All Articles by Brooke de Lench

My New Year's Resolution for 2012: More Blogging

Last week I was having lunch with a group of national journalists while on a trip to Wahington, when one of them wondered out loud why I didn't do a blog entry every day, especially, she said, since they were so great.

It was nice, of course, to have my blog praised by such a well-known and respected journalist, but more to the point: why don't I write a daily blog?

The answer, I told her, was that I actually do: I spend at least two hours in an average day responding to questions from MomsTeam readers, enough to probably fill three blog posts; but, because I send them via e-mail, they don't technically qualify as blogs (web-log).

Brooke de Lench's New Year's Resolution is to try to post a blog every day based on the best questions she gets via e-mail and her responses. 

Youth Sports Safety Summit: Attending in Dual Role As Advocate, Member of Media

 

The Capital, Washington, D. C.

MomsTeam's continuing mission from the day I launched the site in August 2000 has been to improve the safety of our young athletes and prevent catastrophic injury and death. 

Today, I am excited to be in Washington, D.C. for a one-day Youth Sports Safety Summit hosted by the National Athletic Trainers' Association (NATA). 

Today, I am excited to be in Washington, D.C. for a one-day Youth Sports Safety Summit hosted by the National Athletic Trainers' Association (NATA).  I am attending in a unique and dual capacity, both as a member of the  Youth Sports Safety Alliance and as a member of the media. 

Should Annual Background Checks Be Required For All Adults in Youth Sports?

All adults involved in youth sports over the age of seventeen, including volunteers and paid employees, should pass an annual background check, with no "grandfathering"  or exceptions.

Penn State Sex Abuse Scandal: What Happens When Media Spotlight Fades?

The alleged sexual abuse of boys by a longtime coach at Penn State* has focused media attention once again on the issue.  For the parents of the alleged victims, of course, their worst nightmares have come true. But what could have been done to prevent it? And is the culture of male sports itself at least partially to blame?

The sad fact, as noted in an article by Michael Hartill, a lecturer in the Department of Sport and Physical Activity at Edge Hill University, Ormskirk, Lancashire, England who has studied sexual abuse of boys in sports extensively, is that "the largely unregulated world of children's sport has typically been slow to address the issue of sexual abuse of youth athletes." 

The alleged sexual abuse of boys by a longtime coach at Penn State has focused media attention once again on the issue.  For the parents of the alleged victims, of course, one their worst nightmares has come true. But what could have been done to prevent it? And is the culture of male sports itself at least partially to blame?

Happy Thanksgiving from MomsTeam

As we celebrate Thanksgiving again this year with turkey and football, we at MomsTeam want to thank our experts, our contributors, Board of Advisors, and, most of all, you, our visitors. From the entire Team at MomsTeam, best wishes to you and your families for a wonderful Thanksgiving. 

Welcome to MomsTeam

Whether you are a sports mom, sports dad, coach, team mom, or anyone else involved in youth sports, we are on your team!

Are Parents Who Allow Young Athletes To Play Contact or Collision Sports Guilty of Child Abuse?

As long-time visitors to MomsTeam or readers of my blog and 2006 book, Home Team Advantage, know, I have always taken a somewhat expansive view of what constitutes child abuse in the context of sports. 

Parents who allow their children - particularly elementary school age-children  - to participate in collision sports are not engaging in child abuse simply by letting them play.

Concussion Safety: Past, Present and Future

The other day I was asked in a radio interview what I thought were the biggest recent developments in concussion safety, and what I saw happening in the near future to protect our kids from the dangers of brain injury in contact and collision sports.  Here are the five developments that I view as the most significant, and a seven-point "wish list" for what I hope to see in the not too distant future to make such sports even safer:

The other day I was asked in a radio interview what I thought were biggest recent developments in concussion safety, and what I saw happening in the near future to protect our kids from the dangers of brain injury in contact and collision sports.  Here are the five developments that I view as the most significant, and a seven-point "wish list" for what I hope to see in the not too distant future to make such sports even safer:

Dehydration Constant Concern Regardless of Weather

Contrary to conventional wisdom, a young athlete's need to stay hydrated is a constant regardless of the sports season, Kids can become dehydrated whatever and whenever they play sports, regardless of the temperature or relative humidity.

Impact Indicator: New Tool in Concussion Toolbox

If you are anything like me, worrying about your kids' safety is woven deeply into the fabric of your DNA.  As the mom of  a football player, I know football moms are no exception. No matter how strong we may appear to be on the outside, worry is our constant companion, especially when it comes to injuries, like concussions.

So what's a mom to do? Live with it in anguish? Or do something about it?

More and more moms are choosing, like I have been for more than a decade, to be pro-active about their kids' safety in sports, and, in doing so are turning to an unlikely source - technology - to ease their fears.

More and more moms are choosing, like I have been for more than a decade, to be pro-active about their kids' safety in sports, and, in doing so are turning to an unlikely source - technology - to ease their fears.  One of the new products on the market, to which MomsTeam is proud to give its Seal of Approval. is the Impact Indicator from Battle Sports Science.