Dr. Stephen Durant Named as 2010 GNAC Professional Development Seminar Keynote Speaker

By: Natalie West

Director of Communications

The Great Northeast Athletic Conference proudly announces Dr. Stephen Durant as their keynote speaker for the 2010 Professional Development Seminar. The 4^th GNAC Professional Development Seminar will occur on August 11^th and 12^th in Boston for GNAC administrators, coaches and student-athletes. Each year, in conjunction with the NCAA Strategic Conference Grant program, the seminar focuses on a different topic, such as student-athlete well being, sportsmanship, and gender equity and diversity. This year, the seminar will focus on student-athlete emotional health. In addition to Dr. Durant’s keynote speech, he will serve on a panel with Medical Director Kenneth Duckworth (National Alliance on Mental Health) and Director of Counseling Kelly Moran (Mount Ida College). There will also be a former DIVIII student-athlete, who struggled with the pressures of collegiate academics and athletics.

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 will be leading the seminar which is one of the first of its kind in any division of the NCAA.

                                                                                                            (Dr. Stephen Durant)    

 “As it is in our athletic program’s best interest to expose our student athletes to the best possible information and practice regarding fitness and nutrition, so too is a better understanding of emotional health”, stated Dr. Durant."We will discuss the cultural factors increasing risk to all our athletes as well as some of the common manifestations of emotional difficulty including depression, ADD & ADHD, substance abuse and characterological disorders, as well as some tips for maintaining a healthy athletic program."

First, Dr. Durant will offer the coaches overall insight in determining the common symptoms of mental illnesses in student-athletes. These threats to emotional strength and highest performance come from three overlapping areas, the biological, the psychological and the social or cultural. Also Dr. Durant will provide information to the athletic administration, coaches and student-athletes to reduce the stigma surrounding mental illness, and make it known that it is a common occurrence.  

Athletic administrators, student-athletes and school administrators are looking forward to the ground breaking topic of discussion. The Great Northeast Athletic Conference’s Presidential NCAA representative, President Joseph Lee (St. Joseph’s College Maine), believes the seminar will assist coaches and trainers immensely in helping athletes with the struggles of academics and athletics and the pressures of college.

“A lot is asked of student athletes beyond academic demands, and they may need support in managing the expectations and assumptions that come with the role of athlete”, stated Lee. “Like many other college students, they may experience significant psychological distress or mental  health issues that coaches and trainers can help to identify.”                                                                                            (President Joseph Lee)

GNAC Commissioner, Joe Walsh, “views this seminar as one of celebration around the great work that GNAC coaches and administrators have done in this particular area. Additionally, the panel and keynote speaker will help provide tools to coaches and administrators as they continue towards optimizing the Great Northeast Athletic Conference student-athletes’ experience. It will indeed be a wonderful day! ”.

GNAC professional seminar schedule

For more information on Dr. Stephen Durant, please visit the following websites:

http://www.linkedin.com/in/stevedurant

http://www.whosegameisitanyway.com/

http://www.boston.com/sports/other_sports/articles/2007/07/05/rugged_heritage/

http://www2.massgeneral.org/sportpsych/who_we_are.htm