Team of Experts

There are many factors for a parent and an aspiring young female athlete to consider when deciding whether she should play on a boys' team. Is she pretty adept at the fundamentals? Are her skills on equal footing with the boys? Does she thrive on the competition? Is the coach gender-blind - giving equal opportunities to every one? Is it an environment where masculinity and femininity are not questioned? If you can answer yes -- then let her play!

Parents of elite athletes face special challenges. No matter what sport they play, elite athletes' goals require a commitment that is by its very nature all-consuming, and parents' involvement is ratcheted up to the point of often swamping other concerns or projects involving their child. Parents needs answers to questions such as is the financial sacrifice worth the outcome, and what is the effect, positive and negative, of allowing a young athlete to aspire to elite status on the athlete, her parents, and her family?

Sooner or later, as the parent of a star athlete, you are going to hear about the "edge" your child supposedly has over the competition for college admission. Whether the end of the rainbow holds a pot-of-gold scholarship from a Division I school or admission to an Ivy League college, sports success carries more weight, on average, in college admissions and non-need-based scholarship awards than being the son or daughter of an alumnus/ae or a member of a minority.

The first right of parents under the Parent's Concussion Bill of Rights is to the right to expect that their child's athletic program will hold a concussion education and safety meeting for parents and athletes before every season. This is because the best way to ensure that athletes who suffer concussions playing sports have the best possible outcome in both the short and long term is to educate them and their parents about the importance of self-reporting and the parent's role in the critical return to play decision.

Women and girls are more prone to ACL injuries than men and boys but the risk can be reduced if athletes perform warm-up, stretching, strengthening, plyometric, and sport-specific agility exercises before sports.

I believe we all want to be good parents. We encourage our children's participation in sports because we believe they (and us) benefit through their involvement in the group experience. We want to believe that our attendance and support helps our children play better on the field. Most of us want what is best for our children on the athletic field. We want a positive environment that teaches the values of positive sportsmanship.