All Articles by Brooke de Lench

Delay Sport Specialization Until Late Adolescence, Experts Say

While some degree of sport specialization is required to achieve elite status, for most sports, intense training in a single sport to the exclusion of others should be delayed until late adolescence to maximize chances of success while minimizing risk for injury and burnout, recommends a new study.

Pop Warner Concussion Scandal: Lessons Learned

The Pop Warner concussion scandal - one that, sadly, occurred right in my backyard here in Massachusetts - has put youth football under the microscope once again.

The Pop Warner concussion scandal has put youth football under the microscope once again. But is what happened in that single game reason enough to pull a kid out of football, or never sign him (or her) up in the first place? I don't think so.

Micheli Center for Sports Injury Prevention: An Honor To Attend Groundbreaking Ceremony

Lyle Micheli, William Meehan, and Joe Andruzi

Yesterday, I had the honor of being a guest at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Micheli Center For Sports Injury Prevention, which is being built next to Children's Hospital Boston's Waltham, Massachusetts facility.

Yesterday, I had the honor of being a guest at the groundbreaking ceremony for the Micheli Center For Sports Injury Prevention, which is being built next to Children's Hospital Boston's Waltham, Massachusetts facility, named for Lyle Micheli, MD., one of the truly great sports medicine doctors of this or any generation.

More Sleep Linked To Improved Alertness, Behavior in Children

A little more sleep helps children ages 7 to 11 stay more alert and be less restless and impulsive in school, says a new study in the journal Pediatrics.

Gender Gap in High School Sports Opportunities Widening, Reversing Previous Gains, Says New Study

The gender gap in high school sports opportunities widened over the past decade while the number of schools without any interscholastic sports has doubled, finds a new study, which raises troubling questions about the future of interscholastic sports at the secondary school level.

Head Games Movie Review: Most Appreciated My Candor


As I expected, my review of Head Games: The Movie has generated a lot of mail in the last two days, many from respected health care professionals and experts around the country.  Most wrote to congratulate, thank, and/or applaud me for having the courage to post such a thorough, candid, and critical review, one which was informed by my years covering the concussion issue, not by all the media hype surrounding the film. Just as predictably, some of the mail I received was not quite so flattering.

As I expected, my review of Head Games: The Movie has generated a lot of mail in the last two days. Most wrote to congratulate, thank, and/or applaud me for having the courage to post such a thorough, candid, and critical review, one which was informed by my years covering the concussion issue, not by all the media hype surrounding the film.  Just as predictably, some of the mail I received was not, to be honest, quite so flattering.

Head Games Movie Review: Not The Film I Was Hoping To See

Head Games: The Movie paints the sports concussion picture largely in black and white terms, eschewing a more nuanced approach in favor of the sensational. It is a movie that is intended to evoke in viewers an emotional, not rational response but, in the end, it is the movie that is playing games with our heads.

Another Concussion Book Review

Because I didn't blog about it, some of you may have missed my lengthy review last week of Dr. Bob Cantu's new book, Concussions and Our Kids: America's Leading Expert on How To Protect Young Athletes and Keep Sports Safe, which he co-authored with sports journalist Mark Hyman, the latest in a slew of concussion books that I have read and reviewed over the past couple of years (that will teach me; if I really want people to read what I write, I better at least mention it in a blog!). 

Buyer Beware (Part Two): NFHS Has NOT Endorsed Use of Football Helmet Covers As Reducing Concussion Risk

In recent weeks I have written a number of blogs about claims by equipment manufacturers that their products prevent or reduce the risk of concussions.  

First, it was to call attention to a settlement between the Federal Trade Commission and Brain Pad, a mouth guard manufacturer, barring the company from claiming that its mouthguard reduced the risk of concussion.

Next, it was to deconstruct some carefully-worded claims in a press release by a company named Unequal Technologies touting supplemental helmet protective pads utilizing so-called CRT (concussion reduction technology).

Beware of claims that external football helmet pads, now permitted in high school football, actually prevent or reduce the risk of concussion, says MomsTEAM founder, Brooke de Lench.