Former NFL Player To Start The Gunnery’s Speaker Series

Washington — On, Tuesday, September 18, at 7 pm, in the Ogden D. Miller Athletic Center (lower gym) at The Gunnery, former professional football player, Patrick Kerney will initiate The Gunnery’s 2012-2013 Speaker Series. The public is invited to the presentation and admission is free, according to the school.

A native of Yardley, Penn., Mr Kerney spent 12 years with the Atlanta Falcons, from 1999 to 2007, and the Seattle Seahawks, from 2007 to 2010. He was a first round draft pick for the Falcons, and during his time with the team, he was named the 2002 Defensive Most Valuable Player (MVP) and 2004 All-Pro. During his stint with the Seahawks, he once again was named All-Pro in 2007. He was also named the 2007 NFC Defensive Player of the Year and the 2008 Seattle Seahawks Man of the Year.

Mr Kerney and The Gunnery’s new Head of School Peter W.E. Becker met as sophomores at the Taft School. They were classmates for three years and then four more at the University of Virginia.

“Patrick’s track record as a professional athlete speaks for itself,” said Mr Becker. “He’s reached a higher level of success there than most of us will reach in anything we set out to do. He was a committed three-sport athlete in boarding school and credits much of his future success to that broad athletic exposure. He invested in every aspect of school life and wasn’t focused just on himself or his own goals. That’s harder and harder to do these days, but I think Patrick’s experience proves that it’s possible and even rewarding.”

According to Mr. Kerney, “I will speak on the obvious, and some of the not so obvious, benefits of multiple sport athletic participation. In addressing everyone from the top varsity athletes to those who are content at the intramural level, I plan to speak to the formation of healthy lifelong habits, the discovery of expandable personal limits, and the organic networking for long term success that takes place in athletic activities.”

The event is the first in a series for The Gunnery’s 2012-13 academic year.