Links

Organizations that offer education and help to youth sport groups:

Bob Bigelow, speaker on youth sports issues.  www.bobbigelow.com

Center for Sports Parenting, parenting workshops. www.sportsparenting.org/csp

Momsteam: Youth sports parenting, Information for sports moms. http://www.momsteam.org

National Alliance for Youth Sports, America's leading advocate for positive and safe sports and activities for children. www.nays.org

North American Youth Sport Institute, Serves teachers, parents, coaches, community leaders, and youth work professionals, groups, organizations, corporations, and businesses that direct their effort toward tots, children and teenagers in Fitness, Recreation, Education, Sport and Health (FRESH). www.naysi.com

National Youth Sports Safety Foundation, Inc. (NYSSF) is a national non-profit, educational organization dedicated to reducing the number and severity of injuries youth sustain in sports and fitness activities. http://www.nyssf.org

Rutgers Youth Sport Research Council
The Rutgers S.P.O.R.T. Program is designed to help parents maximize the benefits of their children's participation in organized athletics and to address the issues which often lead to conflict among committed adults.
http://youthsports.rutgers.edu

The following list of studies on youth sports, though not comprehensive, is representative of the broader studies.

National Council of Youth Sports: 2001 report on trends and participation in organized youth sports.

   http://ncys.org/pdf/marketResearch.pdf

Citizenship Through Sports Alliance: 2005 Report card on Youth Sports

   http://www.sportsmanship.org/

Institute for the Study of Youth Sports

   http://ed-web3.educ.msu.edu/ysi/projects.htm

Join the Discussion!
Go to my youth sports blog and connect with other youth sports parents.

Death by heat stroke is preventable by following these guidelines from the American College of Sports Medicine:

1. Hydration - “Young athletes are coming to practice dehydrated,” according to      Michael F. Bergeron, Ph.D., FACSM, “they become more dehydrated as practice continues, and progressively more dehydrated on each succeeding day of practice.”

2. Environmental Conditions – The length of each practice should not exceed three hours (including warm-up, conditioning, instruction, breaks, and cool-down). Players should not use stimulants, including high-dose caffeine or “energy” drinks.

3. Acclimatization – the body needs up to 14 days of progressive activity in the heat to undergo the physiological changes that allow for sufficient acclimatization (the first three to five are the most critical).

4. Treatment – players should be closely monitored by coaches and staff for signs and symptoms of developing heat-related injury, such as, thirst, irritability, headache and dizziness, cramping and unusual fatigue, vomiting, hyperventilation, confusion and changes in personality.