Sports and Your Teen: Whose Game Is It, Anyway? Tuning In What if your kid doesn't like competitive sports? This is perfectly understandable, but it doesn't mean that she should be permanently benched or relegated to the life of a couch potato. American kids are more overweight than ever, and the reason is primarily because they're getting less exercise. Talk to her about other physical activities. She may be dying for a pair of in-line skates, or maybe she'd like to play tennis recreationally—without the pressure of being on a...

The Road to Nationals-Matt Grevers The Stats: Name: Matt Grevers Age: 25 Club: Tucson Ford Dealers Aquatics Upcoming Grand Prix Appearances: Santa Clara International Grand Prix (June 17-20) and the Los Angeles Grand Prix (July 8-11) Distance to ConocoPhillips National Championships: 475 miles Training and Travel Snap Shot: Favorite Drill: My favorite stroke drill is called the Quarter-Quarter-Quarter-Quarter. The first quarter of the lap is an all-out kick in a streamline position. The second quarter you add your arms in so you still have lots of kick but the point...

In a rare prelims/finals, non-championship meet, the Plantation Swim Team had one of the best meets of the year, with almost every swimmer achieving at least 1 new personal best, 2 new sectional cuts and 31 new Junior Olympic cuts. Leading the way with 100% personal bests were Meagan Abad, Lorenzo Cabrera, Alejandra Cardozo, Krissa Robinson, Mathew Wathen, Danny Tucci, Leila Witcher and Angela Petrillo. Among Meagans best swims was a drop of 12 seconds in the 200 Back that also gave her her first Sectional cut. Lorenzo took 15...

Why Most Kids Quit Sports by Carleton Kendrick Ed.M., LCSW Twenty million kids register each year for youth hockey, football, baseball, soccer, and other competitive sports. The National Alliance for Sports reports that 70 percent of these kids quit playing these league sports by age 13 -- and never play them again. According to Michael Pfahl, executive director of the National Youth Sports Coaches Association, "The number one reason (why they quit) is that it stopped being fun." With figures like these, it's time we rethink how we present youth...

The next PST Booster Club meeting is Wednesday, June 30 at 5:30 p.m. at Central Park, upstairs in Room 2. Parents of swimmers are encouraged to attend the meeting. The sole purpose of the Booster Club is to make the swimming experience more fun for the swimmers and their parents. They develop and plan activities for the kids that will help boost our team spirit and involve every family. The Booster Club meetings are open to all parents. We need 100% involvement from all families to be successful. We want...

Sibling Rivalry in Sports: When the Youngest Gets Overlooked Courtesy of Brooks Clark Heather, the first-born, was involved in everything: swimming, tennis, piano. Robby, number two, followed right along, adding baseball and gymnastics and keeping the family minivan in motion every minute of the week. Mary, the third, has been to every one of her siblings' games and meets but has remained the spectator. For two seasons now, her friends have encouraged her to sign up for soccer, but she has said no. Her parents, already feeling overbooked, happily let...

How to Help Your Child Juggle Sports, School, and Life It's early in the school year, and your daughter has already made her junior high school field hockey team and the traveling soccer team. She has practices every afternoon and two games on weekends. You are wondering how she'll ever keep up with her schoolwork, let alone have time for her piano lessons. Balancing sports, schoolwork, and other activities is one of your child's greatest challenges. But it can be done--with the right game plan. Here are some tips. Set...

Training and Workout Questions for Athletes How can I help her reach the next level? When you are making the transition, you need to realize that you are participating at a higher level. Improvements are in tenths and hundredths, rather than seconds, due to biological and physiological factors. Throughout your career, it’s important to have a support team. While this support is still needed at this stage, it may have to be a little different than in the past. It is a good time to discuss with your coaches and...

The Road to Nationals-Allison Schmitt The Stats: Name: Allison Schmitt Age: 20 (June 7, 1990) Club: North Baltimore Aquatics Club/University of Georgia Distance to the 2010 ConocoPhillips National Championships: 2,658 miles Training and Travel Snap Shot: Favorite Training Set: 5x100 on 10 minutes, in heats, all-out racing Least Favorite Training Set: No particular set as everything helps in the end Swimming Road Trip Must-Have Item: Phone and some country music Favorite Swimming Road Trip: Rome for World Champs because of the swimming accomplishments and creating memories and bonds with great...

Teaching Good Sportsmanship by Carleton Kendrick Tips for Parents "You don't win silver. You lose gold." That's the sour message of a sneaker advertisement that aired on TV during the Atlanta Olympics. Such omnipresent multimedia messages combined with a "winning is everything" philosophy embraced by increasing numbers of parents and coaches - makes it harder than ever for adults to teach kids that it's not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game that's important. It's not surprising that the rise in bad sportsmanship -- and outrageous...