Landon Collins Mom Blog Certainly Got People Talking!

Submitted by Brooke de Lench on Sun, 01/29/2012 - 20:20. | comments

Since my blog on my interview with April Justin last week I have received many emails, tweets, Facebook comments and phone calls with suggestions, comments, questions and advice on all sorts of things, especially on what my blog should be focused on in the future.

The majority of the mail has been positive, congratulating me on taking the time to answer the question many had after watching the Landon Collins video - what was his mother really thinking. Some, of course, has been critical, both for reporting what April Justin told me were her reasons at all, or for the way in which I reported it, or both.

In blogging about the reasons why top college football recruit Landon Collins' mom, April Justin, reacted the way she did to his announcement that he was going to play for the Alabama Crimson Tide, Brooke de Lench wasn't biased in favor of LSU or engaging in poor reporting. She was just telling April's side of the story.

Brooke de Lench

What Landon Collins' Mother Understood That Her Son Didn't Say

Submitted by Brooke de Lench on Thu, 01/26/2012 - 20:47. | comments

The video clip of Landon Collins went viral almost instantly, not to mention setting the blog- and Twitter-sphere ablaze.

There was the nation's top ranked high school safety announcing his decision to attend the University of Alabama during the Under Armour All-America Game three weeks ago, while his mom, April Justin, looked on with a pained expression on her face, shaking her head in disapproval of his choice.

The video of April Justin's disappointment when her son Landon Collins announced his decision to attend the University of Alabama to play football has provoked a mostly negative reaction in the blog- and Twitter-sphere, but perhaps, says Brooke de Lench, there is another side to the story, one which explains why she reacted the way she did.

The Unmarked Detour: Concussion Recovery Helped By Treatments Old and New

Old fashioned Epsom salts (magnesium sulfate) baths and foot soaks were a simple, yet remarkably helpful, therapy in treating her daughter's ongoing symptoms of concussion, says her mom, Dorothy Bedford, while craniosacral therapy, a new offshoot of osteopathic medicine, also helped.

Child Sexual Abuse: The Dark Underbelly Of Youth Sports Culture

The Penn State scandal didn’t occur in youth sports. Yet, it is one of the rare occasions that sex abuse by coaches, which is a major problem in youth sports, got the type of national publicity that allowed the problem to penetrate the public consciousness. The big question is whether we as a sports society are up to the task of doing to more to prevent future abuse.

Are Poor Parenting and Food Choices Behind Spike in Childhood Obesity?

A plurality of Americans think both poor parenting and poor food choices cause childhood obesity, says a new poll.

Hal Tearse

Stiffening Penalties For Violent Hits By Minnesota Hockey League Important Step In Improving Player Safety

Submitted by Hal Tearse on Mon, 01/16/2012 - 05:09. | comments

This past weekend, the MInnesota State High School League took an unprecedented step of changing the rules mid-season, by stiffening the penalties on three of the most violent and dangerous infractions in hockey: checking from behind, boarding and contact to the head will now result in an automatic five-minute "major" against the offending player resulting in ejection and forcing his team to play short-handed for five minutes, regardless of how many times it is scored upon during the ensuing power play.

By stiffening the rules against dangerous play in ice hockey and giving referees less discretion in calling penalties, the Minnesota State High School League has taken an important first step to reduce the number of catastrophic injuries in the sport.

Hal Tearse

Jabs #13: Making Youth Hockey Safer In Wake of Jablonski Tragedy

Submitted by Hal Tearse on Fri, 01/13/2012 - 01:27. | comments

While Jablonski's injury was, of course, his parent's worst nightmare, and will change his life forever, such injuries are fortunately quite rare in ice hockey but the publicity, in this instance, has prompted calls for the leaders of youth and high school hockey in Minnesota to demand stricter rule enforcement, better coaching, and more severe penalties for dangerous and illegal "hits" that lead to hockey being a sport with one of the highest rates of concussion.

Longtime Minnesota ice hockey coach Hal Tearse talks about how the catastrophic injury suffered by high school hockey player Jack "Jabs" Jablonski and suggests ways to make the sport safer.

Barbara Bleiweis

Flagrant Fouls in Basketball: Difficult Call To Make

Submitted by Barbara Bleiweis on Thu, 01/12/2012 - 00:13. | comments

A video recently posted on YouTube (see below) featured footage of a high school basketball team committing six fouls in which the videographer accuses the officials of miscalling the fouls. Like many, he considered any hard foul resulting in the player falling to the court a flagrant foul. Problem is that such contact is not automatically a flagrant foul; it could be an intentional foul, or it could be just a hard, but ordinary, personal foul.

A YouTube video accuses high school basketball officials of failing to call flagrant fouls, but begs more questions than it answers, says one official.

Protective Cups, Jock Straps, Supporters: Essential Equipment for Contact and Collision Sports

When your son plays contact or collision sports, there is always the risk of testicular injury. To protect against such injury, boys need to wear a cup.

NFHS 2011 National Coaches of the Year

Twenty high school coaches from across the country have been selected 2011 National Coaches of the Year by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) Coaches Association.

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