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Drinking On A Schedule Not The Same As Encouraging Young Athletes To Over-Drink, Experts Say

A recent article in the New York Times expresses one expert's concern that coaches and parents who press young athletes to drink fluids before, during, and after a practice, whether the athletes feel thirsty or not, may be putting young athletes at risk of drinking too much water, which can result in a dangerous, life-threatening condition called hyponatremia. We wondered what other experts felt about the article's advice, so we asked three of our go-to hydration experts for their thoughts.

Repetitive Head Impacts Damage The Brain: A 'No Brainer,' Purdue Researchers Find

Research by scientists at Purdue goes a long way to eliminating any remaining doubt that repetitive head impacts, such as sustained by players in American football, result in brain abnormalities and impaired neurocognitive functioning during a football season, and that those effects persist long after the season.

Purdue Study First To Find Subtle Cognitive Deficits In High School Football Players From Repetitive Head Impacts

A 2010 study by researchers at Purdue University was the first to report that football players who displayed no clinically-observable signs of concussion, nevertheless showed measurable impairment of neurocognitive function (primarily visual working memory) on neurocognitive tests, as well as altered activation in neurophysiologic function on sophisticated brain imaging tests (fMRI).

Saying Most Kids Aren't Dehydrated Not The Same As Saying Dehydration Not A Concern For Youth Athletes

It may be a myth that people need to drink 8 glasses of water a day, and that most kids are dehydrated, but, says a sports hydration expert, that isn't the same as saying dehydration isn't a concern for kids playing sports.

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

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.

Selecting and Fitting Footwear for Fall Sports

As the summer wanes and the school year approaches, it's time to start thinking about your child's footwear for fall sports. A quick look in the closet to see what's already there won't do, because it's very likely that your child's feet have changed since your last purchase.

Power of the Permit: Improving Youth Sports Safety One Municipality at a Time

 

If you are involved in a private youth sports program which plays on publicly-owned fields, diamonds, rinks, or courts, or are in local government, you have probably been hearing a lot lately about what is being dubbed the "power of the permit": the authority municipalities and towns around the country are using to condition use of their athletic facilities by private programs on compliance with state concussion safety laws from which they would otherwise be exempt, or, in an increasing number of instances, to fill gaps in their state's law.

A growing number of municipalities are using the power of the permit to require private sports programs to comply with state-mandated concussion safety laws, or impose additional conditions beyond those required by state law, but, as MomsTEAM Institute Executive Director explains, it isn't an isolated or new phenomenon. It's been a growing trend for years.

Preparticipation Sports Physicals: Not Foolproof

While athletes should undergo regular preparticipation sports physical, parents need to understand that they are limited in their ability to detect all serious or life-threatening medical conditions, and, as a result, a "normal" evaluation does not imply absence of risk.

MomsTeam Awarded NCAA-DOD Mind Matters Challenge Educational Grant

On July 15, the NCAA and Department of Defense (DOD) announced the selection of MomsTeam Youth Sports Safety Institute as a recipient of a Mind Matters Challenge grant for our application, Creating a Safe Concussion Reporting Environment: A Multi-Media Approach.

The NCAA and Department of Defense (DOD) have selected MomsTeam Youth Sports Safety Institute as one of six winners of a Mind Matters Challenge grant for our application, Creating a Safe Concussion Reporting Environment: A Multi-Media Approach.
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