Shaquille's Mom Lucille O'Neal Shares Life Lessons

Submitted by Brooke de Lench on Sun, 05/23/2010 - 16:00. | comments

I recently had a chance to interview the mother of NBA star, Shaquille O'Neal, Lucille, whose inspirational book, Walk Like You Have Somewhere to Go (Thomas Nelson 2010), has just been published.

Before I get to the interview, I want to say I loved Lucille's book! It is one of those books you just cannot put down. I'll be the first to admit I do not follow professional basketball enough to know much about her son, Shaquille "Shaq" O'Neal, other than knowing that he is a future Hall of Famer.

Brooke de Lench

Heart Rate Monitors: An Essential Training Partner?

Submitted by Brooke de Lench on Thu, 05/20/2010 - 16:35. | comments

A fitness center catering to women recently opened near my home. As part of its grand opening, the center offered me a free week classes which it claimed would "transform" my body. I told them I was game.

When I arrived for my first class, one of the first things my trainer asked me was whether I had brought a heart rate monitor.

When I said no, that I didn't own one, she told me that I needed to bring a heart monitor to my next session if I wanted to achieve my fitness goals.

Brooke de Lench

Number of Youth Tennis Players Up: USTA's Quick Start, No-Cut Programs Credited

Submitted by Brooke de Lench on Mon, 05/17/2010 - 17:29. | comments

Which youth sport, golf or tennis, is gaining in popularity in recent years, and which is losing? You might be surprised to learn, given their overall public profiles, it is the number of youth tennis players that is up, with participation jumping 43% since 2000 , with the USTA's innovative QuickStart and No-Cut programs credited for the increase.

Reforming Youth Sports: One Mom's Wish List

While Mother's Day may have come and gone, I have a lot to be thankful for: my wonderful, healthy triplet sons of whom I am immensely proud. But, wearing my MomsTeam hat, I also have wishes for all the sports moms out there. My first wish is that, instead of defining competition solely in terms of winning and losing, youth sports could also reflect a mother's belief that, while competition is healthy and necessary, a successful competition is one where all players do their best and respect their teammates, opponents, and the rules.

Brooke de Lench

Homemade Sports Drinks: An Eco-Friendly, Less Costly Alternative?

Submitted by Brooke de Lench on Thu, 05/06/2010 - 16:59. | comments

Baseball catcher drinking water Water has been on my mind a lot lately.

To Nineteen Athletes Dying Young

During the 2003 fall sports season, MomsTeam received numerous e-mails, phone calls and visits with news far exceeding our worst fears about the number of deaths in youth sports.

Brooke de Lench

Athletes' Brains Give Them Edge In Complex Decisionmaking

Submitted by Brooke de Lench on Fri, 04/30/2010 - 19:43. | comments

I have known for a very long time that athletes are better than non-athletes at making quick, complex decisions. I just didn't know why.

Brooke de Lench

New Concussion Rule for High School Wrestling Is A Good Move

Submitted by Brooke de Lench on Fri, 04/23/2010 - 21:51. | comments

Good news on the concussion safety front today from the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Wrestling Rules Committee and the NFHS Board of Directors. Among the four rule changes it approved for the 2010-2011 season was one requiring that wrestlers showing signs, symptoms or behaviors consistent with a concussion be removed immediately from the match and not allowed to return to competition until cleared by an appropriate health-care professional.

Brooke de Lench

Letting Kids Run Practices Increases Fun, Builds Team Spirit

Submitted by Brooke de Lench on Mon, 03/29/2010 - 13:31. | comments

Girls playing lacrosse On Saturday, March 27, the world observed the fourth annual Earth Hour, a global event started by the World Wildlife Fund. During Earth Hour, cities, towns and individual families from around the world were encouraged to turn off all non-essential lights from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m. People in more than 92 countries participated in a global call to action for, and to demonstrate the urgency of, climate change.

Brooke de Lench

New Metal Baseball Bat Commercial Raises Safety Concerns

Submitted by Brooke de Lench on Thu, 03/25/2010 - 15:07. | comments

At this time every year we at MomsTeam get a flood of emails asking the same question: "Why don't they ban metal bats?"

This has been a contentious issue and one which I have been following for years. I have always been on the fence, although leaning in the direction of some common-sense regulation of metal bats to limit the speed at which balls come off the bat.

Ironically, it is a new metal baseball bat commercial that raises safety concerns and has me re-thinking my stance.

Brooke de Lench