All Articles by Brooke de Lench

SmartTeams Play Safe Summit, Pilot Programs, And "The Today Show" : It Was Quite The Week!

Today, I begin my blog again after taking the full summer off from writing.

The reason for my summer hiatus, at least from blogging, wasn't that I was relaxing on the beach or by the pool (oh, if only). 

No, it was because I was at my desk at MomsTEAM Institute working hard on two major initiatives: our inaugural SmartTeams Play Safe Summit at Harvard Medical School, and the launch of our six SmartTeam pilot projects.Brooke de Lench and Coach Bobby Hosea at Smart Teams Play Safe Summit

Today, Brooke de Lench begins blogging again after a summer off while she worked on two major initiatives: MomsTEAM Institute's inaugural SmartTeams Play Safe Summit at Harvard Medical School, and the launch of six SmartTeam pilot programs.

Concussion Education Best Practices: A Parent's Checklist

Virtually every state in the country now requires that parents and players receive some basic concussion safety information as a condition to participation. Here's a checklist of what experts say all parents need to know.

NOCSAE Meeting: Lots Of Questions, But No Answers

Last Friday, I attended the summer meeting of the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE) at the Boston Harbor Hotel. It was hard to be inside on such a spectacular summer day, but made easier by the location of the meeting: in the Atlantic Room, directly above Rowe's Wharf, with a view of a sparkling Boston harbor filled with sailboats and power boats. Boston harbor skyline with Rowes Warf

The summer meeting of the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE) was held in a room overlooking Boston harbor, but the view was about the only thing that made it worth attending, says Brooke de Lench.

More Than International, Federal and State Laws Needed To Keep Kids Safe Playing Sports

This week and last, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Child is meeting to review the progress made under provisions of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. 194 nations will participate, except for three, which have yet to ratify the CRC: Somalia, South Sudan, and the United States.*Convention on Rights of the Child @ 25 poster

With the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Child meeting to review the progress made under provisions of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), MomsTEAM's Brooke de Lench talks about the importance, not of just laws and treaties, in keeping kids safe playing sports, but of voluntary safety programs, such as the SmartTeam program being developed for introduction in Fall 2014.

How to Improve Youth Sports Safety: Focus On Protecting The Whole Child

As a woman and mother fighting to keep kids safe playing sports for the past twenty-five years, MomsTEAM Founder, Brooke de Lench, knows that, just as it takes a village to raise a child, it takes the involvement of every youth sports stakeholder to protect children at play from abuse, not just physical abuse, but emotional, psychological and sexual, and from sports injuries, many of which are preventable.

Six Years After: Concussion Risk Management Still A Work In Progress

 

It is hard believe that it has now been six years since I gave the keynote address at the National Sports Concussion Summit in Marina del Rey, California. Harder, yet to think we have been leading this charge since 2000.

Preventing Youth Sports Injuries Begins Before First Practice

For the past 14 years, MomsTEAM has been working to educate parents on ways to keep their kids safe playing sports. One of the best ways to improve youth sports safety is to take steps to prevent injuries before the first practice.  Here's a checklist developed by the National Athletic Trainers' Association of 15 questions parents should ask their child's school or sports programs before they take them to their first practice, with links to related MomsTEAM content.

17th Annual Mother's Day Wish List from Brooke de Lench

It's Mothers Day once again. Time for spring sports, warmer weather, longer days, planting gardens, and, of course, watching kids play sports. Each year for the past seventeen years, MomsTEAM has published my Mother's Day Wish list. As you will see, many of the wishes on this year's list will look very familiar to long-time visitors. But a couple are brand spanking new:

Every year for the past 17 years, MomsTEAM Founder Brooke de Lench has issued a Mother's Day wish list. Here's this year's list.

On The Road Again: A Report From The Concussion Summit Trail

 

For those of you wondering where I have been lately, I have been taking a break from blogging and writing because of a heavy speaking and consulting schedule, because I have been busy working on updating our documentary, "The Smartest Team: Making High School Football Safer" with new edits and information in time for broadcast in the summer and fall 2014, and because  I have been preoccupied with getting our new 501(c)(3) non-profit, MomsTEAM Institute, off to a good start.

Brooke has been taking a break from blogging and writing because of a heavy speaking and consulting schedule, and to work on updating the PBS documentary, "The Smartest Team: Making High School Football Safer" with new edits and information in time for broadcast in the summer and fall 2014, and because she has been hard at work getting her new 501(c)(3) non-profit, MomsTEAM Institute, off to a good start.

Early Sport Specialization: Some Benefits, But Many Drawbacks

The trend towards early specialization in youth sports seems to be accelerating, despite strong evidence that it is not necessary to achieve elite athlete status. To separate fact from fiction, here are answers to three of the most frequently asked questions about early sport specialization.