 |
|
Chelsea Cohen |
This award honors the late Chelsea Cohen, a former girls soccer standout from Norwalk High, who passed away in August 2006 after a long and courageous battle with a rare form of nervous system cancer.
July 2008
Sports Commission, Forever Young Foundation Join Forces For Chelsea Cohen Courage Award
NFL Hall Of Famer, Greenwich Native Steve Young's Charity To Be Presenting Sponsor Of Award At Sports Night.
 |
|
Steve Young |
The Fairfield County Sports Commission and the Forever Young Foundation, the charitable giving entity of Greenwich native and NFL Hall of Famer Steve Young, announced that Forever Young will be the presenting sponsor of the Chelsea Cohen Courage Award at the Commission's Sports Night awards dinner on October 20. Forever Young, which has agreed to a multi-year commitment, is donating $10,000 this year to the Commission to support its fundraising efforts in promoting fitness and an active, healthy lifestyle and personal development through sports in the county.
The Commission created the Chelsea Cohen Courage Award in 2006, named after the late Chelsea Cohen, a former Norwalk High soccer star who was the Commission's first Courage Award recipient. She passed away in 2006 after a courageous bout with a rare form of cancer of the nervous system. The award recognizes the person in the sports community who has shown inspirational strength in battling life-altering obstacles.
"I am excited to be involved again with Fairfield County sports by way of this great Commission and the Chelsea Cohen Courage Award," said Young, the former Greenwich High star. "I have always felt one of the great principles of athletics is competing against yourself -- it is about self-improvement, being better than you were the day before. The recipients of the Chelsea Cohen Courage award face seemingly insurmountable personal obstacles, yet persevere and accomplish the highest level of athletic achievement. I am proud to have my name associated with such greatness."
"The announcement that Steve Young's Forever Young Foundation is lending its generous support to both the Commission and the Chelsea Cohen Courage Award is extremely rewarding to all of us in the Fairfield County sports community," said FCSC Executive Director Tom Chiappetta. "This partnership is a prime example of what the Commission strives to accomplish, bringing together a native son like Steve who wants to give back to the place where he got his start with an award that recognizes inspiring athletes that have encountered a setback in their athletic career."
2005 COURAGE AWARD WINNER
CHELSEA COHEN
October 2005
|
|
Chelsea Cohen |
Chelsea Cohen was the first recipient of the Courage Award, presented to the person in the sports community who has shown inspirational strength in battling life-altering obstacles.
The Norwalk High senior was a standout player on the girls' soccer team when she was a sophomore, scoring 16 goals. In mid 2004 she was diagnosed with CNS sarcoma, a rare form of cancer of the nervous system. She has been undergoing treatment since then and at times has been confined to a wheelchair.
Her constant positive outlook and inner strength in her day-to-day fight with cancer typifies what courage is all about.
2010 COURAGE AWARD WINNER
KEN GREEN
July 2010
|
|
Ken Green |
The 2010 Courage Award winner is Ken Green, a Danbury native who has been a professional golfer for 30 years. Green was involved in a tragic auto accident in June 2009. The injuries he sustained led to his lower right leg being amputated. In the accident, his brother, girlfriend and dog were all killed. Having turned 50 the year prior, Green had just rejuvenated his golf career on the Champions Tour. Through an intensive rehabilitation process and now fitted with a prosthetic leg, Green remarkably recovered to play his first competitive round of golf in March 2010 and went on to play in Champions Tour events.
On the PGA Tour, Green was a five-time winner and was a member of the U.S, Ryder Cup team in 1989. In 2006, he was inducted into the Connecticut Golf Hall of Fame.
2009 COURAGE AWARD WINNER
JAMES HILAIRE
July 2009
|
|
James Hilaire |
The 2009 Courage Award winner is James Hilaire, a Stamford resident and University of New Haven soccer goalie, who suffered a traumatic head injury in a soccer match. Hilaire, who attended Stamford High and Norwalk Community College before playing at UNH, was involved in a violent collision in a game at Merrimack on Sept 24, 2008. An opposing player’s knee smashed into Hilaire’s skull, causing a vein to rupture inside his skull and broke his jaw. He was in a coma for eight days. While he was in critical condition, a blood clot developed in his lung. Through diligent rehabilitation, he has made miraculous recovery and now has about 50% use of his right arm and hand. He has also started his own foundation, “Big Time Recovery” to help other athletes who have experienced serious injuries on the field of play.
2008 COURAGE AWARD WINNER
MIKE MYERS-KEITT
July 2008
 |
|
Mike Myers-Keitt |
The 2008 Courage Award winner is Mike Myers Keitt, a Fairfield Prep graduate and basketball standout who now attends Monmouth University. Myers Keitt, who is a Norwalk native now living in Waterbury, suffered traumatic injuries in a fall on the court in 2006. A cracked right side of his skull, broken bones in his inner ear and considerable nerve damage to the right side of his face left him unresponsive and doctors not sure if he would walk again. The 6-foot-7 Myers Keitt recovered over a two-year period and earned a scholarship to Division I Monmouth.
2007 COURAGE AWARD WINNER
JOHN TARTAGLIO
July 2007
 |
|
John Tartaglio |
John Tartaglio, a Milford resident who is in his junior year at Fairfield, is the second winner of the award in Cohen's name.
 |
|
2007 Chelsea Cohen Courage Award winner John Tartaglio receives his award from the Cohen family. Back row, from left, Chelsea's brother Daniel, her father Larry and her mother Barbara Rittner. |
In 2004, at the age of 17, Tartaglio was diagnosed with a rare bacteria infection. To save his life, doctors had no choice but to amputate both his legs and his left bicep. Through rigorous and dedicated workout sessions, including weight training, swimming, cycling and running, Tartaglio has become an active, inspirational triathlete. Fitted with prosthetic legs, he has completed 5K runs, competed in the 2006 New York Marathon in the hand-cycling division and triathlon events in the area.
2006 COURAGE AWARD WINNER
JASON MAIELLA
July 2006
 |
|
Jason Maiella |
Jason Maiella, a senior baseball standout at Sacred Heart University, was the first winner under Cohen's name.
"When Chelsea passed away, our immediate thought was how could we honor her memory for the long struggle she endured, while keeping such a positive outlook and inspiring all of us along the way," said Sports Commission Executive Director Tom Chiappetta. "Having our Courage Award each year be presented in her name will be a lasting tribute to a young lady who fought the worst of opponents right to the end."
Maiella battled his way back from a traumatic head injury that had him near death in October 2004, to renew his
.jpg) |
|
Jason Maiella receives the Chelsea Cohen Courage Award from the Cohen family. |
college baseball career and help lead Sacred Heart to the Northeast Conference title and its first-ever berth in the NCAA baseball national tournament. Maiella, from North Haledon, NJ, missed the entire 2005 season to recover from the injury and its severe after effects. In 2006, he earned all-Northeast Conference honors by hitting .313 with a career-high 34 RBI as the team's starting second baseman.
