Jabs #13: Making Youth Hockey Safer In Wake of Jablonski Tragedy

Submitted by Hal Tearse on Fri, 01/13/2012 - 01:27. | comments

While Jablonski's injury was, of course, his parent's worst nightmare, and will change his life forever, such injuries are fortunately quite rare in ice hockey but the publicity, in this instance, has prompted calls for the leaders of youth and high school hockey in Minnesota to demand stricter rule enforcement, better coaching, and more severe penalties for dangerous and illegal "hits" that lead to hockey being a sport with one of the highest rates of concussion.

Longtime Minnesota ice hockey coach Hal Tearse talks about how the catastrophic injury suffered by high school hockey player Jack "Jabs" Jablonski and suggests ways to make the sport safer.

Protective Cups, Jock Straps, Supporters: Essential Equipment for Contact and Collision Sports

When your son plays contact or collision sports, there is always the risk of testicular injury. To protect against such injury, boys need to wear a cup.

Advice to Sports Parents: Stress Fun, Building Skills

With the increasing focus in youth sports on success, a sports psychologist and former elite short track cyclist says parents should emphasize practice to play, leaving their expectations at home on game day, and being motivated by a desire to have fun, not achieve results.

Brooke de Lench

Baseline Neurocognitive Testing Before Winter Sports Activities: An Idea Whose Time Has Come?

Submitted by Brooke de Lench on Tue, 01/03/2012 - 15:51. | comments

I remember one time, when my kids were six, going ice skating at a new rink with my sister Drew, her daughter Courtney, and my triplet sons. The excitement of a new rink and lots of kids zipping around provided for a lot of great fun and laughs, but ended, unfortunately, in an accident and a terrifying trip to the hospital, the memory of which is still vivid. Girl lacing up figure skates

Baseline neurocognitive testing in team sports such as hockey, lacrosse and football is increasingly common, but it might be a good idea to have kids tested before they participate in winter sports such as recreational skating, snowboarding or skiing as well.

Brooke de Lench

Top Youth Sports Story of 2011: New Concussion Safety Laws

Submitted by Brooke de Lench on Mon, 01/02/2012 - 19:23. | comments

Every day at MomsTeam the staff talks about the best and worst youth sports stories of the day. Each year we vow to post a Top Ten list, as do our friends at the Positive Coaching Alliance, with their "Top 10 Responsible Sports Moments," or, select the top youth athlete, as the folks do at Sports Illustrated for Kids.

But we realized that selecting ten stories or one kid to highlightt when there are over 50 million kids playing sports in fifty states just isn't possible. The simple fact is that there are thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of "responsible moments" and millions of great young athletes whose spirit, desire to excel, and sportsmanship deserve to be recognized.

The top youth sports story of 2011 had to be the passage by twenty states of strong concussion safety laws, says longtime concussion safety advocate, Brooke de Lench.

Youth Basketball Injuries: Basic First Aid For Minor Injuries

Most injuries in youth basketball are minor and can be treated with simple first-aid. Finger sprains are common, but ankle and knee injuries, especially in Grades 1 through 6, are not. Here's some basic first aid advice from a longtime coach.

Playing Multiple Sports: A Healthy Advantage for Youth Athletes

The overlap between youth sports seasons is only getting worse and the degree to which kids are specializing at ever-earlier ages in a single sport is a troubling trend in youth sports, says one longtime baseball coach and author.

School Lunch Ideas for Busy Families:

With the holidays in full swing on top of our already hectic schedules, eating right and living a healthy lifestyle often seem like overwhelming tasks. A practicing pediatrician, author, and instructor on healthy lifestyles for parents and children offers school lunch ideas to help parents and their kids brave the winter months with gusto.

CHG-Medicated Soap Helps Prevent MRSA Spread: Study

Using soaps medicated with 4 percent chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) is more effective in preventing the spread of community-acquired methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) than non-medicated soaps, says a new study.

MomsTeam Announces Partnership With USA Baseball

MomsTeam.com® CEO/Publisher Brooke de Lench announced today that it is partnering with USA Baseball, the national governing body of amateur baseball in the United States, to provide content to USA Baseball's members.

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