Please join me in applauding Rachel Miller. Thank you. Thank you, Rachel, for that outstanding rendition of Stairway to Heaven, so perfectly perfect in this city of music to begin with such a spectacular performance. And thank you to all the past presidents who have led this great society so brilliantly through the years and who led us so nobly down this aisle today. I am truly humbled and honored to follow in your footsteps. And thank you, Jim Bradley. Thank you, Jim, for those most kind words. Most of them were kind. You have been a true inspiration throughout your presidential year, and it has been an honor for Patty and for me to follow you and be on this path. And most certainly, thank you to President Biden and First Lady Dr. Jill Biden for those most inspiring words that encourage us all the time, day in and day out, to care for athletes of all ages, all sizes, all shapes, all sports, and all levels of competition. Thank you so very much for that. Before we begin, I would like to take a moment in silence to remember all those that we have loved, who have been a part of our lives, and who have passed during this most challenging of years. We. We are a part. We are a part of all that we have met. We are a part of all that we have met. Simple words, truly simple words. But when placed together, they have such depth, such texture, such meaning. And as such, words that are part of a most famous verse written by someone much more eloquent than me. And yet I would say those simple words, but special words, we are a part of all that we have met also epitomize this most special organization, AOSSM. Weaved in the minds of legendary physicians nearly half a century ago, forged with the determination of great leaders, nurtured and cultivated by the passion, by the commitment, and by the expertise of countless members, always guided and sustained by a most talented and focused and devoted professional team, so many of whom are here with us in this hall right now, evolving and enduring the most difficult and challenging of times and celebrating the most rewarding and the most impactful of times, AOSSM, a mere thought at first scribbled on a napkin, founded on the pillars of education, of research, of publishing, and of fellowship. And that has grown, aided by the momentum of collaboration, of engagement, of mentorship, of advocacy. And that, that is the essence of a timeless, a peerless organization, an organization today that is the premier global sports medicine society, supporting the efforts of orthopedic surgeons and other sports healthcare specialists in their quest to care for athletes and active people of all sizes, all shapes, all ages, all sports, all levels of competition and abilities. That, that is AOSSM. Well, I'm certainly a part of all that I have met. Again, very simple words, but those simple words, they have been such a large part of my life, of our life as a family, and our children, they've heard them recited over and over and over and over and applied to every conceivable life situation and they're all smiling right now, and they joke that those words helped them on college and graduate school and professional applications, and at least I know they were listening to me. But now, finally, I get to use them for me, for us. Because I do deeply believe that we are a part of all that we have met. But who am I a part of, personally, academically, professionally? Well Jim has given you a glimpse into my life. I was, I was so fortunate to be part of a most supportive, a loving family growing up in that very industrious, truly gritty northeastern corner of Pennsylvania, in a town that was made famous by coal, by electricity, and certainly by the office. My parents, they owned and operated a family business with a long history in Scranton, and they taught our family the importance of hard work, of determination, of compassion, kindness and generosity. And my four siblings, Billy, Angela, Michelle, and Tommy, they've taken all different paths in life, but they have done so with that same determination, kindness, and compassion. They remain a central part of my life, and I am so very proud to call them my sisters and brothers. Educationally, I've been so very fortunate through Scranton Prep, Holy Cross, Georgetown, Thomas Jefferson, and Kerlin and Job. Those years were so formative in so many ways, and they gave me the closest of friendships. But most importantly, it was during that time that I met the love of my life, Patti. She definitely makes me so much better, and is my far better half. But those years, from Boston to Washington, from Philadelphia to L.A., they were highlighted by the most important events of my life, our wedding and the birth of our four children, Michael, Matthew, Emma, and Caroline, changing our lives forever, but in the very best of ways. But after finishing fellowship, we returned to Philadelphia to the Rothman Institute and Thomas Jefferson, and I was inspired by Dick Rothman, who fiercely promoted that dual mission of clinical and academic excellence. And having the humbling opportunity of watching a sports medicine program grow from two surgeons in 1992 to now 25 fellowship-trained surgeons in 2021, who you see here, and who I am truly blessed to call partners, they're all so much smarter, they're so much more talented, they're so much more eloquent, and they are certainly