Olympic Cyclist Erin Mirabella: Sports Provide Building Blocks For Future Success

Submitted by May Is Sports Moms Month on Wed, 05/02/2012 - 20:32. | comments

Being the mother of an athlete is a challenging yet rewarding role. At momsTEAM we think sports moms deserve to be honored, not just on the second Sunday in May, but for an entire month. So we have designated May as National Sports Moms Month and invited some veteran sports moms to share their wisdom by responding to a series of questions. We will post a new blog for every day of May, which we hope you will find interesting, empowering, and informative, and that you will share them with your family and friends.

Today we hear from Erin Mirabella, a two-time Olympic track cyclist, stay-at-home mom of three, children's book author and momsTEAM blogger and writer.

A two-time Olympic track cyclist and mother of three pre-schoolers talks about how sports is providing them the building blocks for future success, helping them learn to gracefully handle winning and losing, competition, and develop self-confidence, social skills, and appreciate the value of hard work.

May Is Sports Moms Month

Olympic Gold Medalist Barbara Ann Cochran: Love of Sport, Self-Belief, and Hard Work Can Help Make Dreams Come True

Submitted by May Is Sports Moms Month on Wed, 05/02/2012 - 13:50. | comments

Being the mother of an athlete is a challenging yet rewarding role. At momsTEAM we think sports moms deserve to be honored, not just on the second Sunday in May, but for an entire month. So we have designated May as National Sports Moms Month and invited some veteran sports moms to share their wisdom by responding to a series of questions. We will post a new blog for every day of May, which we hope you will find interesting, empowering, and informative, and that you will share them with your family and friends.

An Olympic skiing gold medalist talks about learning from her daughter that dreams can be achieved if you love what you're doing, believe in yourself, and work hard to improve.

May Is Sports Moms Month

Wella Peirsol Hartig: Mom of 2 Olympic-Level Athletes Advises Parents Not to Pressure Kids To Succeed in Sports

Submitted by May Is Sports Moms Month on Tue, 05/01/2012 - 15:18. | comments

Being the mother of an athlete is a challenging yet rewarding role. At momsTEAM we think sports moms deserve to be honored, not just on the second Sunday in May, but for an entire month. So we have designated May as National Sports Moms Month and invited some veteran sports moms to share their wisdom by responding to a series of questions. We will post a new blog for every day of May, which we hope you will find interesting, empowering, and informative, and that you will share them with your family and friends. Aaron Piersol

The mother of two Olympic-level athletes says that while parents need to watch over their kids to protect them, the biggest mistakes they can make are living vicariously through and put pressure on their children to succeed in sports.

May Is Sports Moms Month

Barbara Bleiweis: Learned Importance of Positive Attitude on Sports Sideline

Submitted by May Is Sports Moms Month on Mon, 04/30/2012 - 15:54. | comments

Being the mother of an athlete is a challenging yet rewarding role. At momsTEAM we think sports moms deserve to be honored, not just on the second Sunday in May, but for an entire month. So we have designated May as National Sports Moms Month and invited some veteran sports moms to share their wisdom by responding to a series of questions. We will post a new blog for every day of May, which we hope you will find interesting, empowering, and informative, and that you will share them with your family and friends.

A working mom of two teenagers, high school basketball official, and youth sports reform advocate says her kids taught her the importance of a positive attitude on the sports sideline and how to let go and move on after a loss.

Five Ways To Support Your Child In Sports

Based upon her experiences as a daughter and mother, a sports psychologist offers five tips for parents to avoid getting caught playing the expectation game in youth sports and to support their kids in positive, constructive ways.

National Youth Sports Safety Month

Hilary Levey Friedman (Sociologist): Picking Teams Based On Player Size Not Age Could Reduce Injuries, Level Playing Field

Submitted by National Youth Sports Safety Month on Mon, 04/09/2012 - 19:08. | comments

In recognition of April as National Youth Sports Safety Month, MomsTeam asked 30 experts two years ago to write a blog answering two questions: first, how or why did they get into their field, and second, how have they made a difference in the life of a youth athlete in the past year. Because the project was a huge success, and because the blogs are timeless (and, as the saying goes, if you haven't seen them before, they are, well, new to you), we are reprising many of them this month.

Today, we hear again from sociologist Hilary Levey Friedman.

By Hilary Levey Friedman

Forming sports teams by size, rather than age or grade, may not only reduce the advantage kids born earlier in the year have over younger teammates (the relative age effect), but the number of injuries.

National Youth Sports Safety Month

Paul Bearmon (Internal Medicine): Fighting For Balance and Fairness in Youth Sports

Submitted by National Youth Sports Safety Month on Mon, 04/09/2012 - 15:19. | comments

In recognition of April as National Youth Sports Safety Month, MomsTeam has asked 30 experts to write a blog answering two questions: first, how or why did they get into their field, and second, how have they made a difference in the life of a youth athlete in the past year.

Today, we hear from Paul Bearmon, a physician in Minnesota and founder of KEAP (Keep 'Em All Playing).

Paul H. Bearmon, MD

A physician tells of how he counsels parents of youth athletes to keep sports in perspective and fights to make youth sports that serves the interests of all children, not just the select few.

Social Media: What A Student-Athlete Posts Online Matters, More Than You May Think

Social media is woven into the fabric and culture of American life, but one ill-advised "Tweet" or Facebook status update could result in a student-athlete's suspension from school or team or even the loss of a college athletic scholarship. Here's what parents can do to help their child protect their online reputation.

Melanie Johnson , M.A.

Controlling Your Inner Coach

Submitted by Melanie Johnson , M.A. on Wed, 03/14/2012 - 20:36. | comments

So now that baseball is in "full swing" I have mixed emotions as a parent. My younger two sons decided after a family meeting not to play as we agreed that football and basketball were enough for the year. We would do some one-on-one instruction to help the 11-year- old pitch better, and for my 8-year-old, just playing catch in the backyard would have to do.

A single mom realizes the need to control her inner coach when she finds herself caught in the age-old battle of the sexes with her son's baseball coach, feeling a need to compete with the coaches for no other reason than they are men and because she had a hard time resisting the thought that, in the back of their minds, they think she is clueless about how to teach her boys how to do the hard stuff like pitching and quarterbacking,

Hal Tearse

Parenting for the Game of Life

Submitted by Hal Tearse on Tue, 03/06/2012 - 05:01. | comments

March is a busy time of year as winter sports wind down and spring/summer sports wind up. This is a time of year where the demands on parents to get kids to their in-season activities and the early sessions of the next season is daunting. Being a parent is hard with all of the pressures that your kids place on you and the pressure to participate non-stop all year-round in almost every sport.

A longtime youth hockey coach advises sports parents to just say no, to place limits on excessive sports, and have their kids spend more time on things that matter more in life in the long run.

Basics