After reading the TrueSport article below, visit the USA Cheer Concussion Education and Resources Hub Concussions are one of the most common injuries in high school and youth sports. And while they are most common in contact sports such as football and ice hockey, they occur across the full spectrum of sport, [...]
Laura Lewis, PhD Sport science can be overwhelming, and it’s easy to get bogged down in acronym-rich terminology that seems critically important to your athlete’s success. If you don’t know their VO2 max or their body composition stats from a DEXA scan or their anaerobic threshold, are you missing out on [...]
Kevin Chapman, PhD Athletic success doesn’t happen just because of fast legs or strong muscles. Success is often due to mental strength as well as physical prowess, at any age. That’s why retrieval cues can be an athlete’s secret weapon when used effectively. Caregivers can use retrieval cues to help athletes [...]
Deborah Gilboa, MD Caregivers often think their job is shielding athletes from all stress. But board-certified family physician and TrueSport Expert, Deborah Gilboa, MD, says stress is a vital tool for building resilience. Instead of avoiding it, help athletes embrace stress strategically to grow mentally, emotionally, and physically. Here, Gilboa is sharing [...]
TrueSport Expert Stephanie Miezin, MS, RD, CSSD Pre-exercise hydration can be a confusing topic for youth sports parents and coaches. Most people know that it is important, but the specifics of ‘why’ can seem murky. “How much water should my athletes be drinking before practices and games?,” “How can an athlete [...]
TrueSport Expert Stephanie Miezin, MS, RD, CSSD Artificial food dyes have received plenty of attention in recent years. Some headlines suggest they may increase hyperactivity in children, while others argue they’re simply unnecessary additives that we don’t need in our food. As a caregiver, it’s natural to wonder how concerned you [...]
TrueSport Expert Stephanie Miezin, MS, RD, CSSD High fructose corn syrup (HFCS) has been making headlines for years—and usually not in a positive light. Often used as a replacement for cane sugar in sodas, candies, and other sweet snacks, it’s frequently viewed as the “less healthy” option. For coaches working with [...]
Deborah Gilboa, MD Encouraging young people to take risks and take ownership of making their own decisions can be hard for caregivers who are used to helping their children avoid failure. This is understandable and natural, but board-certified family physician and TrueSport Expert Deborah Gilboa, MD, explains that most caregivers are [...]
If you're the caregiver for a young athlete, you need to be paying close attention to their oral health and hygiene, especially since good practices for sports nutrition don't always align with the best practices for dental health. This Children’s Dental Health Month, Dr. Michele LaBotz, a TrueSport Expert and sports medicine specialist, is sharing [...]
Amy Eichner, PhD GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy have become increasingly common for adults for both diabetes management and weight loss. Even well-known celebrities and tennis star Serena Williams have endorsed GLP-1 drugs, increasing their visibility and normalizing their use. These GLP-1 drugs are becoming more common, both through prescriptions [...]
As a parent of a young athlete, you’re likely going to be on snack duty at some point during the season. For some competitions or practices, this will be easier: a few granola bars, orange slices, and you’re good to go. But for longer days, like track and field meets or regional matches [...]
TrueSport Athlete Ambassador Abby Raymond As an Olympic weightlifter, setting incredibly specific goals is nonnegotiable for Abby Raymond. Because a single pound of weight on the bar could be the difference between a win or a loss, the granular focus on numbers is key to success. But it's not always easy [...]
Since he was only a few years old, Trevon Jenifer has focused on athletic goals and how to achieve them. With that focus and some strategic goal setting, Jenifer has gone on to become a four-time Paralympian in the sport of wheelchair basketball. While his goals in life and sport have changed over [...]
Chris Mazder - Olympian and TrueSport Ambassador Chris Mazdzer is no stranger to goal setting. The now-retired luge athlete competed in four winter Olympic Games, winning the silver medal in 2018 and becoming the first non-European racer to ever medal in the men's single luge. Since he retired from the sport [...]
Deborah Gilboa, MD Change is inevitable, but for a young athlete, even a positive change can bring up feelings of stress and anxiety. For caregivers, it can be tempting to try to step in and solve every perceived problem or issue your athlete has, but if an athlete is going to [...]
The headlines of wellness, fitness, and nutrition coverage have been shouting about the difference in fueling for males versus females in recent years, and as a caregiver for a young athlete, it can feel confusing. There are already so many other aspects of fueling to consider, but if your athlete has big goals, [...]
TrueSport Expert Nadia Kyba Bullying is a huge topic in schools, on playgrounds, and in youth sports. And while parents are generally aware bullying is a problem, the natural tendency is to focus on our own children – both in terms of making sure they are not bullied and that they [...]
A dedication to sport is great, but an all-encompassing obsession isn't. In many cases, that obsession can lead young people to only see themselves as athletes, with no other identity outside of sport. And when sport goes away—whether it’s because of injury, high school graduation, or any other reason—that can leave your child [...]
Dr. Charron Sumler, PhD, LPCC Family units are the first teams that children engage with, and the skills that they learn from being part of a family are the skills they will bring to their sports team. But how do you model good teamwork for your athlete at home? Here, Dr. [...]
Dr. Charron Sumler, PhD, LPCC Choosing a college can feel like a monumental decision for both student-athletes and their caregivers. And in many cases, everyone isn’t on the same page about what to consider and what to prioritize. That’s why it’s so important to decide what matters most, ask lots of [...]
As a caregiver, you may read or hear about a lot of different nutrition "rules," especially for athletes. Recently, a lot of those rules and taboos are around processed foods. However, healthy athletes require a lot of fuel to maintain their energy for peak performance, and often, processed foods play a role in [...]
Kevin Chapman, PhD As caregivers, you want your athlete to perform at their best and achieve excellence in their sport, at school, and in their other extracurricular activities. But while striving to be their best is important, sometimes athletes can take these behaviors too far and end up hurting themselves as [...]
TrueSport expert Betsy Butterick If you've ever tried to do any goal setting or planning for the future with your athlete, you may have struggled to help them hone in on what really matters to them. This can happen whether they're simply trying to prepare for the upcoming softball season [...]
Deborah Gilboa, MD Setting boundaries as a student-athlete may seem impossible given that you're obligated to turn in that history report on the same day as playoffs while also juggling family commitments and college applications.Setting boundaries is tricky because you have so many projects, obligations, and goals that you're trying [...]
Deborah Gilboa, MD Have you been wondering how to teach your student-athlete how to set smart boundaries that help them succeed in school, sport, and life? It’s tempting to simply give them specific boundaries that reflect your values (like always prioritizing homework over practice, or not texting after 8 p.m.). [...]