Strollerderby : athletics

Boy Scouts Say Your Kid is Too Fat

JeanneSager — Mon, 11 May 2009 15:01:00 GMT

If your little boy is overweight, you better be prepared to break this news: he might not be allowed to join the Boy Scouts with his buddies.

The Scouts are adding height and weight standards for boys and their adult counterparts who take part in the "high adventure" or extreme events, the kind of activities that often take Scouts and their leaders off into the woods or other places that are far afield from medical assistance.

The Scouts say the new requirements are for the safety of participants. But parents and a lot of current Scouting participants say they're merely cutting more families out (and I say more because, of course, there's that whole "no gays allowed" thing already going on in the Scouts).

As one major scouting site points out - you can easily be physically fit and not fall within those height to weight guidelines. Besides, there are plenty of Scouting leaders who could stand to lose a few pounds - and we all know how easy it is to get parent volunteers these days (er, NOT).

Of course, the bigger concern here is what does this say to our kids? That fat kids have yet another barrier in front of them?

Let's face it - we all know that kids with weight issues also often face self-esteem trouble. A study found that problem increased significantly when kids hit the early teen years, just about the time that Scouts are allowed into the higher adventure activities. It's worth noting too, that this is when kids are at the heigh of puberty, and their bodies are changing significantly - including their heigh to weight ratio.

In other words - it's a risky and difficult time for kids, a time when they would most benefit from a group activity and the ability to participate. A group activity that may even get them off their butts, out from in front of their XBoxes and out climbing trees and hiking forests and . . . um, losing weight, gaining muscle, etc.?

Obviously, I was never a Boy Scout (although they do accept girls for certain events now - especially the adventure groups for teens), but the men I've known who truly enjoyed Scouts were not necessarily your classic buff, rough, tough athletic types. In fact one Eagle Scout I know has battled lifelong weight problems and was unable to play school athletics because he "wasn't good enough." He found his place in Scouts because he didn't have to be masterful at any one thing to succeed.

It might do the Scouts well to mold their programs to the kids rather than expecting kids to mold to their programs. After all, without little boys, there is no Boy Scouts of America.

Image: Boy Scouts via Chicago Tribune

Is it Time to Give up on Athletes as Child Role Models?

JeanneSager — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 15:24:00 GMT

A-Roid. Stoner Phelps. It's been a bad couple of weeks for our so-called role models.

But Alex Rodriguez was hardly the first star to be caught 'roiding it up and Michael Phelps has a long line of disgraced Olympians ahead of him (including athletes who were doped up DURING the games, not just smoking it up six months after the games).

So is it time we put that old "athletes are our kids' best role models" horse back into the barn?

Because when a player walks out onto a field, court, diamond, pitch . . . they aren't being paid to make kids like them. They're being paid to win a game.

The Yankees don't pick a third baseman based on a history of helping old ladies across the street or even a stellar credit rating. They pick a guy who can hit homeruns, a guy who can whip the ball back to first when pressure's on to keep the tying run off base. In short, they hire an athlete, not a man.

The man - or woman - who plays a professional sport or makes it to the top of the amateur world has something the rest of us don't - talent. It's impressive, sure. And without drive and amibition - both traits we'd like to see in our kids - it would be worth nothing. Still, it's not the answer to making our kids better people. It's inate, something few people are lucky enough to be born with, and few of our kids will ever have.

So why do we push them to focus on athletes? Some of the best in the world were hardly stellar people. Mickey Mantle was an incredible baseball player (and as a die-hard Yankee fan, one of my favorites). But the Mick was also a womanizing alcoholic. By contrast, his dear friend Roger Maris was another stellar athlete, the first to hit sixty-one home runs - without a needle in sight. And he was demonized by the media for his simple, quiet ways, for being the sort of man most of us probably WOULD like our kids to grow up to be - a man who focused on his family, who was honest, who lived a clean life.

The problem with putting athletes on pedestals, is simple. They weren't vetted as child role models. They were vetted as athletes. Anything more is just a bonus.

Image: AllTalkSports

Why the puppy games are better than the Olympics

Brett Singer — Sun, 24 Aug 2008 19:00:00 GMT

OK, that's not true. But if you haven't seen this dopey show on Animal Planet, you're missing out on something very cute.

