Cal Ripken Jr., Bill Ripken sign on to be keynote speakers at Sports & Education Expo
Marc Rosenthal, of Haddonfield, and Perry and Sherri Gold, of Moorestown, managing partners of the inaugural Sports & Education Expo, announced that former MLB players with the Baltimore Orioles, Cal Ripken Jr., and his brother Bill Ripken, have signed on to be keynote expo speakers on Friday, Dec. 13, at the Pennsylvania Convention Center.
The Ripkens will be sharing their expertise that evening exclusively with attending coaches, athletic directors, athletic trainers and guidance counselors who work with kindergarten through 12th grade students throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. Prior, that afternoon, the Ripkens will be providing a two-hour clinic for approximately 1,000 coaches. Members of the Ripken Baseball Organization will also be manning a Ripken exhibit booth the weekend of Dec. 14 and 15, providing information for parents and young athletes ages 5 to 18.
In its premiere year, The Sports & Education Expo is providing sports, education and health and wellness resources to everyone involved in or interested in the youth sports of soccer, baseball, softball, lacrosse, golf, football, tennis and rowing, as well as special needs sports.
Prior to the Ripkens’ keynote event, there will also be a live radio show with Mitch Albom, native of South Jersey, bestselling author and Detroit radio broadcaster and sportswriter, with Angelo Cataldi from the WIP Morning Show in Philadelphia.
Saturday and Sunday, the Expo is open to the public and is geared to parents, athletes and future athletes, ages 5 to 18, with 300 exhibit booths featuring the latest in technology and equipment, numerous workshops by the top experts in the fields of positive coaching, sports injury prevention, sports psychology, college planning, financial aid resources, celebrities, interactive and autograph opportunities, and more.
“A big part of what we are doing these days is growing the game at the grassroots level and this event is a perfect fit for Ripken Baseball. We are excited to visit Philadelphia and meet with so many others who share a passion for youth sports,” Cal Ripken Jr. said.
“Cal and I have taken the lessons we learned from dad and throughout our careers and bring them to other coaches through our coaching clinics. We are excited to be a part of the Expo right up the road in Philly,” Bill Ripken said.
The Golds are the parents of two Moorestown High School baseball players.
Rosenthal, also a sports parent, is the 2012 recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Special Events Society and executive producer for Mitch Albom.
Cal Ripken is a first ballot Hall of Famer and one of just eight players in history with more than 400 homeruns and 3,000 hits, but he is best known as baseball’s all-time “Iron Man” for playing in a record 2,632 consecutive games during his 21 year career with the Baltimore Orioles. Ripken was also a 19-time Major League All-Star, two-time American League MVP, a two-time All-Star Game MVP and in 1982 he was named AL Rookie of the Year.
Bill Ripken is a 12-year major league veteran with the Orioles, Rangers, Indians and Tigers. During his playing career Bill was one of the best fielding second basemen in the game and is a member of the Maryland Sports Hall of Fame. Today, Bill is an Emmy nominated broadcaster with the MLB Network and co-hosts a weekly show with his brother on Sirius Satellite Radio.
