Basketball

With basketball season beginning around the country, now is the perfect time to consider whether small-sided or 3 on 3 basketball is a better way for elementary school players to play and learn the game.

Girls who play sports more than 8 hours per week are twice as likely as their less active peers to suffer a stress fracture, a new study finds. Most at risk were those engaged in three activities (running, basketball and cheerleading/gymnastics) which involve repeated jumping and landing which place particuarly high stress on bone, with the risk of injury increasing about 8 percent for each extra hour of activity over four per week.

Finding ways to keep kids playing and making programs more fun are seen by coaches, administrators and volunteers as the best ways to improve the youth basketball experience in a survey conducted by youth basketball expert and reform advocate, Bob Bigelow.

Teaching basketball to younger kids (e.g. from kindergarten to 8th grade) can be a rewarding but challenging experience for any coach. Teaching coaches how to coach such youngsters is likewise a challenge, but the key is keep it fun, and keep them moving!

Concussion rates in thirteen high school sports from 1998 to 2008, as reported in three separate studies, vary widely by sport and, in some cases, by gender.

Skin infections in athletes, including community-associated methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (CA-MRSA), are extremely common.  The nature of athletics, which expose the skin to a wide variety of stresses, trauma, environmental factors, and infectious agents, all combine to continually attack the integrity of the skin and lead to considerable disruption to individual and team activities.  A new position statement by the National Athletic Trainers' Association, says that recognition of skin diseases is absolutely essential, particularly by certified athletic trainers, who "represent the first line of defense against spread of infections to other team members."

Recommendations for youth basketball programs on equipment, court size and the number of players depending on age group from leading youth basketball expert, Bob Bigelow.

Among the high school basketball rule changes recently approved for the 2010-11 season by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS)  are those promoting good sportsmanship.