All Articles by Brooke de Lench

Packing for Sports Camp: Tips to Make Sure Your Child is Prepared

Making sure you pack everything your child will need sports camp this summer can be a challenge. Luckily, there are some tried-and-true items that you can send to camp with your children to ensure they are prepared for almost anything. In addition to packing all the sports equipment your child will need, here's a head-to-toe summer camp packing list.

Brooke de Lench

Article Exposes Flaws In Way American Youth Sports System Develops Talent

Submitted by Brooke de Lench on Fri, 06/04/2010 - 19:19. | comments

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.

What Gift To Buy For Your Child's Coach

With the end of another sports season, comes the inevitable question for youth sports parents: what gift to buy for their child's coach. Selecting the right end-of-season coach's gift involves a number of considerations.

Brooke de Lench

Shaquille's Mom Lucille O'Neal Shares Life Lessons

Submitted by Brooke de Lench on Sun, 05/23/2010 - 16:00. | comments

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.

Brooke de Lench

Heart Rate Monitors: An Essential Training Partner?

Submitted by Brooke de Lench on Thu, 05/20/2010 - 16:35. | comments

A fitness center catering to women recently opened near my home. As part of its grand opening, the center offered me a free week classes which it claimed would "transform" my body. I told them I was game.

When I arrived for my first class, one of the first things my trainer asked me was whether I had brought a heart rate monitor.

When I said no, that I didn't own one, she told me that I needed to bring a heart monitor to my next session if I wanted to achieve my fitness goals.

Brooke de Lench

Bike to Work Week: Every Week is Bike to Work Week for Me

Submitted by Brooke de Lench on Tue, 05/18/2010 - 13:14. | comments

The League of American Bicyclists is promoting Bike to Work Week 2014 from May 12-16, with Friday, May 16 designated as Bike to Work Day.

For me, every week is bike to work week. Four years ago, I made a major lifestyle change when I bought a commuter bike, helmet and loc May is National Bike Month poster k at the local bike shop. At the same time, I moved the MomsTeam offices closer to my home so I could get to work under my own power and eliminate an hour of commuting (and all the gas and carbon monoxide that driving involves).

The League of American Bicyclists is promoting Bike to Work Week 2014
from May 12-16, with Friday, May 16 designated as Bike to Work Day, but for MomsTEAM's Founder, every week is bike to work week.

Brooke de Lench

Number of Youth Tennis Players Up: USTA's Quick Start, No-Cut Programs Credited

Submitted by Brooke de Lench on Mon, 05/17/2010 - 17:29. | comments

Which youth sport, golf or tennis, is gaining in popularity in recent years, and which is losing? You might be surprised to learn, given their overall public profiles, it is the number of youth tennis players that is up, with participation jumping 43% since 2000 , with the USTA's innovative QuickStart and No-Cut programs credited for the increase.

Reforming Youth Sports: One Mom's Wish List

While Mother's Day may have come and gone, I have a lot to be thankful for: my wonderful, healthy triplet sons of whom I am immensely proud. But, wearing my MomsTeam hat, I also have wishes for all the sports moms out there. My first wish is that, instead of defining competition solely in terms of winning and losing, youth sports could also reflect a mother's belief that, while competition is healthy and necessary, a successful competition is one where all players do their best and respect their teammates, opponents, and the rules.

A Mothers Day Gift For Each Of Us

"When it gets dark enough, you can see the stars." --Lee Salk

There are many compassionate and courageous mothers who have taken the above quote by eminent child and family psychologist, Dr. Lee Salk, and given it dual meaning. Two of these mothers, Karen Acompora and Rachel Moyer, have taken their darkest moments and turned the tiny points of light in their "darkened sky" into super novas for all of us to experience.

Brooke de Lench