As I await tonight's advance screening in Boston of Sony Pictures' movie, Concussion, which opens nationwide on Christmas Day, the polarized debate over football has once again reached a fever pitch.
In contrast to recent battles in the now 110-year war over football MomsTEAM Institute of Youth Sports Safety, the non-profit I have headed for the last fifteen years, is not merely an interested spectator this time around.
That's because Sony Pictures chose the Institute as its partner in its Dance or Donate #ForThePlayers social media campaign; an initiative designed not just to publicize the movie but to promote our 15-year effort to make youth football and all sports safer (which is why the Institute is hosting the Boston screening)
With the Boston advance screening of Concussion tonight and the nationwide release just three days away, MomsTEAM's Executive Director explains why she's not a football apologist, CTE denier, or anti-football zealot but is, and always has been, a pro-safety pragmatist.
For Athletes in Weight-Sensitive Sports: Food for Thought
It's no secret that disordered eating practices are common among weight-conscious athletes. A top sports dietitian has some helpful tips for making weight healthfully.
Prevention, Not Litigation, Should Be Primary Strategy For Youth Sports Concussion
A longtime law professor and youth hockey coach argues that national, state, and local programs designed to prevent concussions are preferable to litigation because they are proactive, not reactive. 40 years, and I coached youth ice hockey for 42 years. My experiences teach me that prevention efforts must remain the primary strategy to meet the youth sports concussion crisis, not litigation. The reason is that prevention is proactive; litigation is mostly reactive.
Last month, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) endorsed efforts to limit contact practices in youth football, but declined to make a clear recommendation in favor of delaying the age at which tackling is introduced. The AAP likewise refused to support those calling for an outright ban on tackling in football for athletes below age 18, unwilling to recommend at this time such a fundamental change in the way the game is played.
As someone who has been working for 15 years to make youth football safer, MomsTEAM's Executive Director was glad to see the nation's largest and most prestigious pediatrics group support so many of the evidence- and expert consensus-based recommendations MomsTEAM has been making to improve the safety of the game.
Traumatic Brain Injury: Lessons Learned From Our Nation's Athletes and Military
Each Veterans Day, the Veterans Clinic at the University of Missouri School of Law holds a symposium exploring a cutting-edge topic important to veterans. This year's day-long symposium, to be held on Wednesday, November 11, 2015, will explore "Traumatic Brain Injury - Lessons Learned From Our Nation's Athletes and Military."
International Safeguards for Children in Sport
SmartTeams
ORIGINALLY POSTED IN HUFFINGTON POST 10/9/15
A longtime advocate for ratification of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child by the United States working to implement the 2014 International Safeguards for Children in Sport, says that the country's failure to ratify the Convention is embarrassing and unacceptable.
Hot Topics in Food and Nutrition: Updates from the Academy of Nutrition & Dietetics
Can a vegetarian athlete get enough protein? What about antibiotics in meat? Do artificial sweeteners cause cancer? These are just a few of the questions that athletes often ask in their quest to eat wisely and consume a quality sports diet. Here are some answers from an expert, based on the latest research.
2015 Sports Nutrition News
Sports nutrition news highlights from the 2015 Annual Meeting of American College of Sports Medicine.
Youth and High School Sports Concussion Cases: Do They Show The Limits of Litigation In Making Sports Safer?
In July 2015, a federal court in San Francisco threw out a suit by youth soccer players challenging the way FIFA and a group of U.S.-based soccer organizations deal with head injuries. A state court in Illinois appears poised to do the same in a suit by football players against the Illinois High School Association saying it hasn't done enough to protect them against the risk of concussions. Two attorneys say the cases may show the limits of litigation as a way to improve concussion safety.
Texas Youth Football and Cheer Program: Ten Ways It Is Walking The Talk On Safety
Submitted by Brooke de Lench on Sat, 08/15/2015 - 14:19. | comments
Cheerleading/Spirit
General Health & Safety
Heat Illness Safety
Heat Stroke - Treatment
Preparticipation Physical Evaluations & Exams (Sports Physicals)
Program Safety
Participation in youth sports in general, and in youth football in particular, is on the decline in some parts of the nation. One of the biggest factors driving the decline is a concern about injuries.
Lots of youth sports programs say they want to improve safety, but how many are actually making the effort to implement best health and safety practices?
Lots of youth sports programs say they want to improve safety, but how many are actually making the effort to implement best health and safety practices? I can't speak for every program, but I know one that is definitely walking the talk: the youth tackle and flag football and cheer program in Grand Prairie, Texas, where I spent the first week of August educating and training kids, parents, coaches, and administrators on ways to make football safer as part of MomsTEAM Institute's SmartTeams| UNICEF International Safeguards of Children in Sports project.