Concussions in Hockey: A Dark Cloud Hanging Over the Sport With A Simple Solution: Play By The Rules

Submitted by Hal Tearse on Sun, 01/20/2013 - 05:53. | comments

January 19th was a great day for ice hockey in North America with the return of the NHL, and especially in my state, which celebrated our annual "Hockey Day in Minnesota." Today, two high school teams played outdoors on Lake Pokegema in Grand Rapids, Minnesota, the University of Minnesota Golden Gophers mens' hockey team played North Dakota, and then the Minnesota Wild played their season opener - all on TV. Across the state, youth and high school teams were also playing the game they love. But, while it was a day to celebrate hockey, it is also a reminder of the dark cloud that hangs over the game: concussions.

The end of the NHL lockout and the annual Hockey Day in Minnesota should have been cause for celebration, but for a longtime Minnesota high school hockey coach and official the hockey-fest was also a reminder that concussions continue to be a dark cloud hanging over the sport.

Gretchen Rose

Becoming A Basketball Mom Was Tougher Than I Thought!

Submitted by Gretchen Rose on Thu, 01/17/2013 - 18:39. | comments

The New Year has started, which means a new school semester and a new sports season. It is cold and wet outside, so we have taken our sports enthusiasm from the gridiron to the basketball court; a tough transition for a dedicated football mom like me!

That my knowledge of basketball wasn't nearly as deep as my understanding of football was driven home to me, so to speak, during the first week back to school when I picked up my son and four of his classmates after school.

Learning the right lingo to use while cheering on her teenage son at a basketball game proved to be more of a challenge for one dedicated football mom than she thought.

Brooke de Lench

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

Submitted by Brooke de Lench on Tue, 01/01/2013 - 19:46. | comments

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.

Hal Tearse

Putting All Your Eggs In the Hockey Basket: A Recipe For Success Or Failure?

Submitted by Hal Tearse on Tue, 01/01/2013 - 01:23. | comments

When is enough, enough? This is a question parents should be asking themselves as their kids go through the programs in search of the elusive scholarship and maybe a shot at a professional career. Yet with less than 1 percent making it to Division 1 status and fewer to the pros, tens of thousands of parents across the country feel that their ten-year-old kid is somehow the exception to the rule, the "Real Deal."

I know one 16-year-old who has all of the tools to be the "Real Deal" except for one. He is only 5'4" and has not grown for a couple years. But he and his parents are still hoping for a growth spurt. What if he doesn't grow any taller? What then?

When is enough, enough? This is a question parents should be asking themselves as their kids go through junior hockey programs in hopes of winning a college scholarship and perhaps a shot at a professional career.

Hal Tearse

Sex, Drugs, and Cheating In Sports: Is Money At The Heart Of the Problem?

Submitted by Hal Tearse on Sat, 12/15/2012 - 04:49. | comments

With much fanfare and publicity, a Minnesota high school hockey coach recently posted his 500th career win. What the articles about achieving the milestone failed to mention was that he is alleged to have racked up all those wins with the help of players he had recruited, a practice which is prohibited at the high school level in Minnesota. It would seem, however, that only winning matters to most people.

Are an entertainment-driven, winning-at-all-costs society, along with the never-ending quest for money, the root cause of the cheating, lying, alcohol and sexual abuse by coaches and athletes which too often plague today's high school and college sports?

Hal Tearse

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

Submitted by Hal Tearse on Sat, 12/01/2012 - 06:06. | comments

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.

Barbara Bleiweis

Woman Officials: Paying Attention, Not Drawing Attention Is Key to Success

Submitted by Barbara Bleiweis on Tue, 11/27/2012 - 14:31. | comments

Being a woman official who wants to achieve varsity status requires an understanding of the unique challenges and dynamics that may not exist in traditional work environments.

Being a woman basketball official who aspires to work high school varsity games requires a delicate balancing act: working to improve our skills while not drawing attention to our gender or any aspect that negatively influences the perception of our abilities.

Tim Twellman

Giving Back as a Family

Submitted by Tim Twellman on Fri, 11/16/2012 - 17:47. | comments

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?

Brooke de Lench

Seven Days In November: Concussions 24/7

Submitted by Brooke de Lench on Fri, 11/16/2012 - 15:38. | comments

It's been a very busy seven days. Pretty much, all football, all concussions, all the time.

It began with a trip to Washington, D.C. to participate in last Friday's Aspen Institute roundtable on the future of youth and high school football, and back home.

Saturday and Sunday were spent getting the trailer for the new MomsTEAM football documentary, The Smartest Team, uploaded to a new website.

On Monday morning, after sharing my thoughts on Aspen, I turned my attention to preparing for a quick trip to Austin, Texas on Wednesday, where I was the after-dinner speaker at the end of a symposium on concussions put on by Core Health Systems.

It's been a very busy seven days. Pretty much all football, all concussions, all the time. But if there is anything MomsTEAM's Founder and Publisher has learned over the past twelve years of following the advances in our knowledge of concussion, it is that an "all-of-the-above" strategy has the best chance of making the game safer.

Gretchen Rose

Texans Celebrate Thanksgiving With the 4 Fs: Family, Friends, Food, and Football!

Submitted by Gretchen Rose on Tue, 11/13/2012 - 21:50. | comments

The days are getting shorter. The leaves on the trees are turning beautiful shades of burnt orange, maroon, gold and plum. The election season is finally over, too. The temperature has dropped below 80 in Texas. For me, it is the best time of the year. Time to concentrate on the 4 Fs for the remaining weeks of the year: Family, Friends, Food, and, of course, Football.

Bountiful Feast

Pecan pie topped with dollop of whipped cream

Thanksgiving is all about the 4 Fs in Texas. Our turkeys are roasted, unless you are tailgating for the holiday. That bird is deep-fried in a propane cooker on asphalt in the parking lot.

Thanksgiving will be a bit different in Texas this year. While one mom from Dallas says it will still be celebrated with family, friends, food, and football, one tradition will be missing: for the first time in nearly a century, the University of Texas Longhorns won't be playing the Texas A & M Aggies.