We’ve all seen the great sports drink ads that show the big tough athlete drinking (and sometimes even sweating) colorful liquids.  These colorful, great tasting and easily accessible liquids are in all grocery and convenience stores. There has been lots of talk about if they are really beneficial for you or not. So I decided to do some of my own research.

I recently stumbled onto an article from www.momsteam.com (which is an excellent resource for parents with youth athletes) that talked about sports drinks and if they are necessary. They reviewed an article by Nancy Clark, a certified specialist in Sports Dietetics.  After reading it I really questioned drinking sports drinks.  They suggest that eating a banana or yogurt with a glass of water before a game gets you the right nutrition and is a lot friendlier on your wallet.

The body needs hydration after strenuous exercising in order to replenish what is lost in sweating.  If you have a slight increase in sodium that will help you with fluid retention, or in other words help keep the water in your system.  However, most foods that we digest on a regular basis will provide us with the needed sodium intake.

Sports drinks are actually low in sodium and often high in sugars. They are more expensive than even bottled water and add unneeded sugar to your diet.  I’m not an expert by any means but I think I will stick with the much better option of water.  If your kids need the taste factor add a splash of lemon juice or lemonade mix to their second glass to encourage the intake. Other options could include making your own versions of sports drinks, I have copied a link that I found helpful for that method.

Bottom line—keep yourself hydrated and eat balanced meals!  That is the best advise for any age of athletes!

Have a Great Day!

Rachel

Helpful Links to go with this article:

http://www.momsteam.com/nutrition/sports-foods-expensive-convenience-regular-diet-meets-nutritional-needs#ixzz1dtkbRVgi

http://www.roadcycler.com/2006/08/screw-gatorade-make-your-own-sports-drink/

This could have been the 50 reasons… lucky for you I kept it short. This seems obvious, but far too many Photo an Day Programs are anything but organized, hassle-free and fun. How would you describe yours? An even better question to ask… How do parents in your league describe Photo Day? (check out the testimonials of our clients on the last page)
1. A quality Photo Day Program will leave your league participants thrilled.
2. The commission paid back to the league will be large and have a huge impact.
3. You won’t have to do anything. From scheduling to distribution the Photo Day Program will run itself.
4. Photo Day reflects heavily upon the overall success of your league. It’s nearly impossible to grow your league with a poor Photo Day Program.
5. It’s easy. Coaches, parents, players, and league admins will agree.

What are the two phrases you hear from you family almost every time you walk in the door?  “What’s for Dinner?” “I’m Hungry!”  If you are like me it seems to be a daily struggle to figure out what to eat.  Yeah it’s easy to hand your kid a bag of potato chips or grab a candy bar on your way out of any store, but you wonder if that’s the best idea afterwards.

So, on my quest to try and figure out some ideas of what to fix one night for supper I stumbled across some great resources that I wanted to share.  The first was EatingWell, which is a magazine and also a website.  They have whole sections on nutrition for youth athletes!  It’s hard to find something that kids will eat that is also good for them.  One of my favorites that I found was the rice cake sandwiches-cute and tasty!

 Eating Well Kids Section

I also found the magazine currently on sale (can’t beat that), here is the link:

50% Off EatingWell Magazine Subscription

I also have an obsession with cookbooks, so I did some searching on that front and found an author that has some very helpful recipe books for active people (which totally fits my family).  Her name is Nancy Clark and she is a sports dietician.  Her passion is helping people fuel their body to keep healthy and maintain an active lifestyle.  Yep, check-check, I looked at her many books and bought Nancy Clark’s Sports Nutrition Guidebook (available in print, or for E-readers)

Happy Cooking and of course Eating too!

Spring is Just around the corner and that means we will begin hearing the crack of a bat and ball.

Believe it or not I still get excited just as if I was 10 years old again.

Wow, Has the world of baseball changed in the last 15 years. 

Can you imagine a time when you could not locate a tournament?  .

Today there are many tournaments available on any giving weekend in any city.  That certainly creates some issues for teams with so many tournaments to play in and the cost keeps going up it is mind blowing what it takes for a team to play in tournaments almost every weekend.

Costs for a Team

Uniforms                                                                                                        $1500.00

1 Kick Butt Banner with pictures of team and sponsors listed                     $300.00

6 Tournament Entries @ $365 ea                                                                  $2190.00

Insurance                                                                                                        $132

World Series Entry                                                                                         $550

Total                                                                                                               $4672

That is only an estimate for only 1 set of uniforms, as you know many teams have at least 3-4 combinations. 

