Womens Basketball Team Walks in Honor of University of Tennessee Coach
The College of Southern Maryland Womens Basketball Team, students, faculty and staff are joining the Walk to End Alzheimers in honor of legendary University of Tennessee Womens Basketball Coach Pat Summit who recently announced that she had been diagnosed with the disease.
CSM Associate Vice President for Academic Affairs Dr. Sue Subocz and CSM Director of Student Life and Athletics Michelle Ruble have found inspiration from Summit through their personal encounters with the coach that holds the NCAA (National College Athletic Association) record for victories in any sport.
I attended a summer basketball camp with Pat Summit when she was just starting her coaching career, said Subocz. Even then, her energy and passion for the game were an inspiration. When I became a coach at the high school and college levels myself, I tried hard to match the energy and focus she always displayed, and I still take every opportunity to study everything she does.
Ruble, who recently retired as CSMs head volleyball coach after 20 years, said that while attending a National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) meeting in Knoxville she had an opportunity to meet Summit.
Coach Summit is truly a person who I have tried to emulate over my coaching career and when I got the chance to meet her about 9 years ago, she was welcoming and gracious, Ruble said of Summit taking the time to meet with NJCAA athletic directors while preparing her team for the NCAA Tournament. We are proud to participate in this endeavor on Coach Summits behalf as well as anyone else fighting this disease.
To show support for Summit, Subocz has stepped up to captain a CSM team to participate in the Alzheimers walk. This event is an opportunity to raise awareness and funds to fight Alzheimers disease, said Subocz. By joining our team, people can help end this epidemic and show support for the more than 5 million Americans living with the disease.
More than 3,000 people in Southern Maryland are affected by the disease and that number is growing, said Linda Gottfried, director, Alzheimers Association® National Capital Area Chapter, Southern Maryland. This disease has a huge impactboth emotionally and economicallyon families. Our goal is to raise $140,000 for research, education and training for caregivers, and advocacy programs that help families right here in Calvert, Charles, St. Marys and Prince Georges counties.
Gottfried said that 1-in-8 people over age 65 will be diagnosed with the disease and that the ratio rises to 1-in-2 for people over the age of 85. This is the health issue of our time for African Americans, said Gottfried who added that African Americans are 50 percent more likely to be diagnosed with the disease than Caucasians.
Persons with symptoms should see a neurologist for a PET scan, said Gottfried, adding that the Alzheimers Association website lists 10 warning signs of the disease.
Alzheimers disease is the nations sixth-leading cause of death, according to the National Alzheimers Association. Since 1989, the annual fundraising walks have raised more than $347 million through events in 600 communities around the country.
CSM is among the sponsors for the Southern Maryland Walks to End Alzheimers being held on Saturday, Sept. 17 at Asbury Solomons in Solomons and at Regency Furniture Stadium in Waldorf. Participants can choose from a one- or three-mile course and are encouraged to form teams of friends, family and co-workers.
To join or support CSMs team and to learn about fundraising for the event, visit http://2011walktoendalz.kintera.org/maryland/csmhawks.
To learn about the 10 warning signs of Alzheimers disease, visit www.alz.org/alzheimers_disease_10_signs_of_alzheimers.asp.