Chris Borland Retirement Decision: 3 Lessons for Sports Parents (Full Blog)

Submitted by Brooke de Lench on Fri, 03/20/2015 - 20:45. | comments

The decision by San Francisco 49er Chris Borland to retire from the NFL after just one season out of concern for the long-term effect of head trauma has predictably generated a media firestorm. But lost amid the hoopla is what it means for sports parents.

Here are two lessons I think parents with kids playing -- or considering playing -- football or other contact and collision sports can take away from the Borland retirement, and one lesson they shouldn't take away:

The decision by San Francisco 49er Chris Borland to retire from the NFL after just one season out of concern for the long-term effect of head trauma has predictably generated a media firestorm. But lost amid the hoopla is what it means for sports parents. Here are two lessons, parents with kids playing -- or considering playing -- football or other contact and collision sports can take away from the Borland retirement, and one lesson they shouldn't take away.

Preventing and Treating Common Skin Conditions Among Athletes

No matter the sport, athletes are prone to five dermatologic issues: blisters, turf burns, athlete's foot, acne mechanica and exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light. Here are some prevention and treatment tips from a dermatologist.

Ben Utecht Joins MomsTEAM Institute Board of Directors

MomsTEAM Institute's Executive Director, Brooke de Lench, announced today the election of Ben Utecht to the Institute's Board of Directors. A former NFL tight end and Super Bowl champion whose career was cut short by a fifth diagnosed concussion, Utecht has become a passionate and tireless advocate for raising awareness about sports-related concussions, and for supporting research about concussion and traumatic brain injury.

Brooke de Lench

Impact Sensors: One Step Forward, Two Steps Back

Submitted by Brooke de Lench on Mon, 02/23/2015 - 22:06. | comments

If you follow the subject of sports-related concussions, you've probably seen a flurry of news on the subject of impact sensors in the last couple of weeks. As someone who has been writing about and beta testing impact sensors for the past five years, I have, of course, been monitoring developments, too.

The subject of impact sensors has been in the news a lot in the last couple of weeks. As someone who has been writing about and beta testing impact sensors for the past five years, Brooke de Lench weighs in on the controversy.

UNICEF UK Names MomsTEAM Institute Pioneer Organization For U.S. Implementation of Int'l Safeguards for Children In Sport

MomsTEAM Insitute is among a select group of 40 sport and development organizations from across the globe working with UNICEF UK to further develop, implement and test a new set of International Safeguards for Children in Sport.

New Study Claims Strict Rest After Concussion May Not Speed Recovery

Strict physical and cognitive rest in the five days immediately after concussion does not help teens recover more quickly than taking it easy for one to two days after injury and then returning to school, finds a new study.

Illinois Concussion Class Action Lawsuit: More Questions Than Answers

A longtime high school sports administrator argues that the Illinois high school concussion class action lawsuit raises many questions that shouldn't be decided by the first lawyer to get to the courthouse but only after careful consideration by state legislatures and high school sports administrators of all the issues arising from concussions and other aspects of athlete safety.

SmartTeams Talk Short: "Buy In " Needed From Coaches To Improve Sports Injury Prevention Says Nationwide Children's MacDonald

A leading pediatric sports medicine specialist says a better job needs to be done to get high school and youth coaches to "buy into" injury prevention, through increased education, physical follow-up, and providing web-based monitoring.

SmartTeams™ Talks: Pilot Coordinators Discuss SmartTeams Program

SmartTeams™ Talks: Dr. Tamara Valovich McLeod Introduces The SmartTeams Program

Tamara C. Valovich McLeod, Ph.D., ATC, FNATA, Chair of the Sports Medicine and Athletic Training Program at A.T. Still University, provides an overview of the SmartTeams program which implemented best youth sports health and safety practices in six pilot programs around the country in the fall of 2014.

Health & Safety