As we all know, many athletes train hard from very young ages. Now and then I hear a story about an athlete who waits until his high school years to try a sport and manages to prevail with success. If you saw The Blind Side movie, you know precisely what I'm talking about.
To my surprise, I stumbled upon one of these intriguing stories last week that we can all learn from. Basically, an inexperienced high school tennis coach pulled together a group of inexperienced tennis players. Do you want to hear the result? Read the article here (scroll down to "Brookhaven").
This is a nice reminder that pure heart, determination, and effort can go a long way. And it is quite inspiring when a coach and all the team members have these traits. Nice!
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Friday, March 26, 2010
Sports Injuries: Navigating Medical Care
***Disclaimer*** I am not giving medical advice. I'm simply pointing out how a mom handled her daughter's injury situation. Please consult your physician for all formal medical advice.
My friend's daughter (Anne) fell and hit her toe on something. Within minutes, Anne's toe and foot were swollen. My friend (Michelle) took Anne to urgent care, and an x-ray revealed a broken bone in her toe and a possible broken growth plate. The doctor referred Anne to an orthopaedic physician for further analysis. Instead of taking Anne to see the orthopaedic physician, Michelle called her pediatrician who recommended seeing him first. The pediatrician reviewed the x-ray and declared that the toe was not broken. This was in direct contrast to the radiology report and the urgent-care doc's diagnosis.
Now what? Well, Michelle called me and asked what I would do--she knew I've dealt with at least 10 sports injuries with my own children, including approx. 4 broken ankles, 2 broken arms, an avulsion fracture in the hip, a broken collarbone, a high-ankle sprain, and many others. Again, I am not a medical expert. I am a mom that uses her best judgment, just like you.
First, I suggested that Michelle get another opinion since the 2 prior opinions contrasted each other. Next, I suggested that Michelle find an orthopaedic physician who specializes in pediatrics and in foot injuries or sports injuries. Why? Because she wanted the best possible person to read the x-ray and because she wanted clear parameters for treatment and for when-to-return-to-sports.
Michelle did exactly as I suggested. (Honestly, I'm sure it would have worked out if she hadn't taken my advice because Michelle has good judgment.) And she was please with the results. The orthopaedic physician (who specialized in pediatric sports injuries and in foot and ankle injuries) agreed with the urgent care doc--the toe was broken. He specifically told Anne to take a 2-week break from gymnastics class and from her volleyball league. He also told her to immobilize it with tape and walk normally because her pain and swelling at that point was minor. Then he asked her to return in 2 weeks for a re-check and to re-judge return-to-sports parameters. (I'm leaving out a few details here, but I think you can get the gist of it.)
At the 2-week check, a new x-ray revealed that the broken toe was healed. And the doctor cleared Anne to return to sports.
Medicine is an art and a science. It is not exact. You, the parent, usually navigates your child's medical care using your best judgment. When your child gets injured, there are often many choices and routes that are appropriate. I'd love to hear what choices you've made in the past and why the results were successful.
In the meanwhile, I hope your young athlete stays injury-free.
-Kim
My friend's daughter (Anne) fell and hit her toe on something. Within minutes, Anne's toe and foot were swollen. My friend (Michelle) took Anne to urgent care, and an x-ray revealed a broken bone in her toe and a possible broken growth plate. The doctor referred Anne to an orthopaedic physician for further analysis. Instead of taking Anne to see the orthopaedic physician, Michelle called her pediatrician who recommended seeing him first. The pediatrician reviewed the x-ray and declared that the toe was not broken. This was in direct contrast to the radiology report and the urgent-care doc's diagnosis.
Now what? Well, Michelle called me and asked what I would do--she knew I've dealt with at least 10 sports injuries with my own children, including approx. 4 broken ankles, 2 broken arms, an avulsion fracture in the hip, a broken collarbone, a high-ankle sprain, and many others. Again, I am not a medical expert. I am a mom that uses her best judgment, just like you.
First, I suggested that Michelle get another opinion since the 2 prior opinions contrasted each other. Next, I suggested that Michelle find an orthopaedic physician who specializes in pediatrics and in foot injuries or sports injuries. Why? Because she wanted the best possible person to read the x-ray and because she wanted clear parameters for treatment and for when-to-return-to-sports.
Michelle did exactly as I suggested. (Honestly, I'm sure it would have worked out if she hadn't taken my advice because Michelle has good judgment.) And she was please with the results. The orthopaedic physician (who specialized in pediatric sports injuries and in foot and ankle injuries) agreed with the urgent care doc--the toe was broken. He specifically told Anne to take a 2-week break from gymnastics class and from her volleyball league. He also told her to immobilize it with tape and walk normally because her pain and swelling at that point was minor. Then he asked her to return in 2 weeks for a re-check and to re-judge return-to-sports parameters. (I'm leaving out a few details here, but I think you can get the gist of it.)
At the 2-week check, a new x-ray revealed that the broken toe was healed. And the doctor cleared Anne to return to sports.
