FIU Football Takes Part In Street Smart Program

MIAMI, Fla. - The Florida International University football team took time out from a busy preseason practice schedule Thursday night to concentrate on living a responsible life off the field with Street Smart, a program committed to fighting underage drinking, drunk driving, illegal drug use and irresponsible driving.

The entire team attended the Street Smart program, sponsored by Eagle Brands, the local Anheuser-Busch wholesaler. Paramedics Vince Easevoli and Scott McIntyre of Stay Alive From Education (S.A.F.E.) took the team into the real-life drama experienced by paramedics who deal with young victims of poor life decisions with an interactive presentation that hit home with the student-athletes and head coach Mario Cristobal.

Vince, Scott and the Street Smart team did a phenomenal job of educating our student-athletes on the dangers of alcohol abuse and irresponsible driving, Cristobal said. They delivered a powerful message that had an extreme impact.

The leading cause of death and injury amongst young adults in the United States is from trauma caused by accidents, and young adults cause a majority of those accidents, most of which involve the driving behaviors of other young adults. Non-driving related accidents that cause traumatic death and injury of young adults are also caused by behaviors of young adults.

That message was heard loud and clear by the entire team, a majority of which is under the age of 21.

It was a great presentation and it really opened my eyes to what is going on, freshman linebacker Jarvis Wilson said. We take a lot of things for granted without realizing some of life dangers.

The topics of the presentation ranged from things as simple as the benefit of buckling a seatbelt to the intricacies of a trauma scene, and were enhanced through audio, video and audience participation.

This program should be shown at a lot of schools, Wilson said. I stayed after the program to let them know the message reached me.

Courtesy: FIUSports.com
 

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