Annick Winokur is the founder and Executive Director of Sportsometry®, Inc. A graduate of Vanderbilt University (B.S. 1996), Annick developed Sportsometry® after learning of a lifelong lack of peripheral vision in her right visual field in her late twenties which she was not aware of, a symptom of the seizures she has had since childhood. This brought her to consider how she is able to play various sports while not seeing the ball when it passes through this small but crucial visual space, and thus to the investigation of the mathematical relationship between sports and mathematics, both during play and in the classroom.

Using Annick’s background in medicine and research, Sportsometry® seeks to illustrate the unique links between cognitive processing and athletics, as well as the social and physical benefits this relationship provides.

Kate DeNaples is the Educational Consultant for Sportsometry®, Inc. Kate is a graduate of Southern Connecticut State University with a B.S. focusing on Child Development and Education. She has extensive experience as an educator of children ranging from infancy through eighth grade, as well as with the development of start-up non-profit agencies.

Kate designs the lesson plans for the Sportsometry® after school program using an approach that allows students to become more enthusiastic about math, builds self esteem, and also emphasizes the importance of physical activity, teamwork and good sportsmanship. Lessons apply the Sportsometry theory to math concepts using both hands on and traditional methods, and build upon each other, each reinforcing learned material and introducing new ideas.

 


Yale University Women's Golf Team

The Yale University Women’s Golf Team and other Yale student athletes work with Sportsometry® as volunteer instructors of the sessions. The athletes bring enthusiasm to the program, and are terrific role models for our students in terms of character, education and sportsmanship.


 

Craig Hirokawa is currently pursuing his Doctor of Physical Therapy Degree at Thomas Jefferson University. He graduated from Connecticut College (BA, 1998) and Southern CT State University (MS, 2003) and has over 10 years of experience working with children as a coach and Science teacher. Sportsometry® combines Craig's interests in Sports and Exercise, education, and health throughout the lifespan.

Jean B. Mauro, attorney (semi-retired). B. Eng. (Yale U., 1958), MBA (NYU, 1966), JD (U. Md., 1972). Jean has 10 years' experience in chemical R & D and 40 years' experience in the corporate practice of intellectual property law. He retired in 1998 from the position of Managing Patent Counsel at Union Carbide Corp. He is a founding trustee of several non-profits, and continues to do some pro bono legal work. He is also a member of a start-up LLC in the pharmaceutical industry. Jean's personal interests include Italian culture and art, medieval and Renaissance history, and classical music.

Janie Merkel directs Yale University's Center for Chemical Genomics. In this role, she works with biomedical researchers and helps them develop and perform experiments that may lead to future treatments for the diseases they study. Janie graduated from Dartmouth College (A.B., 1995) and Yale University (M.Phil 1998, Ph.D. 2000) focusing her studies in the physical sciences. Sportsometry® combines two of her lifelong interests: commitment to exercise and experience-based learning. In her own life, exercise has improved her health, life balance, outlook, and connections with other active people.

Robert A. Novelly, Ph.D. Dr. Novelly is a Clinical Neuropsychologist with offices in Branford, CT. The major duration of his professional career was in the position of Chief, Clinical Neuropsychology Yale-VA Epilepsy Surgery Program, Chief, Clinical Neuropsychology Section, Norwalk Hospital, CT, and Assistant Professor (Neurology Department) Yale University School of Medicine. Dr. Novelly consults to the Sportsometry Program primarily in a Research and Statistics capacity. The aim of his consultation is to assess the efficacy of the Sportsometry model as a unique teaching approach for learning Mathematics in school age and adolescent students.

Mark Talbott is considered by many as the greatest American squash player of all time. He spent 13 years (1983-95) as the world's top-ranked player during a lengthy and successful competitive playing career that led to a place in the inaugural class of the United States Squash Hall of Fame in 2000 and an Olympic Athlete of the Year (1991, '92, '95) on three occasions. In addition, he captained the first USA Team to compete in the Pan Am Games (1995), earned the Sharif Khan Award for Sportsmanship (1991) and won the USSRA President's Cup (1989). Before becoming Director of Squash at Stanford, Talbott coached the Yale Women's Squash Team to its first National Championship in eighteen years. He and his wife, Michelle, are the parents of two children - Nicolas and Maya who attend Gunn High School. The family resides in Palo Alto CA. As Mark says, “There are many valuable lessons to be learned by combining the sport of squash with Sportsometry!”

Gregg Zuckerman is a professor of mathematics at Yale University. He holds a bachelor and masters degree from Yale (1970) and a PhD from Princeton (1975). Dr. Zuckerman helped Winokur to formulate the basic philosophy of Sportsometry®. He in particular suggested the use of tests of Johns Hopkins University, Center for Talented Youth as tools for measuring the response of adolescents to the Sportsometry® program. Dr. Zuckerman has a growing interest in cognitive science and mathematical education and looks forward to making regular contributions to the long term operation of Sportsometry®.