Here are a few highlights:

1. Commentary: "It's going to be tough to impress the judges." True – because they're goldfish. "This is like a chess match." Indeed – if chess opponents gnawed on the pieces and sniffed each others' butts. Bob Costas doesn't get lines like these.

2. No controversy: As far as we know, the opening ceremonies were real, no protesters, journalists or grandmothers were arrested, and no one is complaining about the puppy's potentially sexist costumes.

3. Who won? Who cares?: They're, you know, dogs. They have no idea where they are or what they're doing. You can still cheer for your favorite breed (the Cocker Spaniel is really cute) but at the end of the day, it's all up to the judges… who are goldfish.

4. Two words: Waterbowl Cam.

Not sure if they're going to air this again or not, if so, I highly recommend watching it. There are a bunch of video clips on Discovery.com; here's one of the Gymnastics event.

source/image: Animal Planet

Other Old Olympians

Olympics Opening Uses One Girl's Voice, Another Girl's Face

Bela Karolyi likes to kill things

Did Michael Phelps actually win 8 medals?

Michael Phelps to endorse Frosted Flakes

Olympic Athletes To Be Tested . . . For Gender

Jon Stewart Tackles Olympic Controversies

Michael Phelps father in Baltimore, not Beijing

33 year old mom wins silver medal, saves son from leukemia

Dara Torres inspired two current Olympians

Aussie Rower keeps his kids close

Protesters and journalists arrested in China (video)

Whole lotta fakin' goin' on at the opening ceremony

Shawn Johnson more mature than her coach

Volleyball hasn’t come a long way, baby

Nastia Liukin's mom watches from the stands (video)

Brett Singer — Sat, 23 Aug 2008 15:00:00 GMT

Apparently Nastia Liukin's mother, Anna Kotchneva Liukin, has a hard time watching her gold-medal winning daughter compete. According to the NBC commentators, she spent some of the recent Beijing events shopping. This time, though, she stuck it out, but not without some difficulty. They didn't mention it, but I don't think she knows the guy she's sitting next to, despite the fact that she almost ends up in his lap.

My kids aren't terribly athletic (at least not yet) so I don't know what it's like to see your offspring in an intense competition, and the Olympics are as big as it gets for gymnasts. Anna knows from being on that big stage: she was a champion gymnast herself. Not sure if that makes it harder or easier to see your kid out there; judging from this video, I'd say it must be pretty tough.

Read more:

IOC orders investigation of Chinese Gymnast's age

Other Old Olympians

Shawn Johnson more mature than her coach

Did Michael Phelps actually win 8 medals?

Michael Phelps to endorse Frosted Flakes

Misty May-Treanor & Kerri Walsh Get The Gold, Now They Want to Get Pregnant

Bela Karolyi likes to kill things

They Say: no junk food ads at the Olympics

Misty May-Treanor Scatters Mom's Ashes at Olympics

Twenty Olympic Moms - Now What's My Excuse?

Michael Phelps father in Baltimore, not Beijing

Dara Torres inspired two current Olympians

Whole lotta fakin' goin' on at the opening ceremony

Table Tennis Women, Flaunt Your Stuff!

Volleyball hasn’t come a long way, baby

Jon Stewart Tackles Olympic Controversies

Olympics Opening Uses One Girl's Voice, Another Girl's Face

Do All These Chinese Gymnasts Look 16 to You?

Aussie Rower keeps his kids close

Protesters and journalists arrested in China (video)

IOC orders investigation of Chinese Gymnast's age

Brett Singer — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 19:54:00 GMT

He Kexin won a gold medal in the uneven bars and also contributed to the Chinese beating out the U.S. in the team gymnastics event. She looks really really young, and there have been questions about her age for awhile now. The IOC has begun to formally investigate whether or not, "Chinese authorities covered up the true age of their gold-medal winning gymnastics star because she was too young to compete," because of, "'discrepancies' that have come to light about the age of He Kexin." You kind of have to wonder what took them so long, but apparently someone, described as an "American hacker" by the U.K.-based Times Online, has uncovered documents that offer proof that Kexin is too young.

