Charlie Brown Teaches Us All Life Lessons Through Sports

Submitted by Brooke de Lench on Sun, 12/05/2010 - 16:53. | comments

Somehow I missed the Facebook message to post a picture of your favorite cartoon character. Or, perhaps the message was which cartoon character are you most like? I will pick the former.

So, Charlie Brown gets my vote.

Brooke de Lench

Moms Speaking Up for Sports Safety Should Be Applauded, Not Dismissed

Submitted by Brooke de Lench on Fri, 12/03/2010 - 15:05. | comments

There is a battle brewing at Laguna Beach High School in California. It involves protecting the safety of kids during sports, so you know which side I fall on. This is no different than hundreds of stories from across the country that that I get sent each month, but this caught my attention because it talked about a Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus (MRSA) infection which is a potentially fatal bacterium that too few sports parents know much about. Artifiical turf end zone

Youth Sports Hero of the Month: Reid Paswall (Somers, New York)

Varsity wrestler Reid Paswall had an idea. In November 2009, with the team's opening match only days away, he approached the Somers (NY) High School athletic director to suggest that the captains for the opener be two classmates who were not even team members. The two -- Adam Stein and Matthew Moriarty -- were special-needs students with Down syndrome. "I thought," Paswall (in red singlet in photo) told the athletic director, "that we can have our special-needs kids go out and shake the other team's captain's hands, and . . . represent Somers."

High School and Youth Sports Reform

Submitted by Rick Collins on Fri, 11/19/2010 - 21:36. | comments

One question out there is whether we should maintain our present athletic budgets in public schools if the educational mission of the school is no longer being served by high school sports. If schools require athletic participation, it can be argued that the school's mission can best be fulfilled. However, how many public schools require this kind of participation? My observations of the youth sports landscape is that it is elite in nature so only a handful of kids are left after they have been weeded out by youth sports boards and coaches. By definition, the public high school athletic landscape is elite.

Getting Your Teen Moving: A Great First Step!

Obesity is one of the most preventable medical causes of disease among teens. It leads to the increase in early onset diabetes with all of its complications, not to mention the complications of obesity itself. One of the best ways to prevent teenage obesity is with diet and exercise. We know the chances of teens becoming an overweight or obese adult are high, so the time to do something, if it has not already been done, is in high school.

Commercial Sports Foods: Clearing Up the Confusion

Have you have ever wondered which is the best sports drink, energy bar, or gel? The answer is the best choice is the product that pleases your young athlete's taste buds and settles well in your stomach. Your child, tween or teen simply needs to experiment to determine which products (if any) work best for them.

Kemi Oguntala, MD

Kemi Oguntala, MD Adekemi "Kemi" Oguntala, MD is MomsTeam.com's pediatric and adolescent medicine expert. An adolescent medicine physician, author, speaker and educator, she is recognized for her energetic and hip approach to difficult adolescent issues such as eating disorders, club drugs, sexual development, orientation and teen health.

Brooke de Lench

Thanksgiving Blessings: Foundation Gives Malawi Youth Chance To Play Sports, Get Education

Submitted by Brooke de Lench on Wed, 11/17/2010 - 18:37. | comments

Most American youth playing sports these days are lucky enough to play on well-maintained fields and with the best and latest sports gear. Children in the southeast African nation of Malawi, among the world's least developed and most densely populated countries, aren't so fortunate. Malawan children face many adversities, including poverty, disease, and low life expectancies. Opportunities to play sports, much less with the right equipment, are few and far between. Kalekeni Banda and children of Chituka, Malawi

Kalekeni Banda and children of Chituka, Malawi

Youth Sports Hero of the Month: Ann McClamrock (North Dallas, Texas)

On October 17, 1973, John McClamrock, a 17-year old junior at Hillcrest High School in Dallas, Texas broke his neck making a tackle. Though her son was paralyzed from the neck down, unable to lie with his head elevated off a flat bed, or even sit in a wheel chair, his mother, Ann McClamrock, rejected suggestions that the family place him in a nursing home or other institution for quadriplegia victims. Instead she brought her son home and devoted the rest of her life to his daily care in his own bedroom. Ann's greatest wish was that she would live at least one day longer than John so that he would never be without her care.

Surgical Repair of Medial Meniscus Tears: Don't Walk Until Given Okay By Doctor

Tears to the medial meniscus require surgical repair, but the repaired meniscus can easily be torn with only small amounts of pressure, so allowing it to fully heal after surgery before walking is critical for a full recovery.

Team of Experts