Medicine is an art and a science. It is not exact. You, the parent, usually navigates your child's medical care using your best judgment. When your child gets injured, there are often many choices and routes that are appropriate. I'd love to hear what choices you've made in the past and why the results were successful.
In the meanwhile, I hope your young athlete stays injury-free.
-Kim
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Olympic Heartbreak
Yesterday, Dutch speedskater Sven Kramer was disqualified in the 10,000 meter final. He should have won the gold. Unfortunately, Kramer's coach Gerard Kemers actually shouted instructions in error, resulting in the disqualification. You can read more about it here.
This is truly heartbreaking. But the reality is that mistakes and disqualifications happen at all levels of sports.
After seeing this at an Olympic event, kids might realize that it's not quite so bad when they or their coaches make a mistake. Here are a few examples of common mishaps in youth sports: Swimmers sometimes forget to finish with a 2-handed touch, football players catch a ball out-of-bounds, football coaches call the wrong play, baseball coaches give the wrong signal.
These types of things happen and life goes on. I commend Kramer for forgiving his coach and moving forward to his next event with class.
This is truly heartbreaking. But the reality is that mistakes and disqualifications happen at all levels of sports.
After seeing this at an Olympic event, kids might realize that it's not quite so bad when they or their coaches make a mistake. Here are a few examples of common mishaps in youth sports: Swimmers sometimes forget to finish with a 2-handed touch, football players catch a ball out-of-bounds, football coaches call the wrong play, baseball coaches give the wrong signal.
These types of things happen and life goes on. I commend Kramer for forgiving his coach and moving forward to his next event with class.
Wednesday, January 27, 2010
I've Hit My Limit!
That's right, I've had enough. I usually don't mind driving kids to sport practices, but tonight was ridiculous.
Here's the driving scenario:
Now, you might be thinking that I signed the kids up for all of this so it's my fault. But that's not the case. When I signed the kids up, their schedules weren't a problem. Then the swim team changed practice from late evening to early evening. And the hockey team changed off-ice practice to a different rink. This change meant that the boys had to go to off-ice at one rink, followed by hockey practice at another rink fifteen minutes down the road. Crazy!
OK, in truth, I've survived the year thus far thanks to a carpool. However, that boy separated his shoulder so he's not going to practice for a month. My backup possibility got injured too--he broke his knee cap. (Look for an upcoming post on injuries...)
Could my daughter skip practice? Sure, but she's already missed several times because of her brother's practice.
The next time that my husband is unavailable and there's no car pool, I will say no to my children. The coaches will have to understand. Period.
Did I mention homework? Two tests and a paper? It's going to be a late night...
-Kim
Here's the driving scenario:
- Home to point A.
- Point A to point B.
- Point B to point A.
- Point A to point B.
- Point B to point C.
- Point C to home.
- Home to point C.
- Point C to home.
Now, you might be thinking that I signed the kids up for all of this so it's my fault. But that's not the case. When I signed the kids up, their schedules weren't a problem. Then the swim team changed practice from late evening to early evening. And the hockey team changed off-ice practice to a different rink. This change meant that the boys had to go to off-ice at one rink, followed by hockey practice at another rink fifteen minutes down the road. Crazy!
OK, in truth, I've survived the year thus far thanks to a carpool. However, that boy separated his shoulder so he's not going to practice for a month. My backup possibility got injured too--he broke his knee cap. (Look for an upcoming post on injuries...)
Could my daughter skip practice? Sure, but she's already missed several times because of her brother's practice.
The next time that my husband is unavailable and there's no car pool, I will say no to my children. The coaches will have to understand. Period.
Did I mention homework? Two tests and a paper? It's going to be a late night...
-Kim
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Give Your Child the Gift of Lessons
Ski season has arrived with a vengeance all over the country. Kids are itching to hit the slopes.
Unfortunately, parents are dropping their kids at the ski hill. Most of these kids have little or no prior experience and no clue how to ski or snowboard. They don't know how to turn, slow down, or stop.
Folks, this isn't sled riding. There are specific techniques and skills needed simply for the sake of safety. Your child could run into a tree or even another skier.
When my daughter was three, an out-of-control skier went speeding down the hill and flew right between my mom and my daughter. I saw this with my own eyes. Both were lucky to come away without injuries. However, my mom's ski pole did not survive the event. Yes, her ski pole was bent almost in half. Good thing it wasn't mom's knee.
Even if your child begs to skip the lessons, please don't give in. Remember that safety is first.
-Kim
Unfortunately, parents are dropping their kids at the ski hill. Most of these kids have little or no prior experience and no clue how to ski or snowboard. They don't know how to turn, slow down, or stop.
Folks, this isn't sled riding. There are specific techniques and skills needed simply for the sake of safety. Your child could run into a tree or even another skier.
When my daughter was three, an out-of-control skier went speeding down the hill and flew right between my mom and my daughter. I saw this with my own eyes. Both were lucky to come away without injuries. However, my mom's ski pole did not survive the event. Yes, her ski pole was bent almost in half. Good thing it wasn't mom's knee.
Even if your child begs to skip the lessons, please don't give in. Remember that safety is first.
-Kim
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