The unspeakable has happened, again. In the past three weeks, at least three children have died needlessly with in four days of each other. Kyle Lippo, 12, died after being tackled in a youth football game. The next day, during a cross-country meet, 12 year-old Merridy Stilwell's heart stopped beating after an apparent seizure. Two days later, a 6-year-old boy Zachary Tran was killed when a portable metal goal fell on him during soccer practice.

In the wake of Kyle, Merridy and Zachary's tragic and unnecessary deaths, MomsTeam Media, announced earlier this month that all remaining sponsorship revenue up to the beginning FY2004 will be donated to the recently launched 501 (c) (3) not for profit organization, Teams Of Angels (TOA), to help insure that no other child is involved in a catastrophic youth sports accident. We at MomsTeam are truly determined to eliminate catastrophic youth sports death and injury. For the past four years MomsTeam writers have been writing about sudden impact, the need for AEDs at sports events (and individuals who are trained to operate them) and the dangers of unanchored goal posts, but we need to do more.

But this help will not come soon enough.

Eighteen months ago, eight families mourning the recent loss of their child, convened in Pennsylvania at the home of Rachel and John Moyer. The families invited me to attend the meeting. They asked if, MomsTeam Media, would become the Umbrella charity for the private charities they had set up in their children's memory, which are working at the grassroots level to educate people in their states about the need for life-saving equipment and safety standards (like AEDs, concussion return-to-play guidelines, etc.), and an online platform to tell other parents how their child died and how the youth sports community can prevent the same tragedy from ever happening again.

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In April 2003, Noal Reid, the long-time CFO of Cape Cod Bank and Trust and TOA Treasurer and Director, joined me to incorporate the Teams of Angels as a non-profit charity. Just one month later, Noal collapsed on a street in Boston and died of an undetected heart arrhythmia -- ironically, because no AED was available to re-start his heart. On August 4th, the Internal Revenue Service granted the TOA 501 (c) (3) tax-exempt status. Sadly, Noal was never able to meet any of the families he was so moved to help.

It would be wonderful if we knew that our school and sports clubs are doing everything that they should to protect our kids' safety while playing sports, but the sad fact is that, although there are some programs that are doing everything possible to save lives and reduce or eliminate catastrophic youth sports injuries. Adults who put safety at the top of the list run many programs. Unfortunately, there are twenty-three states that do not even require coaching education of any type for interscholastic sports coaches. Most states do not require CPR training or even basic first aid classes before an individual is permitted to coach. Many athletic directors can't be bothered with modern day necessities such as walkie-talkies or cell phones for all coaches, stating that "coaches are racing to the field and don't have enough time to pick a walkie- talkie up from the trainers room."

How can you help the Teams Of Angels? Teams of Angels needs the following four things immediately:

1. Experts and professionals. We are looking for doctors, financial experts, lawyers, lobbyists, psychologists and charitable grant writers to join our Board of Advisors.

2. Gifts in kind (office space, computers etc)

3. Help in spreading the word about Teams of Angels; and

4. Your tax-deductible financial contributions.

I am hoping and praying that some of you will stand behind me and step up to the plate to become a Teams of Angels Founding Benefactor, and/or become actively involved in this social cause. Without your help, MomsTeam and Teams of Angels simply cannot do what is needed to educate parents, coaches, administrators and school boards about the steps they need to take to protect society's most precious commodity, our children.

Thanking you in advance for taking the time to read this letter and for your support.

Please visit the Teams of Angels site at www.teamsofangels.org for additional information.

Sincerely,

Brooke de Lench

Read more about this subject in Home Team Advantage: The Critical Role of Mothers in Youth Sports (Harper Collins) by Brooke de Lench. Brooke is also the founder and editor-in-chief of MomsTeam.com.

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Article Updated: August 25, 2007

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