so much better looking than me. Always guided by a Rothman and a Jefferson operational staff that is peerless, and who day in and day out provide the highest level of care to so many athletes. I thank all of them for being a part of all that I have met. Well during those past 30 years, I've been particularly impacted by my opportunity to participate in the care of the Philadelphia Phillies baseball team. Learning the importance of collaboration and engagement as a medical staff with our outstanding athletic trainers, the Major League Baseball Team Physicians Association, the Medical Advisory Committee, and the Commissioner's Office. But particularly memorable was the 2008 season, and not just because of the World Series, which don't get me wrong, was amazing, but because it taught me how incredibly difficult it is for an athlete, for a team, to win at the most elite level, physically, and as this meeting has taught us, mentally and emotionally. And in homage to Frank Jobe, taught me one of life's lessons. The Phillies had just quite dramatically eliminated Dr. Jobe's Dodgers from the National League Championship to move on into the World Series, and Dr. Jobe, wasting no time, immediately called me. And his words remain with me, Michael, I taught you to be much more respectful to your elders, and I could see him just smiling through the phone. But then he went on to say, don't let the pressure of life's events prevent you from enjoying what will be one of the most memorable of times. I mean, those are words that transcend everything, and he was so very right. But also, my time working on the Orthopedic Learning Center Board has shown me the importance of collaborating with other societies for a common cause, the education of others. And I thank the outstanding staff of the OLC, led by CEO Lise Pecorius, for the opportunity to serve. And then there's my time with this, with AOSSM. I have been so very fortunate to have a long history with this great society, over 30 years, inspired by those who educated, who collaborated, who engaged, who mentored, who advocated at skills courses and specialty days and annual meetings, so many of whom are in this audience right now. And since then, having the humbling opportunity to serve AOSSM. But most importantly, honored to have the future of sports medicine, young emerging physicians, including people for whom I care deeply, engage in, learn from, and benefit by all that is this great organization. But most importantly, who am I personally? Well, I'm this, my family. This is how I would want to be defined, because I am so much, ever so thankfully, a part of this. Caroline, your fortitude, your global earth consciousness, your awareness of all that is good and kind and healthy, your deep, artistic sense, your compassionate touch, your sheer presence, and now even more with Ray, Emma, your focus, your passion for life, your organization, your perseverance, your emotional insight, your gentleness, and your care for all, your sheer presence, and now even more with Ren and Finn, and of course Brooks, Matt, your exuberance, your playfulness, your humor, your life balance, your keen awareness of others, your sheer presence, and now even more with Kelly, and certainly Kai, Michael, your resilience, your diligence, your fortitude, your intellect, your sports medicine acuity, your humbleness, and your kindness, your sheer presence, and even more with Aidan, and certainly Frankie and Kerfluffle too. And then there's Patty. Thank you for inspiring me to be better, for taking care of me through all of this, for being my compass, my beacon, my soulmate, the most important part of all that I've met. Your kindness and your beauty and your generosity are just limitless. I love you deeply. So I am a part of all that I have met, and I am so fortunate for that, because all of that, all of you, and all of you make me so much better than I would have been if not for you. Okay, so we understand the importance of walking the path of life together and recognizing how we're a part of each other, but, you know, how does that help us to be better and to better deal with the immense pressure, the intensity, the complexity of sport, of caring for the athlete in 2021, during this most challenging of time? Well, let's watch this video that I think speaks to this immense pressure, this intensity, this complexity, The Jungle, by Jamie N. Commons and ex-ambassadors. Oh You can feel it right, I mean it is deep it's palpable It's so very real it's sports as we know it right now real time and these athletes They have to navigate through this pressure throughout their athletic careers, but their ability to navigate It's dependent upon a variety of qualities and After a year with so many challenges and largely devoid of organized sports it's most appropriate for us right now to take pause and To truly consider those qualities those rarest of qualities that they aspire to There must be a starting point The raw natural degree of talent or expertise that ability to visualize in a quarter of a second From a distance of 60 feet 6 inches the precise position That a five and a quarter ounce round mass of cork and rubber and yarn and leather propelled at a hundred miles an hour Will be in space In order to contact it with a 33 ounce tone piece of maple That that's raw talent that very few people on this planet possess