Becoming A Basketball Mom Was Tougher Than I Thought!

After A Loss: Advice for Parents

With the spring sports season in full swing, it is important for parents to remember that, no matter how talented your child may be, there are going to be days when she doesn't play her best or when, despite her best effort, her team loses. How you manage both the ups and the inevitable downs will play a large role in whether your child has a successful youth sports experience.

Gretchen Rose

Becoming A Basketball Mom Was Tougher Than I Thought!

Submitted by Gretchen Rose on Thu, 01/17/2013 - 18:39. | 3 comments

The New Year has started, which means a new school semester and a new sports season. It is cold and wet outside, so we have taken our sports enthusiasm from the gridiron to the basketball court; a tough transition for a dedicated football mom like me!

That my knowledge of basketball wasn't nearly as deep as my understanding of football was driven home to me, so to speak, during the first week back to school when I picked up my son and four of his classmates after school.

Learning the right lingo to use while cheering on her teenage son at a basketball game proved to be more of a challenge for one dedicated football mom than she thought.

Handling Pressure In Sports: Parents Can Help

As a parent, you can help your child learn how to positively deal with pressure and stress during sports events, teaching them a valuable life skill that will benefit them in other areas of their life, too.

June Is Sports Dads Month

Dan Clemens (Baseball Coach and Motivational Speaker): Positive Experience For Kids Should Be Everyone's Goal

Submitted by June Is Sports Dads Month on Mon, 06/18/2012 - 13:38. | 0 comments

Being the father of an athlete is a challenging yet rewarding role. At MomsTEAM we think sports dads deserve to be honored, not just on the third Sunday in June, but for an entire month. So we have designated June as National Sports Dads Month and invited some veteran sports dads to share their wisdom by responding to a series of questions (the same ones we asked sports moms in May).

So far this month we have heard from a fascinating array of fathers, from a former Major League Baseball general manager, to a Minnesota hockey coach and safety advocate, from a sociologist with an expertise in gender and sports to a pediatric sports medicine doctor.

A longtime baseball coach, author and motivational speaker says coaches, parents, umpires and league officials to understand that they are all on the same team with the same goal: give our kids the best possible youth sports experience.

May Is Sports Moms Month

Tammy Beasley (Diet Specialist): Biggest Lesson Learned As Sports Mom Is Difference Between Failure and Unfortunate

Submitted by May Is Sports Moms Month on Sun, 05/20/2012 - 16:50. | 0 comments

Being the mother of an athlete is a challenging yet rewarding role. So momsTEAM has designated May as Sports Moms Month and is celebrating by asking some of our favorite sports moms to share their wisdom by responding to a series of questions.

So far this month we have heard from a fascinating range of sports moms, from a mom of an Olympic athlete to moms who were themselves Olympic athletes, from a mom of two former minor league baseball players to a Minnesota hockey mom and author.

Today, we hear from sports mom and diet guru, Tammy Beasley:

A sports nutritionist, eating disorder specialist, and sports mom says the biggest lesson her boys taught her was to learn the difference between failure and unfortunate.

May Is Sports Moms Month

Marla Miller (Writer and Author): Would Parents Scream Less on Sidelines If Shoe Were On Other Foot?

Submitted by May Is Sports Moms Month on Mon, 05/14/2012 - 18:48. | 0 comments

Being the mother of an athlete is a challenging yet rewarding role. So momsTEAM has designated May as Sports Moms Month and is celebrating by asking some of our favorite sports moms to share their wisdom by responding to a series of questions.

So far this month we have heard from a fascinating range of sports moms, from a mom of an Olympic athlete to moms who were themselves Olympic athletes, from a mom of two former minor league baseball players to a Minnesota hockey mom and author.

Today, we hear from sports mom and writer, Marla Miller:

A prolific author and writer thinks that if parents were asked to play a team sport for a season themselves, they might not scream at their kids as much on the sports sideline.

Barbara Bleiweis

A Warning to Sideline "Coaches": Just Let The Players Play

Submitted by Barbara Bleiweis on Wed, 03/28/2012 - 19:57. | 0 comments

Australian tennis pro Bernard Tomic made an unusual request last weekend to the chair umpire during his quarter-final match at the Sony Ericsson Tennis Open in Miami.

During a changeover he asked to have his dad "banished from the stands." Seems his dad was, according to an article in USA Today, "noticeably upset with his son's performance", which the reader and fans might conclude, would impact Tomic's ability to focus. "He's annoying me. I know he's my father, but he's annoying me. I want him to leave as soon as possible," Tomic reportedly told the umpire.

As a sports parent and an official, I have witnessed first hand the effects of inappropriate sideline coaching from parents. Players rarely perform better when adults other than their coaches bark commands, make faces, gestures or statements intended to motivate. While some would argue that such behavior is well meaning or overzealous, I respectfully disagree. Such behavior is disrespectful and detrimental to the game, coaches, team, parents, and most of all, the players.

Advice to Sports Parents: Stress Fun, Building Skills

With the increasing focus in youth sports on success, a sports psychologist and former elite short track cyclist says parents should emphasize practice to play, leaving their expectations at home on game day, and being motivated by a desire to have fun, not achieve results.