Watching the games, the judging also seemed biased, although that's more subjective. Still, I'm pretty sure I saw a member of the Chinese team fall in one event and not get any deduction, whereas an American who had a similar fall lost points. Béla Károlyi told Bob Costas that, "The lack of competence of certain judges is obvious," and it was tough to disagree.

Károlyi's wife Marta has attacked the age issue the way her gymnasts attacked their events, and while I think she went a little overboard, I agree that the whole thing is very suspicious.

Would the Chinese government lie about an athlete's age in order to gain a competitive advantage? And if so, what happens? The medals get stripped, but should they be banned from the Olympics for a time after that?

So – how old do you think she looks? 14? 16? Do I hear 12?

Source/image: TimesOnline

They Say: no junk food ads at the Olympics

Michael Phelps father in Baltimore, not Beijing

Dara Torres inspired two current Olympians

Whole lotta fakin' goin' on at the opening ceremony

Some Parenting Lessons From Michael Phelps's Mom

Gold (OK, Silver) Medal Girlcrush: Dana Torres

Volleyball hasn’t come a long way, baby

Jon Stewart Tackles Olympic Controversies

Olympics Opening Uses One Girl's Voice, Another Girl's Face

Do All These Chinese Gymnasts Look 16 to You?

Aussie Rower keeps his kids close

Protesters and journalists arrested in China (video)

Team more mature than coach

They Say: no junk food ads at the Olympics

Brett Singer — Fri, 22 Aug 2008 16:00:00 GMT

Like 30 million plus people, I've been watching a lot of Olympics the past few days. Which means I've seen a lot of commercials from the sponsors of the Games; I think I've seen that McDonald's ad touting chicken sandwiches for breakfast (ew) at least 50 times.

Two watchdog groups, Commercial Alert and Multinational Monitor, have released a study titled, "The Commercial Games." According to AdWeek, "The study is highly critical of the sponsorship and advertising policies of the International Olympic Committee and the various sports federations and national committees under its auspices…The groups argue that the marketing of junk foods, sodas, fast-food chains and alcoholic beverages should be eliminated from the Games. Their reasoning: such products conflict with the stated purpose of the Olympics, which they say is to 'celebrate healthful living.'…Promoting such products in the widely watched Olympics…is 'unhealthful,' and particularly inappropriate 'for an event with enormous appeal to children.'" The groups slam McDonald's and Coca-Cola the hardest, saying that both companies, "run businesses centered around unhealthy food," and suggest that, "The Olympics should not lend its name and aura to help promote more consumption of these unhealthy products."

In what could be the funniest bit of corporate protestation ever, McDonald's "objected to the study's labeling of its product as 'unhealthy,'" presumably because they now offer apple slices and stuff like that. (Don't worry; you can get "low-fat caramel dipping sauce" with them.) The International Olympic Committee (IOC) does not accept ads from liquor companies, although beer and wine are OK. Not surprisingly, Commercial Alert and Multinational Monitor think the IOC should ban beer and wine ads as well.

The reason for all of these ads is, of course, money. According to Ad Week, there are 63 sponsors at this years' Games, which sounds like a lot, although it doesn’t say how that compares to previous years. The article quotes "brand consultant" Robert Passikoff as saying that 63 might be too many sponsors, but he defends the IOC's right to sell as many ads as they can: "The question is why should they cut back? They're making an awful lot of money on it. Why should anyone other than the consumers and the marketing folks be the arbiter of what's right and wrong? No research group should have the right to tell them who to do business with; who put them in charge?"

Is Passikoff right? Or should the IOC be more selective about whom they allow to sponsor the Olympics?

Source: AdWeek, Image: MSNBC

Protesters and journalists arrested in China (video)

Whole lotta fakin' goin' on at the opening ceremony

Team more mature than coach

Other Old Olympians

Michael Phelps father in Baltimore, not Beijing

Like father like son

Aussie Rower keeps his kids close

Dara Torres inspired two current Olympians

Some Parenting Lessons From Michael Phelps's Mom

Gold (OK, Silver) Medal Girlcrush: Dana Torres

Volleyball hasn’t come a long way, baby

Baby survives tornado

Egyptian woman gives birth to septuplets because she wanted a boy

Jon Stewart Tackles Olympic Controversies

Olympics Opening Uses One Girl's Voice, Another Girl's Face

Do All These Chinese Gymnasts Look 16 to You?

