Including More Women Coaches in Youth Sports: Why it Matters

Submitted by Michael Messner on Tue, 02/10/2009 - 21:17. | comments

Next month, millions of kids will retrieve their baseball and softball gloves from the bottoms of drawers or from under their beds. After a trip to the store to get some new cleats (after all, their feet have grown since last summer!), they will take the field for another Little League season. This is a Spring rite for kids, shallowly rooted in recent history, but often deeply rooted in family dynamics. Founded 1938 in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, Little League Baseball expanded rapidly throughout the United States and Canada. By the mid-1950s, Little League Baseball was fully established as a major institution with 4000 leagues in the United States, and further growth into Mexico and other nations.

Prospective women coaches face barriers — mostly informal and unspoken — that divert them away from coaching. Most of the few women who do coach leave after a year or two, after finding the league to be dominated informally by a less-than-supportive “old boys’ network” of coaches. This as a problem that needs to be fixed.

Brooke de Lench

A-Rod's Admission of Steroid Use Another Lesson For Kids That Users Are Just Cheating Themselves

Submitted by Brooke de Lench on Tue, 02/10/2009 - 14:08. | comments

The admission by New York Yankee superstar Alex Rodriguez that he used performance enhancing drugs from 2001 to 2003 while playing for the Texas Rangers is just the latest in a sorry stream of admissions about the use of steroids by current and former Major League Baseball players. President Obama said Rodriquez's confession to ESPN's Peter Gammons "tarnishes an entire era to some degree." He re-stated the obvious when he said that drugs use by sports stars "sent the wrong message to the nation's youth."

Taylor de Lench

You Don't Need to Hear to Play College Football!

Submitted by Taylor de Lench on Thu, 02/05/2009 - 16:51. | comments

"What's the percentage of high school kids that get Division I scholarships? Less than one percent? Now he is a one-percenter, He has an opportunity to not only go play Division I football, but also to have an opportunity to quite possibly open some eyes to what is perceived as a disability but in reality is very much not."-Gallaudet football coach Ed Hottle.

Brooke de Lench

High School Football Coach Charged With Negligent Homicide in Heat-Related Death: A Needed Wake-Up Call?

Submitted by Brooke de Lench on Sat, 01/24/2009 - 18:10. | comments

The news last year that a Kentucky high school football coach was charged with reckless homicide in the heat-related death of 15-year-old Max Gilpin was not a shock to me.*

International Soccer Schools: EduKick Tips for Players Studying Abroad

Submitted by EduKick on Mon, 01/12/2009 - 18:29. | comments

Are you really ready to study abroad at an international soccer boarding school? It's something you've been looking forward to ever since you signed up or thought of registering.

To get the most out of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, EduKick directors recommend making the proper preparations first. Follow these tips to make sure you're ready for your study abroad academic year soccer program, and make sure you get full credit for it.

Deb Vee

Club or High School Sports: Why do I have to choose?

Submitted by Anonymous on Sun, 01/11/2009 - 23:30. | comments

It has only been recently, within the last decade or so, that some high school athletes are choosing to play their favorite sport exclusively for their club team, forgoing the experience of high school competition altogether. The purpose behind this centers on the idea that the training offered through a club atmosphere is needed in order to reach higher competitive levels, and the scholarship that some seek. Whether this is true or not (something I won’t debate here), either choice will bring positives to the table for the high school age athlete.

Bob Bigelow

What's Happening to Our Kids

Submitted by Bob Bigelow on Tue, 01/06/2009 - 21:46. | comments

Youth Sports: A Call to Action & How You Can Help!
by Bob Bigelow - WHAT'S HAPPENING TO OUR KIDS?
Picture the typical youth sports game – a blur of motion and sound. Some parents are busy cheering positively or just chatting among themselves, enjoying the day. Others are prowling the sidelines. The prowlers mean business. These parents become field generals, barking orders and commanding their children to excel.

Brooke de Lench

New Concussion Study Highlights Need For More Education, Stricter Return To Play Guidelines

Submitted by Brooke de Lench on Tue, 01/06/2009 - 19:13. | comments

A new study in the journal Pediatrics contains some good news and bad news.

A new study in the journal Pediatrics contains some good news and bad news about sports concussion safety.

Brooke de Lench

Winter Can Be A Wonderland, But Safety Comes First

Submitted by Brooke de Lench on Mon, 12/22/2008 - 15:21. | comments

Winter wonderland from the office I think I may be doing a lot of writing this winter from my home office, by the looks of it. It seems like just yesterday that I was listening to the hummingbirds three feet away from my desk. Today the snow falls deep, giving me an opportunity to take it slow, and have fun snow shoeing in the winter wonderland.