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.

Protective Cups: Essential Piece of Sports Safety Equipment

Protective cups and jock straps are worn under an athlete's uniform as part of the base layer of their underwear. The cup is primarily for supporting and protecting a boy's testicles or genitalia. Cups are recommended equipment for just about any sport your son plays which involves a puck, a ball, or possible collision or contact with another player, explains MomsTeam's Brooke de Lench in this informative video.

Buying Mouth Guards

There are three kinds of mouth guards, but, regardless of type, they help prevent injury to the mouth, teeth, lips, cheeks and tongue. But they are also breeding grounds for bacteria, so they should be sanitized daily.

Barbara Bleiweis

Flagrant Fouls in Basketball: Difficult Call To Make

Submitted by Barbara Bleiweis on Thu, 01/12/2012 - 00:13. | comments

A video recently posted on YouTube (see below) featured footage of a high school basketball team committing six fouls in which the videographer accuses the officials of miscalling the fouls. Like many, he considered any hard foul resulting in the player falling to the court a flagrant foul. Problem is that such contact is not automatically a flagrant foul; it could be an intentional foul, or it could be just a hard, but ordinary, personal foul.

A YouTube video accuses high school basketball officials of failing to call flagrant fouls, but begs more questions than it answers, says one official.

Protective Cups, Jock Straps, Supporters: Essential Equipment for Contact and Collision Sports

When your son plays contact or collision sports, there is always the risk of testicular injury. To protect against such injury, boys need to wear a cup.

Barbara Bleiweis

Rules Dictate When an Injured Player Leaves the Court, but Common Sense Should Rule When a Player Returns- But Does It?

Submitted by Barbara Bleiweis on Thu, 12/22/2011 - 19:23. | comments

Player safety as it relates to removal of a player upon sustaining a concussion is receiving much-needed attention by teams, as well as officials. Basketball rules, as set forth by the National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), are clear: the official shall remove a player if he/she is displaying symptoms of a concussion, and the player can return to the game only if/when cleared by a medical professional.

When is it medically okay to return to the basketball court after injury, versus when does it truly makes sense to do so? There's a big difference.

Youth Basketball Injuries: Basic First Aid For Minor Injuries

Most injuries in youth basketball are minor and can be treated with simple first-aid. Finger sprains are common, but ankle and knee injuries, especially in Grades 1 through 6, are not. Here's some basic first aid advice from a longtime coach.

NFHS Launches First Rules Application for Mobile Devices

The National Federation of State High School Associations (NFHS), which has written and published playing rules for high school sports throughout its 91-year history, has released its first rules application for mobile devices for high school basketball.

Good Communication Between Basketball Officials and Coaches Is Key

While basketball officials and coaches don't often see eye to eye, they can agree on one thing: that working together to achieve game flow is not only in their mutual interest, but makes the game more enjoyable for everyone.

Community Basketball League Stresses Three C's

While millions of people worldwide focused this past two weeks on the NBA Finals and superstars like LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Dirk Nowitzki playing the game of basketball with grace and fury for a championship at the highest level, area gyms around the nation will be filled with kids and weekend warriors hooping it up with the same intensity but for completely different reasons. "We play basketball for the three ‘C's,'" explains Jamar Johnson, Chief Commissioner of the Community Basketball Leagues (CBL): competition, comradery and community.

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