Bela Karolyi likes to kill things

Brett Singer — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 22:00:00 GMT

When Béla Károlyi isn't training world-class gymnasts or telling Bob Costas that, "The lack of competence of certain judges [in this year's Olympic Games] is obvious," he likes to go…hunting.

When I googled Károlyi in an attempt to get the spelling of his name correct, this page was the fourth result. After seeing him comment, often mercilessly, on the various Olympic gymnastic events, I'm going to say that I'm not exactly shocked that one of his leisure activities is hunting big game.

I'm not going to say anything else about this, since, you know, I don't want to get shot.

Images/Source: bigbexotics.com

Michael Phelps father in Baltimore, not Beijing

Dara Torres inspired two current Olympians

Some Parenting Lessons From Michael Phelps's Mom

Gold (OK, Silver) Medal Girlcrush: Dana Torres

Volleyball hasn’t come a long way, baby

Baby survives tornado

Aussie Rower keeps his kids close

Protesters and journalists arrested in China (video)

Team more mature than coach

Did Michael Phelps actually win 8 medals?

Brett Singer — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 19:00:00 GMT

Usually when an athlete is accused of cheating, it's a doping issue: this year alone, at least four athletes have been caught using banned substances. But in Michael Phelps' case, there may be something else going on.

Here's the deal, as reported in the New York Times:

The race in which Phelps won his seventh medal, tying Mark Spitz and setting him up to break the record for most gold at one Olympic Games, was decided by 1/100th of a second. Despite some "controversy" (that's what the article says; I don't recall hearing anything about this when it happened) over the results of the 100-meter butterfly, the authority that oversees swimming (FINA) decided not to release video images to help "prove" that Phelps was the winner.

What does this have to do with Michael Phelps? Well, Omega is the official timekeeper of the Olympics. They are also one of Phelps' sponsors. As the New York Times puts it, "The most visible athlete at these Games is getting a paycheck from the same company whose equipment decides the outcome of Phelps’s events."

To me, this is much ado about nothing, and an attempt to create a problem where there isn't one.

In the first place, FINA doesn’t typically release images of the races, which the Times article mentions but not until the middle of the article. Second, Omega didn't make the decision, FINA did. And third… I don't know, is anyone all that upset about this? Is that because we desperately wanted Phelps to break Spitz's record? Maybe. Personally, I didn't care that much; although some of the races were a lot of fun to watch (like when we beat the French in the relay after they had said they would "crush" the U.S. team – put that in your beret, Frenchie!), by the time Phelps won his eighth gold medal I found I had a certain amount of Phelps Phatigue. That's not to take anything away from him; I just think the coverage got to be a little bit overblown.

If you want to talk about weird judging issues, what about the gymnastics, where the judges clearly favored the Chinese team? (Béla Károlyi, despite being a little bit scary, was right on with much of his analysis.) And if you want to say that there are potential conflicts of interest between certain parties at the Games, I'm sure there is plenty to talk about. I'm not sure, however, that this is an actual controversy.

On the other hand – isn't it fun to have two opinions on the same topic? – why not just release the images? The photo shown here certainly doesn't do much to dispel the notion that perhaps the end result of the race wasn't what we were told it was. Sports ethicists (there's a job I want) interviewed by the Times say that FINA should release whatever information is necessary to keep people from thinking that the results were tainted, especially in this case, since it is so high profile.

Image/source: NYTimes

Other Old Olympians

Michael Phelps father in Baltimore, not Beijing

Whole lotta fakin' goin' on at the opening ceremony

Protesters and journalists arrested in China (video)

Dara Torres inspired two current Olympians

Elderly Chinese Women Sentenced to "Re-Education"

Some Parenting Lessons From Michael Phelps's Mom

Gold (OK, Silver) Medal Girlcrush: Dana Torres

Volleyball hasn’t come a long way, baby

Table Tennis Women, Flaunt Your Stuff!

