Most experts agree that you should have your child undergo a thorough pre-participation physical evaluation or exam (PPE) every year. Not only can a PPE be an effective tool in identifying athletes who should not be playing sports because they have congenital heart defects or a history of concussions, but it is also useful in identifying medical problems effecting sports participation, such as asthma or the female athlete triad.

Body symmetry is important because poor balance of such things as muscle tightness, stretch, bone length, pelvic rotation, and scapular positioning increases risk of injury and can hurt performance. 

As the case involving sexual abuse by former House Speaker Dennis Hastert highlights, it is not unusual for athletes to tolerate years of abuse before coming forward because sexual abuse has a high shame factor. But there are a number of values parents can instill, skills they can teach, and behaviors they can model to minimize the chances that their child will become a victim of abuse in sports.

The best way to develop a plan to address the academic accommodations a student-athlete will likely need as he or she recovers from a concussion is for your child's school to consult with a neuropsychologist, says MomsTeam expert sports concussion neuropsychologist, Rosemarie Scolaro Moser, Ph. D.

The trend towards early specialization in youth sports seems to be accelerating, despite strong evidence that it is not necessary to achieve elite athlete status. To separate fact from fiction, here are answers to three of the most frequently asked questions about early sport specialization.