But Coupled with that talent is a measurable degree of repetitive training Malcolm Gladwell's 10,000 hours speaks to this phenomenon That concept was originally applied to music and understandably so after hearing moments ago Rachel Miller's beautiful violin rendition But does simply practice make perfect? Well in elite sports certainly not Those truly gifted athletes they possess in addition to raw talent and grueling training and Intuition epitomized in this memorable World Series play by Chase Utley in 2008 World Series that arguably won the World Series No time to think where to throw the ball. Just do it Well, is there anything else? Well, of course there is there's a deep profound determination Determination epitomized in this iconic scene from the movie Rocky which is of course a Philadelphia favorite Made even more memorable by the equally iconic Rocky music But these athletes they must also manage the most intense stress balancing the enormous physical challenge of sport with the equally enormous mental pressure as Eddie George has just shown us and Laced through all of that is a true bravado when that pivotal moment occurs. I want the ball or the puck or the bat But the most successful athletes they also possess a keen sense of both self and team This is my time this is your time this is this is our time and finally Navigating those quintessential moments as Eddie George just so eloquently spoke to well That's what elevates the athlete to the highest level knowing that this is the time as embodied in this final scene of the movie Whiplash Or Eminem's song lose yourself when you get only one shot and even in Tennyson's Ulysses That this is the time to strive to seek to find and not to yield Well all of that rolled together That's the intensity the complexity the challenge of being an athlete today and not every athlete possesses all those qualities but they aspire to them and All those qualities they are eerily remindful of the qualities that are also woven Through the art of caring for those athletes Yes, caring for those athletes this pressure this intensity, this complexity, it exists for us as well as we walk this path of sports in 2021 with our athletes. It's what we live and we breathe each and every day in our practices. So how do we as their healthcare providers, how do we navigate that? Well I would say that we do that by collaborating with each other to learn more, by engaging each other and these great societies, by mentoring those who will follow in our footsteps, and all the while by advocating, always advocating for those that we oath to care for, our athletes. Well no doubt though the challenges of providing care to our athletes in 2021 are formidable and heightened by a year that's changed everything, the way we practice, the way we educate, the way we research, the way we live each and every moment. And during this time, we have been so painfully distanced, so geographically separated. But in spite of all the challenges of this past year, this great society has arguably never been more intellectually, educationally, spiritually connected. And as such, we, we as a society have accomplished truly great things this past year. Our most recent initiatives, they are timely, they are poignant, and they have been guided by those four core principles that have echoed throughout the year, collaboration, engagement, mentorship, advocacy. And so what have we achieved? Well in terms of collaboration, poet John Donne famously wrote, no man is an island entire of itself. The essence of sports, of playing on a team, it lies in cooperation and sharing and in collaboration and perhaps nowhere more notably has AOSSM collaborated this past year than in this. This truly extraordinary first ever combined AOSSM annual meeting, this meeting has showcased the highest level education and research provided by the world's leaders in all areas of arthroscopy and sports medicine while also deeply celebrating each society's longstanding traditions. I want to sincerely thank Brian Cole as 2020-2021 President of ANA for walking this path with me, with us. The ANA Board of Directors and professional team, our AOSSM Board of Directors and professional team, our combined program committee including the four outstanding program chairs Nick Verma, Kevin Bonner from ANA, and Steve Cohen and Brett Owens from AOSSM, without the combined collaborative efforts of all of those people and so many more, this extraordinary event would just not have been possible. But AOSSM has also continued other highly impactful collaborative initiatives this past year such as with the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons on our monumental 50th anniversary research initiative. Under the guidance of the Academy President Daniel Guy, the Academy Board and Academy CEO Tom Ahrens, the Academy has gifted $100,000 to seed our 50th anniversary research initiative. And in that same collaborative spirit, we also have received $120,000 in funding from OREF that will be focused on sports medicine research through our emerging leaders program. Special thanks to OREF President Richard Kyle and OREF Board and OREF CEO Lee Grossman. Truly outstanding collaboration. But we've also collaborated with the Biologics Association which held its annual summit here at this meeting. With FORUM, the Female Orthopedic Surgeon Society highlighted