All Articles by Brooke de Lench

Poor Helmet Fit Common in Youth Hockey and Lacrosse, Study Finds

To provide maximum protection against head injuries, helmets worn by athletes in contact sports such as youth hockey and lacrosse, need to fit correctly, but a new study finds that fewer than four in ten youth hockey and lacrosse helmets are properly fitted.
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Brooke de Lench
Brooke de Lench

Proposed ASTM Standard For Women's Lacrosse Headgear: Why I Voted To Approve

Submitted by Brooke de Lench on Mon, 10/20/2014 - 19:37. | comments

Today, I did something I had never done before. As a member of ASTM International's subcommittee on standards for headgear and helmets, I had the privilege of voting on a proposed helmet standard, in this case a new standard developed for headgear in women's lacrosse.

Today, MomsTEAM Founder Brooke de Lench did something she had never done before. As a member of ASTM International's subcommittee on standards for headgear and helmets, she had the privilege of casting her first ballot on a proposed helmet standard, in this case a new standard developed for headgear in women's lacrosse.
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Brooke de Lench
Brooke de Lench

What Do Mothers Want from Youth Sports?

Submitted by Brooke de Lench on Wed, 10/08/2014 - 20:16. | comments


In two days, espnW and the Aspen Institute Sports & Society Project will co-host an espnW: Women + Sports Summit at which they will report the results of a survey in which a nationally representative sample of moms were asked what they wanted and needed for their kids from youth sports. At the conclusion of the summit, a group of thought leaders will react to the survey findings and explore issues facing both moms and their daughters in sports during a Project Play roundtable .

A new survey of sports moms promises to tell us what they want out of youth sports, but MomsTEAM's Founder Brooke de Lench already knows: they want more than pay lip service to the concerns of mothers; they want those who run youth sports organizations to actually take concrete steps to address those concerns, first and foremost among them being to make sports safer.
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Brooke de Lench
Brooke de Lench

SmartTeams Play Safe Summit, Pilot Programs, And "The Today Show" : It Was Quite The Week!

Submitted by Brooke de Lench on Mon, 09/22/2014 - 17:55. | comments

Today, I begin my blog again after taking the full summer off from writing.

The reason for my summer hiatus, at least from blogging, wasn't that I was relaxing on the beach or by the pool (oh, if only). 

No, it was because I was at my desk at MomsTEAM Institute working hard on two major initiatives: our inaugural SmartTeams Play Safe Summit at Harvard Medical School, and the launch of our six SmartTeam pilot projects.Brooke de Lench and Coach Bobby Hosea at Smart Teams Play Safe Summit

Today, Brooke de Lench begins blogging again after a summer off while she worked on two major initiatives: MomsTEAM Institute's inaugural SmartTeams Play Safe Summit at Harvard Medical School, and the launch of six SmartTeam pilot programs.

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Concussion Education Best Practices: A Parent's Checklist

Virtually every state in the country now requires that parents and players receive some basic concussion safety information as a condition to participation. Here's a checklist of what experts say all parents need to know.
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Brooke de Lench
Brooke de Lench

NOCSAE Meeting: Lots Of Questions, But No Answers

Submitted by Brooke de Lench on Mon, 06/23/2014 - 15:39. | comments

Last Friday, I attended the summer meeting of the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE) at the Boston Harbor Hotel. It was hard to be inside on such a spectacular summer day, but made easier by the location of the meeting: in the Atlantic Room, directly above Rowe's Wharf, with a view of a sparkling Boston harbor filled with sailboats and power boats. Boston harbor skyline with Rowes Warf

The summer meeting of the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE) was held in a room overlooking Boston harbor, but the view was about the only thing that made it worth attending, says Brooke de Lench.
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Brooke de Lench
Brooke de Lench

More Than International, Federal and State Laws Needed To Keep Kids Safe Playing Sports

Submitted by Brooke de Lench on Sat, 06/07/2014 - 19:23. | comments

This week and last, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Child is meeting to review the progress made under provisions of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), which is celebrating its 25th anniversary this year. 194 nations will participate, except for three, which have yet to ratify the CRC: Somalia, South Sudan, and the United States.*Convention on Rights of the Child @ 25 poster

With the United Nations Committee on the Rights of Child meeting to review the progress made under provisions of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), MomsTEAM's Brooke de Lench talks about the importance, not of just laws and treaties, in keeping kids safe playing sports, but of voluntary safety programs, such as the SmartTeam program being developed for introduction in Fall 2014.
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How to Improve Youth Sports Safety: Focus On Protecting The Whole Child

As a woman and mother fighting to keep kids safe playing sports for the past twenty-five years, MomsTEAM Founder, Brooke de Lench, knows that, just as it takes a village to raise a child, it takes the involvement of every youth sports stakeholder to protect children at play from abuse, not just physical abuse, but emotional, psychological and sexual, and from sports injuries, many of which are preventable.
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Brooke de Lench
Brooke de Lench

Six Years After: Concussion Risk Management Still A Work In Progress

Submitted by Brooke de Lench on Tue, 05/20/2014 - 15:52. | comments

 

It is hard believe that it has now been six years since I gave the keynote address at the National Sports Concussion Summit in Marina del Rey, California. Harder, yet to think we have been leading this charge since 2000.

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Preventing Youth Sports Injuries Begins Before First Practice

For the past 14 years, MomsTEAM has been working to educate parents on ways to keep their kids safe playing sports. One of the best ways to improve youth sports safety is to take steps to prevent injuries before the first practice.  Here's a checklist developed by the National Athletic Trainers' Association of 15 questions parents should ask their child's school or sports programs before they take them to their first practice, with links to related MomsTEAM content.

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