DETROIT, Mich. — University of Michigan ice hockey captains Andrew Copp (Ann Arbor, Mich.) and Zach Hyman (Toronto, Ontario) were keynote speakers at the inaugural Healthy Teens Conference at the University of Michigan-Detroit Center in downtown Detroit. The conference was organized by the Healthy Teens Community Care Center, which provides specialized medical services to individuals 10-24 years of age, including health education services and mental health screening and referral.
Copp and Hyman gave advice on nutrition, healthy lifestyle choices, exercise and decision-making skills, answering questions after a 30-minute presentation.
“I think we talk about having a healthy life, really with everything it’s how you set your goals,” Hyman told the group of 25 teenagers. “So if your ultimate goal is to go to college, you have to set short-term goals to reach that. You have to take it step by step, and you feel more accomplished when you achieve smaller goals. That’s what we do in hockey.”
Copp spoke about the importance of getting a good night’s sleep and mental health as it relates to preparing for practice and games.
“Sleep is very important for physical health but for mental health as well,” Copp said. “You need those eight hours of sleep to let your body heal and also get your mind in the right place.”
The Healthy Teens Conference was organized to concentrate on health promotion and risk reduction topics for teens within the Detroit Public School System. The workshops held during the conference focused on six different areas, including athletics.