The cost to a family as you well know is through the roof.

With these kinds of costs and to be honest it is a whole lot more then what is described above.  The cost is astronomical.  It cost my son’s team $10,000 a year 15 years ago so it surely is closer to $15,000 today then the $4672 bare bones listed above.

How are teams coming up with the funds today to pay for the experience of a lifetime for players, parents, coaches, and families?

Please leave your comments about how you are getting the money to play the game we all love.  I will share more about this topic in upcoming posts.

ByJack Zelinko

After watching countless hours of NFL and NCAA football this fall and winter, I have seen an overwhelming trend in a dramatic lack of sportsmanship across the entire sports world that causes me to ask, “Where does this come from?”

This slope is becoming even more slippery due to the overwhelming media blitz that is thrust upon our youth every day.  We hear and see the same stories of taunting, fighting, and classlessness that makes me cringe.

One disgusting example of this was during the Capital One Bowl where two players had a fist fight during the game which caused both of them to be ejected.  One of those players was later named the “Most Valuable Player” of the game due to his performance prior to that point in the 3^rd quarter.  Not only do I have a problem with the actions of both players, but the fact that he would even be in the running to be the MVP of the game is ridiculous.  Whoever made that decision should be ashamed of what kind of message that is sending.  The MVP’s team ended up losing the game, but I’m sure it hasn’t crossed his mind that may be his own fault.

In light of this, I felt compelled to find some information to be able to share with parents and coaches to help all of us strengthen our sense of sportsmanship with our youth.  I found an outstanding website by the Josephson Institute’s Center for Sports Ethics[1] that has articles, blogs, and videos that cover a wide range of topics in regards to sportsmanship, coaching, and leadership.

I was especially intrigued by a post from November 23^rd, 2011 titled “How do you teach kids to deal with mistakes?” and by a video from John Wooden, legendary UCLA basketball coach, about a program called “Pursuing Victory With Honor”[2].

These were extremely powerful to me and I hope it helps us strengthen the values of our youth and bring class and character back to the court, field, and rink where our athletes play.

Helpful Links:

http://josephsoninstitute.org/sports/

http://josephsoninstitute.org/sports/pvwh-sportsmanship/category/youth-sports/

http://charactercounts.org/

Wow, I wish this had been available when my son’s Tyler and Matt were playing ball.  You see, as a Dad I worked constantly on defense with my boys.  And all of their hard work paid off… they both were great defensive ballplayers.  In fact, I wish I had a dollar for every ground ball I hit  to my two sons.

The only problem… they were just average hitters.

It’s a terrible feeling for both you or your son when with the bases loaded and two down they dribble a soft ground ball to the second baseman.  As any good parent… you feel helpless.  If only there was something you could do to help!

Well, now there is.

Click here for 3 Free Videos

Let me introduce you to the nations top youth baseball hitting instructor, Coach Vinny Mazzurco.  Coach M understands hitting and the art of properly striking a baseball and has the unique ability to explain it on your child’s level.

His free videos are pure gold.

To be honest I just didn’t know how to instruct them in proper technique to striking a ball correctly and consequently didn’t work on it hardly at all.

Vinny has it figured out and can get your son hitting by the time the season starts.

Vinny Mazzurco puts HOW TO HIT in plain English that both you and your son can understand In my opinion this instruction can just not be easier to understand.

I think everyone should take a look at what Vinny is saying to see if this might be the thing that will send your son into the starting lineup from now on.

 Click Here

• Charge the batteries
• Clear space on your memory card
• Compose Creatively (be sure your subject is off-center & don’t be afraid to zoom in close)
• Take lots of photos, especially when photographing a group of people.
• Capture the action… photograph early and often when the kids are opening gifts.
• Test photographing in low light situations
• Photos make great gifts (pictures are the perfect last minute gift idea and are often the most cherished gift of all)
• If giving a camera as a gift, be sure to charge the batteries and include a memory card.  This way the camera can be enjoyed right away.
• Better yet, practice photographing in the exact location
• Just in case it’s a white Christmas… be sure to use your cameras exposure compensation to add 1 to 2 stops.  This will keep your camera’s light meter from being fooled into underexposing your photos.

The holidays are the perfect chance to capture great family photos.  In fact, I’d bet more photographs are captured the last 9 days of the year than any other 9 day period throughout the year.  So be sure to plan ahead and use your checklist to ensure that you capture the wonderful moments the holidays bring.