, attending physician – pediatric rehabilitation at Cooper University Health Care, will be opening the discussion with a brief presentation. Dr. Drake is a member of the Concussion and Traumatic Brain Injury program, and the Neurology and Development (Pediatric) and Children’s Regional Hospital departments.

Shipley has been a national leader in the effort to reduce youth concussions, and the decision to ban heading in middle school soccer placed Shipley at the forefront of the movement last year. Shipley has formed a groundbreaking partnership with the Sports Legacy Institute to solve the sports concussion crisis impacting our youth. SLI is a Boston-based non-profit organization founded in 2007 by Chris Nowinski and Dr. Robert Cantu that is dedicated to solving the sports concussion crisis, and together Shipley and SLI are achieving that mission through education, policy, and research. The continued expansion of this partnership has allowed Shipley to further its efforts to enhance the safety and health of the students and to serve the Shipley community as best possible.

Last year, Shipley announced the introduction of Triax sensor technology for its Upper School athletes playing contact sports, to monitor repetitive hits and sub-concussive impacts. The sensors will also help coaches to identify ways they can change behavior to reduce the opportunity for concussive events. The school has also instituted baseline testing procedures for all Upper School students, and has adopted a very stringent return to play and academic work protocol for students who have suffered a concussion.

To learn more about Shipley’s concussion education and prevention efforts, visit here.

About Shipley

The Shipley School is a pre-K through 12 independent, coeducational day school in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, committed to educational excellence and dedicated to developing in each student a love of learning and a compassionate participation in the world. Through a strong college preparatory curriculum in the humanities and the sciences, the School encourages curiosity, creativity, and respect for intellectual effort. Shipley upholds and promotes moral integrity, a sense of personal achievement and worth, and concern for others at school and in the larger community. For 120 years, The Shipley School has been teaching with the individual in mind, inspiring confidence, creativity and deeply rooted

learning. For more information visit www.shipleyschool.org, like The Shipley School on www.facebook.com/shipleyschool or follow @ShipleySchool on Twitter.