Baby survives tornado

Aussie Rower keeps his kids close

Team more mature than coach

Michael Phelps to endorse Frosted Flakes

Brett Singer — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 16:30:00 GMT

Maybe they should call them Phrosted Phlakes?

Once upon a time, Wheaties was the Breakfast of Champions, but now its Frosted Flakes. Michael Phelps will appear on a box of Tony the Tiger's favorite (phavorite? OK, OK, I'll stop) morning meal.

Naturally, some are upset with Phelps for choosing to endorse a sugary breakfast cereal. "In a country where childhood obesity is an alarming issue, Phelps' iconic image sharing space with Tony the Tiger sends the wrong message, experts say."

Personally, I doubt that any kid will buy Frosted Flakes because Phelps' image is on the box, although Kellogg's probably hopes I'm very wrong. And we know he did it because they offered him more money, rather than a more "moral" reason. Since swimming can't touch baseball or football in terms of the money an athlete can earn for competing, I don't think I have a problem with Michael making as much as he can while he can make it, especially since the IOC seems to be raking it in from their 63 sponsors.

source/image: NY Daily News

Protesters and journalists arrested in China (video)

Whole lotta fakin' goin' on at the opening ceremony

Team more mature than coach

Other Old Olympians

Michael Phelps father in Baltimore, not Beijing

Like father like son

Aussie Rower keeps his kids close

Dara Torres inspired two current Olympians

Some Parenting Lessons From Michael Phelps's Mom

Gold (OK, Silver) Medal Girlcrush: Dana Torres

Volleyball hasn’t come a long way, baby

Baby survives tornado

Egyptian woman gives birth to septuplets because she wanted a boy

Jon Stewart Tackles Olympic Controversies

Olympics Opening Uses One Girl's Voice, Another Girl's Face

Do All These Chinese Gymnasts Look 16 to You?

Other Old Olympians

Brett Singer — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 15:00:00 GMT

Dara Torres is 41, and Oksana Chusovitina is 33 (and saved her son from leukemia), but they aren't even close to the oldest Olympic athletes in history, or even this year. Most aren't in the more physically strenuous events, but competing in anything at their age is pretty impressive.

* Iain Murray is on the Australian Olympic sailing team, and at age 50 is making his Olympic debut. Murray is Australia's oldest Olympian; Andrew Palfrey, a teammate, is 41 and also competing in his first Olympics.

* Luan Jujie was 50 years old in 1984 when she won a Gold medal in fencing for Canada.

* Susan Nattrass is 57 and currently in Beijing on the Canadian shooting team. In 1976, she became the first woman shooter to compete in the Olympics.

* Hiroshi Hoketsu, a Japanese equestrian, made his Olympic debut in 1964 and is now back for a second time – at age 67.

* Oscar Swahn (Shooting) competed in his last Olympics in 1920 at the age of – are you ready for this? – 72. (He was planning to go in 1924 but he got sick. Wimp.) Over his career, Swahn won three gold medals, two bronze, and a silver in 1920, making him the oldest Olympic medallist ever. Fun fact: his son competed with him in 1908, 1912 and 1920.

For more, see NBCOlympics.com

Image/Source: nbcolympics.com

Dara Torres inspired two current Olympians

Some Parenting Lessons From Michael Phelps's Mom

Gold (OK, Silver) Medal Girlcrush: Dana Torres

Volleyball hasn’t come a long way, baby

Baby survives tornado

Aussie Rower keeps his kids close

Egyptian woman gives birth to septuplets because she wanted a boy

Protesters and journalists arrested in China (video)

Whole lotta fakin' goin' on at the opening ceremony

Team more mature than coach

Jon Stewart Tackles Olympic Controversies

Olympics Opening Uses One Girl's Voice, Another Girl's Face

Do All These Chinese Gymnasts Look 16 to You?

Like father like son

Michael Phelps father in Baltimore, not Beijing

Brett Singer — Tue, 19 Aug 2008 13:00:00 GMT

We've seen quite a bit of Michael Phelps' mom Debbie in Beijing. Bob Costas interviewed her and her record-setting spawn after Mike beat Mark Spitz's record by winning of eight medals in one Olympic games.

