Team of Experts

On Sunday, the New England Patriots met their bitter rivals, the New York Jets, for the third time this season, with the winner advancing to the AFC Championship game. The Pats had only lost two games all season, were unbeaten at Gillette Stadium, and were heavy favorites to not only beat the Jets but to go all the way to and win the Super Bowl in Dallas in early February.

But it didn't go according to plan. Bill Belichick's team played poorly, the Jets played well, and the result was a shocking 28-21 loss by New England to Rex Ryan's Jets.

As painful as the loss has been for Pats fans, it nevertheless provides a great "teachable moment" for parents to talk about with their young athletes around the dinner table.

Sometimes you need other people to convey to your teen a message that they might not listen to if it comes from a parent. Its not always that you can't say it, it's just that you don't have the credibility to say it. You need to find another way. You need to find another person sometimes. Sometimes, it's a movie that can get the message across.

"The Fighter" is such a movie, featuring a riveting performance by Mark Wahlberg, the rapper turned amazing actor.  Like the heroes Wahlberg most likely needed as role models to change his life, he brings to the screen the struggle of an ordinary person doing something extraordinary: getting up off the canvas when he's been knocked down.

To address the discrimination in athletics that girls still face in high schools across the country the National Women's Law Center has launched the "Rally for Girls' Sports: She'll Win More Than a Game" campaign. As part of the campaign, I was invited to participate and to write a blog about the advantages of athletics participation and how it has affected me in my life by answering the question, "What did you win by playing sports?"

As those who have read my articles and blogs on MomsTeam.com, heard me speak around the country, on radio or television, or read my op eds or book, Home Team Advantage, know, I have often used personal stories from my past in my work advocating for safer, saner, less stressful and more inclusive youth sports.