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Charlie Brown Teaches Us All Life Lessons Through Sports

Somehow I missed the Facebook message to post a picture of your favorite cartoon character. Or, perhaps the message was which cartoon character are you most like? I will pick the former.

So, Charlie Brown gets my vote.

Moms Speaking Up for Sports Safety Should Be Applauded, Not Dismissed

There is a battle brewing at Laguna Beach High School in California. It involves protecting the safety of kids during sports, so you know which side I fall on. This is no different than hundreds of stories from across the country that that I get sent each month, but this caught my attention because it talked about a Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) infection which is a potentially fatal bacterium that too few sports parents know much about.  Artifiical turf end zone

Thanksgiving Blessings: Foundation Gives Malawi Youth Chance To Play Sports, Get Education

Most American youth playing sports these days are lucky enough to play on well-maintained fields and with the best and latest sports gear.  Children in the southeast African nation of Malawi, among the world's least developed and most densely populated countries, aren't so fortunate.  Malawan children face many adversities, including poverty, disease, and low life expectancies.  Opportunities to play sports, much less with the right equipment, are few and far between.Kalekeni Banda and children of Chituka, Malawi

 

Procrastinating On a Large Project? Think Lke a Beaver!

Before I began writing my youth sports parenting book, Home Team Advantage, a close friend - who was herself  the author of four bestselling books - gave me a short book called Bird by Bird: Some Instructions on Writing and Life by by Anne Lamott.

No Bull: Sports Drinks Fuel Young Athletes Playing Team Sports

Sometimes you just can't believe what you read online or in the newspaper.

You may have seen the headlines or heard the buzz:  "Energy Drinks May Give Young Sports Teams An Edge, Study Says" trumpeted one; "Energy drinks boost stamina, enhance performance of young team players," said another.

Time to rush out to the nearest supermarket to stock up on energy drinks for your young athlete. Right?

A Scottish study shows that sports drinks, consumed right before and at 15-minute
intervals during prolonged stop-and-go team sports such as soccer,
football, ice hockey, basketball, volleyball, and lacrosse, actually help young athletes play better, longer.

Sexual Abuse in Sport: The Problem No One Wants To Talk About

On July 12, UNICEF's Innocenti Research Center in Florence, Italy released an important report on violence against children in sport in industrialized countries, including the United States.

The report found a troubling lack of awareness of and education on child protection issues among youth sports coaches, parents, and other stakeholders. To combat the problem it recommends improvements in data collection and knowledge generation about violence to children in sport, development of structures and systems for eliminating and preventing such violence (including promotion of ethical guidelines and codes of conduct), and education, awareness-raising and training.

Finding Sports and Family Balance: A Progress Report

An important part of our mission at MomsTeam the past ten years has been to advocate for more balance between sports and family. It is a cause to which I have been deeply committed for many years, so much so that I devoted an entire chapter in my book, Home Team Advantage, to the subject.

Bill Would End Corporal Punishment in School Sports

Sad basketball player in locker roomA bill pending in the Congress would ban corporal punishment in school sports, ending the spanking, paddling and physical punishment many states permit at the hands of teachers and coaches.

Article Exposes Flaws In Way American Youth Sports System Develops Talent

A piece by Michael Sokolove called "How a Soccer Star is Made" in the New York Times Magazine  is a must-read article for sports parents, not just for the fascinating glimpse it provides into the way a famous Dutch soccer club grooms athletes for pro careers but because it exposes serious flaws in the way the American youth sports system develops talent.

Shaquille's Mom Lucille O'Neal Shares Life Lessons

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.

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