Home » concussions

concussions

MomsTEAM Releases "The Smartest Team: Making High School Football Safer" Documentary

"The Smartest Team" is an hour-long documentary designed to help high school football programs and athletes play safer and smarter. It is produced and directed by visionary youth sports parenting expert and author, Brooke de Lench

“The Smartest Team: Making High School Football Safer” Screening at The Micheli Center June 26th

The Micheli Center for Sports Injury Prevention will be hosting a free screening of the just released documentary, "The Smartest Team," on Wednesday, June 26th at 6:00 p.m. Dr. William P. Meehan, III, Director of The Micheli Center for Sports Injury Prevention, and Brooke deLench, Founder of Moms TEAM, will be on hand after the screening to answer questions parents, coaches and athletes have about the making of the film or about concussions in general.

Newcastle-Moore, Oklahoma Tornado Hit Close To Home

Two things have weighed heavily on my mind the past two weeks: the tornadoes that have ravaged the Oklahoma City area, and the professional and amateur storm chasers who risk their lives to follow them.  

On May 20, 2013, as I watched coverage of the EF-5 Newcastle-Moore tornado on CNN, I was worried about the football community in Newcastle, a town I had grown to know, respect and appreciate over the 8 months I spent visiting last year while producing and directing The Smartest Team documentary.  

Two things have weighed heavily on Brooke de Lench's mind the past two weeks: the Newcastle-Moore tornado that ravaged the Oklahoma City area, and the professional and amateur storm chasers who risk their lives to follow them.

Watching "The Smartest Team" Documentary: A 3-Day Test of Endurance, But Worth The Effort

I was thrilled to get my copy of "The Smartest Team." This great documentary is the creation of MomsTEAM founder Brooke de Lench, who clearly has a great interest in concussion prevention in sports - especially football. Having had a concussion as a child, I know all too well about the pain, the setbacks, and the long road it sometimes take to recovery. I had to relearn the multiplication tables for 6s and 7s in 5th grade! I was mortified. To this day I have trouble with 6x8=48!Gretchen Rose and son

A football mom from Texas was thrilled to get her copy of "The Smartest Team" and couldn't wait to watch it with her son and his football buddies. While the short attention span of 12-year-old boys meant that it would end up being a three-day test of endurance, it proved to be a very educational experience.

Double Digit Decline In Youth Sports Injuries Over Last Decade, New Study Finds

There is good news and bad news on the youth sports injury front. The good news is that sports and recreation musculoskeletal injuries declined 12.4 percent in the U.S. over the past 10 years for children ages 5 to 14 years. The bad news: injuries in football and soccer went up, says a new study.

Youth Sports Safety: By The Numbers

A helpful compilation of statistics on concussions, exercise-induced asthma, exertional heat illness, sudden cardiac arrest, exertional sickling, use of steroids and dietary supplements, and cervical spine injury collected by the National Athletic Trainers' Association.

MomsTEAM's 2012 Year In Review: Another Year For Finding Solutions, Not Just Identifying Problems


Yesterday, the last day of what has been a very long, yet rewarding year as the publisher of MomsTEAM, I took some time to read many of the blog entries that I and our other bloggers contributed during the past year, and reviewing 365 days of Facebook and Twitter posts.

First, a confession: I began 2012 vowing to write a blog every day. Like many who make New Year's resolutions, I started out with the best of intentions, and kept up a pretty good pace in the first month or so of the year, but then a major opportunity presented itself - a plea for help from a football mom in Oklahoma - that made a daily blog no longer possible. (More about that in a moment)

In reviewing the past twelve months and looking forward to 2013, MomsTEAM's Founder and Publisher has a renewed sense of purpose to meet the challenge of making youth sports saner, safer, less stressful and more inclusive.

Extending Body Checking Ban To Age 14 and Stricter Rules Enforcement: The Wrong Approach?

Just a couple years ago USA Hockey banned body checking at the Pee Wee (12 and under) level, based in part on evidence that the risks of concussion and other serious injury resulting from body checking was simply unacceptable.  The primary reason USA Hockey made the change, however, was to promote skill development at an age where kids are still developing, and because that development was being hindered by aggressive play intended to intimidate opponents and a winning-at-all-costs mentality.  In making the rule change, USA Hockey assumed that all kids play because they want to develop their skills.  I think that the majority simply want to play.

Will extending the ban on body checking in hockey to age 14 and better rules enforcement make the game safer? Perhaps we need to take a different approach, argues a longtime youth hockey official.

Giving Back as a Family

The sport of soccer has given our family so much over the years. When I actually look back at the 35 years I have been married soccer has always been part of our daily lives.

From my college education, to my career as a professional player, to my current career directing Twellman Soccer, this sport has always been part of my life.

The same is true for my three kids. From their education to their careers to their love of the game soccer has always
and continues to be part of their lives.

The love of the sport has and will always be present but now our focus has changed.

Are we listening to the injured athlete?

NFHS Response to AAP Statement on Cheerleading Injuries

In a written response to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) release of a Position Statement with guidelines to help prevent cheerleading injuries, the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS) stated that it agreed with many of the recommendations and pointed to its efforts over more than 20 years to minimize risk for high school cheerleaders.
Syndicate content