Soccer

Soccer players across the country will be safer thanks to a national public awareness initiative focusing on safe soccer goals called Anchored for Safety started by the family of Zachary Tran, a six-year-old who was killed when an unanchored goal fell on him in 2003, who created the initiative to prevent tragedies like Zachary's from happening again. "If only we had known the dangers of unsafe goals, we would have been vigilant in keeping our kids away from them. We didn't know," stated Michelle Tran, Zachary's mother and initiative co-founder.

Tunnel vision is the state where a parent loses his or her ability to see the whole picture of the youth sports contest they are watching. Instead of being able to think about different alternatives for handling a situation based upon experience and good judgment, the parent starts to think there are only a few ways to respond the intensity of the moment. Tunnel vision often causes parents to take a difficult situation personally and believe they have to respond forcefully to defend their honor, or the honor of their team or family.

Because the mid-sole material of an athletic shoe takes a pounding and eventually loses its ability to provide your child's foot with adequate support or cushioning, experts, such as Dr. Michael Lowe, past President of the American Academy of Podiatric Sports Medicine, and long time team podiatrist of the NBA's Utah Jazz, recommend periodic replacement of athletic shoes, even if the bottom sole shows no sign of excessive wear.

One of the great things about youth soccer is that it isn't an expensive sport. Here what your child will need...

Soccer Cleats are specifically designed for use on a soccer field and can be changed depending on conditions. Cleat types include molded cleats, detachable cleats, indoor soccer shoes and turf shoes:

Many of the more than 477,500 youth soccer injuries serious enough to require treatment in hospitals, doctors' offices, clinics, ambulatory surgery centers and
hospital emergency rooms are preventable. Here are some prevention tips.

Several years ago, my triplet sons tried out for the travel soccer club in our town. Two of my sons were wait-listed for no apparent reason, along with over sixty other boys who had previously been in the program.