Mark Hyman's Blog, page 14

A very special "Twelve Days of Christmas"

Have a great day, everyone.

All my best, Mark

This post originally published at http://www.youthsportsparents.blogspo...

New - and recommended - youth sports Web sites

Two new kids sports Web sites to point out and, if you're like me, to bookmark. Both provide excellent information about sports safety and injury prevention.

Just launched by the American Academy of Pediatrics, Healthychildren.org. Many topics covered, from Body Checking in Hockey - it causes 86 percent of all hockey injuries in kids nine and 15 - to Common Finger Injuries in Athletes to Exercise-Induced Asthma. The site also links to short AAP-produced audio pieces such as this one on how par...

Ten Myths of Youth Sports, by someone very wise

I received this from a friend who wasn't able to tell me the source. Clearly, someone with much wisdom.

TEN MYTHS OF YOUTH SPORTS

1. The earlier the participation in sports the more likely to be an elite athlete and/or to earn a scholarship.

2. Specializing in one sport early on will increase chance of a scholarship or Olympic level achievements.

3. If a parent loves a specific sport and/or excels at a certain sport, his/her child will have similar genetics and should be directed to tha...

A contender for "Youth Sports Quote of the Year"

This is definitely in the running for the most inspired youth sports line of 2009. It comes from an article about a woman just taking over as coach of a boys' high school basketball team in Minnesota. Women coaching men's teams at any level is highly unusual. And the job picture for women seeking to coach women's teams isn't even that great. Surprising, less than half of women's team at the college level are led by women.

Kelly Anderson, coach of the Ulen-Hitterdal High School boys' team in Ul...

How a pinstripe changed cross-country history

This story just posted to the New York Times Web site, and will appear soon in the newspaper.

I got interested in this after reading in the Baltimore Sun about a weird ending to a high school cross-country meet here in Maryland. The runner who'd finished fourth (out of 120 in the meet) was disqualified 15 minutes or so after the race. In turn, his team, which had been the apparent winner, dropped to third place.

The trangression of the runner, a nice young man named John Riemer? The compression...

A (mostly) favorable review of The Blind Side

Movie reviews aren't the specialty here. But Beacon Broadside asked for a post about "The Blind Side" and I complied.

Am I too hard on Sean and Leigh Anne Tuohy and Hugh Freeze?

This post originally published at http://www.youthsportsparents.blogspo...

Basketball seasons that end early, it's an epidemic

Just when I was beginning to think I knew it all.

From Jessie Bennett comes word that the College of Notre Dame is not the first women's basketball team ever to cancel a season for lack of players. The same thing happened at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota six games into the 2004-2005 season. The Fighting Macalesters endured, though. And today the program thrives. Last Wednesday, the Scots (real school nickname) broke a three-game losing streak, thumping St. Mary's 61-48.

A split decision on kids sports and mouth guards

If you've wondered whether kids playing sports should wear mouth guards, the answer is, it depends.

"Your mouth and teeth are just as, if not more, important to protect as your shins and your shoulders. A misdirected elbow in a volleyball match or misplayed header in a soccer game can leave you with chipped or broken teeth, nerve damage to a tooth or even tooth loss. A mouth protector can limit the risk of such injuries as well as protect the soft tissues of your tongue, lips and cheek lining,...

One game in, and the basketball season is over

This is a first, as far as I know. The College of Notre Dame in Baltimore just canceled the basketball season due to a rash of serious injuries. Its depleted roster now stands at six. Its first - and only - game of the season was a 73-19 loss to Goucher.

From the Baltimore Sun's article:

"School officials scrapped the Gators' season after one game...because of injuries to nearly half the team. Five of the 11 players on the roster, including [Heather Krolicki, a senior guard:](torn knee cartilage...

The legend of the Magic Hockey Helmet

If anyone is thinking we're due for some uplifting news in this space, point taken. Today's posting is such a story.

Miller Donnelly is 12. When he was nine, he penned a speech to deliver to his school class. A few months later, his father taped the speech - dubbed, "The Magic Hockey Helmet" - and posted it on YouTube so his uncle could watch. (Thus, the reference to "Uncle Mike").

Through a series of events, mostly serendipitous, "The Magic Hockey Helmet" has gotten considerable attention thro...