Mark Hyman's Blog, page 15

The advice Dominique Wilkins should have given

Dominique Wilkins might have been a great NBA player, thus the nickname "The Human Highlight Film." He fails to make the grade for inclusion on our list of pro athletes who see excesses in youth sports and speak up about them.

Not suggesting that Wilkins commits some huge faux pas in this video. But he seems dazzled by the between-the-legs dribbling and swishes from the three-point line and unconcerned that Dakota Sims, despite his talent, enthusiasm, gifts, is nine.

He might have added: Nice j...

Flash: Kids who do nothing but play tennis get hurt

Here's more evidence that kids who specialize in a single sport at an early age are (1) terrific players (2) prone to injury and (3) because of point two at great risk of never reaching their potential.

Loyola University Health System recently released a study of 519 kids whose one and only sport is tennis. These are talented, promising junior players aspiring to big things in the sport. The study followed these kids through more than 3,000 competitive matches, finding that they dropped out of...

Kids who do nothing but play tennis get hurt - a lot

Here's more evidence that kids who specialize in a single sport at an early age are (1) terrific players (2) prone to injury and (3) because of point two at great risk of never reaching their potential.

Loyola University Health Systems recently released a study of 519 kids whose one and only sport is tennis. These were talented, promising junior players aspiring to big things in the sport. The study followed these kids through more than 3,000 competitive matches, finding that they dropped out ...

Why prep athletes need a Hall of Fame - or don't

Officials behind a new High School Sports Hall of Fame and Museum say that being a great athlete - as in one who goes on to super stardom in the Olympics or pro ranks - isn't the only credential needed for induction. Apparently, it doesn't hurt either. Past inductees include NBA stars LeBron James and Dwight Howard, American League batting champ Joe Mauer, and Olympic gold medal swimmer Allyson Felix.

I wish I could be unreservedly enthusiastic about this idea. No doubt it will be a big draw f...

Agassi, LeBron on what's wrong with youth sports

As noted here before, I'm compiling a list of pro athletes who speak out about adults messing up sports for kids. Today, two new, high-profile additions, LeBron James and Andre Agassi.

I just finished Shooting Stars, James's recent book chronicling his early basketball life, with an emphasis on bonds forged with his rec league and later high school teammates. Not your typical "How I Overcame Impossible Odds" story. A good read.

James makes the list for opposing the national schedules played by ...

Business of youth sports gets a little bigger

News flash (from the Baltimore Business Journal):

"Under Armour Inc. is going into business with a global sports marketing agency to create a standardized scoring system for youth athletic performance.

"The Baltimore sportswear company and IMG are planning more than 100 global one- to three-day combines for high school athletes next year at which participants will be scored on a range of metrics, including physical attributes, mental stamina and sport-specific skills."

If it were up to me to fix...

NFL concussions and the "trickle-down effect"

Two great articles this week on concussions in youth sports. Alan Schwarz in today's New York Times continues his remarkable coverage of the issue.

This quotation from Alan's piece gets to the heart of the issue. (The issue being, until the NFL takes seriously, or seriously enough, the consequences of head trauma, neither will the millions of youth leagues).

"Walking off the pain in an N.F.L. game turns into walking it off in a Little League game — the trickle-down effects on high school and c...

Hand stands and back flips at the kitchen table

Spanning the globe for youth sports dysfunction.

Giuliano Stroe, the Romanian gymnast with the washboard abs, is, as the caption reads, five years old.

Thanks (I think) to Ed Wiest for alerting me to this.

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

Message to sports parents: "You do not know what you're talking about"

I'm posting two opinion pieces, one pulled from the Denver Post, another from a lively weekly podcast produced by students at the Park School in Baltimore.

Here's what these two commentaries have in common. In both, the authors make the case that sports for kids aren't what they could be, and for that they fault the adults. In both, tellingly, the commentators also are teenagers.

Thanks to Ed Wiest for the tip on the Denver Post article, and Ben Hyman for the lead on the Park School podcast

On ...

Message for sports parents: "You do not know what you're talking about"

I'm posting two opinion pieces, one pulled from the Denver Post, another from a lively weekly podcast produced by students at the Park School in Baltimore.

Here's what these two commentaries have in common. In both, the authors make the case that sports for kids aren't what they could be, and for that they fault the adults. In both, tellingly, the commentators also are teenagers.

Thanks to Ed Wiest for the tip on the Denver Post article, and Ben Hyman for the lead on the Park School podcast

On ...