here at this meeting. With ISACOS in our global programming series here in Nashville. With ESCA, SLARD and APCAS and the multiple U.S. host sites for our ongoing traveling fellowship tours. Through our rich stop campaign, now newly joined with the National Council of Youth Sports to reach over 60 million youth athletes. Collaborating with NATA and the sports health circulation. With Major League Baseball not just at this meeting but also with PBATS in our upcoming 2021 baseball course. And with the Orthopedic Learning Center here in Nashville as the inaugural event for the new OLC Mobile Lab and its restructuring under the governance of the academy. All of that is collaboration. In terms of engagement, Edward Bond wrote, if you engage people on a vital, important level they will respond. Engagement requires an awareness of the world within which we live and work, a willingness to listen and to see, and a bravery. A bravery to interact and declare our thoughts. And perhaps nowhere more notably has AOSSM engaged during this past year than through our fundraising efforts with the vitally important, hugely successful AOSSM Million Dollar Drive campaign. Because of your loyalty and support, combined with the matching gifts of philanthropists Ken Langone and Stan Drucker-Miller, this campaign has been the most successful non-named, non-industry funded campaign in AOSSM history. And one of the most successful in the history of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons and all its specialty societies. Raising over $2.25 million. The importance of that cannot be overstated. It will fund us, it will allow us to continue the highest level of sports education and impactful research efforts, especially during this most challenging of time. But AOSSM has also engaged this year through other truly impactful initiatives, such as our medical publishing group's engagement with societies around the world through AJSM with its number one orthopedic journal, Impact Factor. Sports health with its three partners thriving, OJSM as a leading open access sports journal, and now initiated in 2021, our new video journal, VJSM, and our exciting Easy Rider podcast initiated at this annual meeting. Engaging through our Council of Delegates, which acts as the direct conduit to our entire membership. Engaging through our research grant program that has distributed over $600,000 in grant support this year. Engaging through the AOSSM playbook, our new online learning system and surgical video library, and our corporate advisory group, which engages all of our loyal industry partners. All of that is engagement. In terms of mentorship, the words of Steven Spielberg resonate, the delicate balance of mentoring someone is not creating them in your own image, but giving them the opportunity to create themselves. And so to that point, this past year, AOSSM has fostered this ideal of mentorship, most notably through our newly created AOSSM Emerging Leaders Program, designed exclusively for the 43% of AOSSM members who have fewer than 10 years of experience. The purpose of the Emerging Leaders Program is to interest, to embrace, and to nurture the highest quality sports physicians in our society by ensuring that their voices are heard as we together sculpt the future of AOSSM. And we've done this through several Emerging Leaders initiatives, such as our Emerging Leaders Nightcaps, or virtual small groups, our Emerging Leaders Resource Center and Educational Zone, and at this 2021 annual meeting, the inaugural AOSSM Emerging Leaders Retreat. In addition to our Emerging Leaders Program, AOSSM has also other impactful mentorship initiatives, the AOSSM Fellows Course, which initiates every fellow each year to their sports fellowship training. Our AOSSM Leadership Committees that are focused on providing participation for residents, for fellows, and members under 45 years of age. Our new virtual Mentorship and Onboarding Orientation, and our highly successful Fellows Webinar Series, that, all of that is mentorship. In terms of advocacy, the words of William Faulkner are so poignant, never be afraid to raise your voice for honesty and truth and compassion against injustice. Well, this past year has painfully, but very importantly, focused us on advocacy and the challenges that we must, we must be aware of and address to be the best we can be for our athletes. The importance of this, of advocacy, epitomized by the words and the life of our Presidential Guest Speaker, Eddie George, well, they cannot be overstated. AOSSM has fostered this ideal of advocacy most notably throughout this past year with our powerful, our impactful, and our essential AOSSM Diversity Initiative. In this truly challenging time, AOSSM seeks to advocate for all of our athletes and our members regardless of race, gender, age, religious affiliation, sexual orientation, and disability through the establishment of this Diversity Initiative, which includes such programming as our Diversity Task Force that will engage our entire leadership, our membership, and our professional team through diversity webinars, diversity education for membership onboarding, and AOSSM pathways to leadership. But AOSSM has also advocated this year through other highly impactful initiatives, such as our Stop Campaign, which advocates for all youth athletes in all sports, our Team Physician and