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Drinking On A Schedule Is Important For Youth Athletes

Surprising, as it may seem, the most important part of an athlete's diet isn't what they eat, it is what and how much they drink. Hydration before, during and after exercise is especially important for preadolescent children because they have special fluid needs compared to adults, or even teenagers. As a parent or coach, you are responsible for taking precautions to prevent heat illnesses in exercising children and making sure they drink enough fluids.

Top Five Heat Illness and Hydration Myths About Children

 
Myths abound about the ability of children to exercise in the heat and about what they should drink before, during and after sports to stay hydrated.  Here are the top five heat illness and hydration myths about children.
 
Myth #1: Youth can't handle the heat as well as adults
 
Fact: Researchers previously suggested that children were less effective in regulating body temperature, put more strain on their cardiovascular system, and had a lower tolerance for exercise in the heat compared to adults. 
 
Contrary to previous thinking, children are not especially vulnerable and can handle the heat just as well as adults.
 
Myth #2: Youth are more susceptible to heat stroke than adults
 

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Tickets For Groundbreaking Smart Teams Play Safe 2014 Summit Going Fast!

The Smart Teams Play Safe™ summit is bringing together leading clinicians, researchers and scientists in the field of youth sports health and safety to announce a comprehensive set of youth sports health and safety best practices, and to mark the launch of MomsTEAM Institute’s innovative SmartTeam™ program, which will be implementing best practices in six communities around the country in the fall of 2014.

Each speaker will focus on a specific way youth sports programs can help young athletes play safe by being smart.  Together, we will offer a holistic approach to youth sports safety which addresses not just a child’s physical safety, but emotional, psychological and sexual safety as well.

Sponsorship Opportunities - SmartTeam Play Safe 2014 Summit

There are just a few  sponsorship opportunities available for MomsTEAM Institute's inaugural summit, SmartTeams Play Safe™: Protecting the Health & Safety of the Whole Child In Youth Sports By Implementing Best Practices, to be held on Monday, September 15, 2014 at Harvard Medical School's Joseph B. Martin Conference Center.   For more sponsorship information, please send an email to support@MomsTEAM.com. or click on the link to the pdf.

 

2014 Virginia Tech Football Helmet Ratings: Helpful But Come With Limitations

 

A total of nine football helmets have earned five stars in the 2014 Virginia Tech Helmet Ratings,TM a test of helmets in a laboratory environment intended to measure their effectiveness in reducing the forces that cause concussion.

Critics, especially the National Operating Committee on Standards for Athletic Equipment (NOCSAE), however, continue to argue that the results, while helpful, have limitations.

Most Food and Beverage Consumed At Youth Baseball Games Unhealthy, Study Finds

 

High-calorie snacks and sugar-sweetened beverages dominate the concession stand menus at youth baseball games, finds a new observational study, contributing to unhealthy dietary habits of children and families. (Irby, 2014).

Researchers at Wake Forest School of Medicine investigated the foods consumed by players aged 8 to 11 and spectators, either from concession stands or brought as team snacks, at a youth baseball field in a small town in North Carolina. Not surprisingly, and consistent with earlier studies (Thomas, 2013), they found that the foods consumed were predominately high-calorie snacks and beverages.

Head Impact Sensors: A Product Guide

The day when monitoring of head impact exposure in football and other contact and collision sports becomes commonplace is closer at hand than one might think.

An increasing number of head impact sensor products in this rapidly evolving field are already on, or about to come to, the market. Most but not all are designed to capture the kind of data that an increasing number of concussion experts say may be helpful in combatting the chronic underreporting/under-identification of concussions that is endemic to sports at all levels, from Pee-Wee to the pros, and to track the number and force of subconcussive hits that have also become a growing concern.

Should Athletes Really Avoid Carbs? A Top Sports Nutrition Expert Says No

 "I stay away from bagels and bread. They have too many carbs," one says. "I'm on the Paleo Diet; I don't eat wheat or other grain foods," says a second.  "I don't eat pasta dinners any more. I have a big salad instead," says a third athlete. The fact is that too many of my clients are "staying away from carbs." One woman, an Ironman triathlete, was trying to train on a diet based on protein powder, almond butter, egg whites, and chicken, with a few spinach salads and apples on the side. No wonder she was struggling to complete her workouts! Her diet was short on wholesome grains that can easily fuel her muscles and help her perform at a high level.

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