DCHS senior is chosen a IHSAA Role Model

Delphi Community High School Senior Brittany Tyner

High school student-athletes in Indiana don't have to make it to the pros to appear larger than life on posters and trading cards for their friends, families and fans to admire. Good grades, character, athletic achievement and community service can get their likeness on both as a part of the Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) Role Model Program.

One such athlete is Delphi Community High School senior Brittany Tyner. Tyner plays softball for the Oracles.

The Role Model Program addresses issues that are important to the well-being of Indiana teens, like tobacco use, and encourages student athletes to recognize that they are role models in their own communities. Funding for the program is provided by the Indiana Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Agency (ITPC) along with its Community and Minority Coalitions, National- City, Smokefree Indiana, UnitedHealthcare and several community power cooperatives and organizations.

Tyner is sponsored by the Carroll County Tobacco Free Coalition.

The program is in its fourth year and produces one customized poster and trading card design for each school. This year's poster and trading cards feature a message discouraging tobacco use and carry the headline: "The only thing I light up is the scoreboard." According to statistics from the Indiana State Department of Health, Hoosiers now rank second only to Kentucky residents in the percentage of people who smoke. The posters and trading cards are designed to encourage young people to make healthy decisions about tobacco use.

National statistics show that tobacco is often the first drug used by kids who may eventually use alcohol and illegal drugs. Compared with nonsmokers, teens who smoke are three times more likely to use alcohol, eight times more likely to smoke marijuana and 22 times more likely to use cocaine. Educating young people on the dangers of smoking is an important step in reducing the effects of tobacco use.

Eighty-one (81) high schools from around the state are participating in the 2006 Role Model Program. Each school will receive 200 posters and 2,000 trading cards featuring the school's selected student-athlete(s).

The IHSAA and its corporate partners handle all of the costs related to this program. In total, more than 16,000 posters and 160,000 trading cards emphasizing the importance of being tobacco-free will be distributed throughout Indiana.

Athletic directors were asked to nominate an athlete to represent their high school in the program. To qualify, each student athlete must be a sophomore, junior or senior and demonstrate athletic achievement, good academic standing, excellent citizenship and positive decision-making skills. The nominees also have to sign a pledge agreeing to be tobacco, drug and alcohol free and serve as role models for the community.

"These student-athletes are achieving at high levels in their schools, in sports and in their communities. They are excellent role models for the youth of Indiana," said IHSAA Commissioner Blake Ress.

"They are committed to making the right choices to help make their communities healthier places to live."

"All of our role models lead healthy and positive lives," added Ress. "We know that through this program they are encouraging others to do the same."