Athlete Advocacy Committee, which has worked in tandem with the U.S. Center for Safe Sport, our involvement in the NCAA Diversity Task Force, which advocates for diverse student athletes, and our development of an athlete's mental health and well-being toolkit for all AOSSM members that has been highlighted at this meeting. All of that, all of that is advocacy. So these are profoundly impactful initiatives that we, that we together have cultivated through this past year, and they speak, they speak to collaboration, to engagement, to mentorship, to advocacy. And in doing so, what we acknowledge, we acknowledge what we have done, what we've been through, and how we can be better for our athletes, for our families, and for each other. It reminds us again, as Tennyson writes, we truly are a part of all that we have met. But we don't end here. We cannot drop the mic. We must look to the future. Just asking the questions of how and why, that is not enough. We must be brave enough to take that step and not be afraid to stumble along the way. As Winston Churchill famously said, success is going from failure to failure without a loss of enthusiasm. Because you see, we must, we must strive to be our best each and every day. Why? For them. For our patients. For the athletes that we have promised to care for. And how do we be our best? Well, I would say that we must collaborate on cutting-edge, emerging research and education through AOSSM and other sports and orthopedic societies to share thought and insight on how to be better. We must engage with each other and with our co-providers and with great society, AOSSM, and all it has to offer to push the limits of our specialty. We must mentor the new members of AOSSM who will guide this society in the future to even greater places. And we must, we must always advocate for our athletes, whether it's for recovery from their musculoskeletal injuries or prevention of sexual harassment or gender inequality or mental illness or racial and socioeconomic injustice. Because in doing so, in doing all that, well, we lead. And as we begin this most important, most momentous 50th year for our society, well, we really set the stage for the future of AOSSM. So follow your heart, be true, be diligent and focused, be hardworking and inquisitive, be passionate and honest and caring. I did not invent that. I learned that from you. I learned it from a great presidential line from Ned Amendola, Chuck Bush Joseph, Neil Elitash, Jim Bradley, Kurt Spindler, Mark Miller, and our CEO, Greg Dummer. I learned it from our AOSSM past presidents, from our board of directors, from our committee chairs and committee members, from our professional team, from mentors, from partners, from friends. And I learned it from my family. And I certainly learned it from you, Patty. So I would say that by following your heart, by doing that, well, we as a society, we were destined for success. And so you see, we really are a part of all that we have met. Those truly simple words by Tennyson, they transcend all. They transcend profession, age, gender, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, politics, and certainly, most certainly, sports. Those words, they speak to our heart. They are palpable. They are real. They're a touchstone as we walk the challenging path, not just of sports medicine, but of life. And when you walk that path with those who have been a part of your life, a part of all that you have met, Caroline, Emma, Matt, Michael, thank you from the bottom of my heart for allowing me to pursue this, for standing by me. In spite of all the great challenges, I love you so very much, and I am so very proud of all of you. And Patty, thank you for inspiring me to be better, for walking this path with me, for being the most important part of my life. I love you deeply, so much more than these very simple words could ever express. So when we walk that path of life with those who have been a part of us, well, we can be assured that we have collaborated, we have engaged, we have mentored, we have advocated. Because as we come full circle now, we truly are a part of all that we have met. We are a part. We. I thank you all so deeply for the most humbling opportunity to be a part of that, to serve you and this great organization, all that is AOSSM. Thank you, thank you. And now I have the greatest honor and pleasure of inviting up to the stage my wife Patty, as well as Beth Rowell and Kurt Spindler, for our most time-honored ritual of passing on the leadership of AOSSM. So just a simple ribbon and an embossed medallion that really represents so much. It represents the passion and the dedication, the time, the effort, and the loyalty of each and every member of AOSSM for 49 storied years. That is very humbling. But they could not be worn by two people who are more deserving. And so now I present to you the 50th president and spouse of the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine, Kurt Spindler and Beth Rowell. Thank you. So it gives us the honor of congratulating Michael on such an outstanding job as our 49th president, taking us through these crazy times. And it's very humbling to come after you. And thank you so much for a great year and for all you've done for the organization. Thank you so much.

Michael Cordasco

AOSSM

Kurt Spindler

Beth Rowell

athletes

collaboration

sports medicine