But Phelps pop, Fred, isn't there. Where is he? He's at home, in Baltimore. Watching the games on TV.

According to multiple sources, "Fred and Debbie separated for good in 1993, and the divorce was finalized the next year, when Michael was 9." This site implies that Fred "walked out" on Debbie and Michael, which I guess is possible, but I don't know since this is the only source of that I've found.

The same site claims to have a photo of Fred Phelps, but I think the photo on Cleveland.com is more accurate.

That article, written by Tim Warsinskey, asks the question, "Are you wondering what I'm wondering?" Tim wanted to know where Phelps' dad is; as a reason, he says that he is a father himself. I'm a dad as well, but I have to admit that "where's Michael's father?" isn't a question I asked as I watched the Olympics.

For his part, Fred said, "This is just about Michael. This is his glory, his time to shine, and I want him to get everything he wants." So even if he did "walk out" on his family (not saying he did, just saying if) at least he's not trying to claim that he's the reason Michael won all that gold.

image: Cleveland.com

Some Parenting Lessons From Michael Phelps's Mom

Gold (OK, Silver) Medal Girlcrush: Dana Torres

Volleyball hasn’t come a long way, baby

Baby survives tornado

Aussie Rower keeps his kids close

Egyptian woman gives birth to septuplets because she wanted a boy

Protesters and journalists arrested in China (video)

Whole lotta fakin' goin' on at the opening ceremony

Team more mature than coach

Jon Stewart Tackles Olympic Controversies

Olympics Opening Uses One Girl's Voice, Another Girl's Face

Do All These Chinese Gymnasts Look 16 to You?

Like father like son

33 year old mom wins silver medal, saves son from leukemia

Brett Singer — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 15:00:00 GMT

Dara Torres is an inspiration to many, competing in the Olympics at age 41, and winning. But I think the story of Oksana Chusovitina, a German gymnast, might be even more inspiring.

Here's the deal: Oksana is from Uzbekistan. Her son was diagnosed with leukemia at the age of 3. There were no beds for him in her home country. Because of her gymnastics ability, she was able to move to Germany and join their team, while also getting her little boy the treatment he needed.

He seems to be doing better now, and to make the story even better, she just won a silver medal. She's also 33 years old in a sport where 22 is considered really old. Congratulations to her, and to her son.

Source/image: Detroit Free Press

Olympic Parenting: Oksana Chusovitina and Alisher

Gold (OK, Silver) Medal Girlcrush: Dana Torres

Volleyball hasn’t come a long way, baby

Baby survives tornado

Aussie Rower keeps his kids close

Egyptian woman gives birth to septuplets because she wanted a boy

Protesters and journalists arrested in China (video)

Whole lotta fakin' goin' on at the opening ceremony

Team more mature than coach

Jon Stewart Tackles Olympic Controversies

Olympics Opening Uses One Girl's Voice, Another Girl's Face

Do All These Chinese Gymnasts Look 16 to You?

Like father like son

Dara Torres inspired two current Olympians

Brett Singer — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 13:00:00 GMT

Back in the year 2000, Dara "Superwoman" Torres was at a swimming camp in California. Two sisters, Sandra and Danielle Fong, were fascinated by her, and the medal she had just won at the Santa Clara International Invitational. So she did what anyone would do: she gave them her medal.

OK, that's not what everyone would do. But it is what Dara did. And now, eight years later, both of the Fong sisters will be competing in the Olympics, although not in swimming. 18-year-old Sandra Fong is on the U.S. shooting team. Danielle Fong, 17, has cerebral palsy and will shoot for the U.S. at the Paralympics in September.

Torres, in case you didn't know, just won a Silver medal – at the age of 41. So yeah, we like her.

Image/source: nytimes.com

Read more:

Gold (OK, Silver) Medal Girlcrush: Dana Torres

33 year old mom wins silver medal, saves son from leukemia

Aussie Rower keeps his kids close

Protesters and journalists arrested in China (video)

Whole lotta fakin' goin' on at the opening ceremony

Team more mature than coach

Jon Stewart Tackles Olympic Controversies

Hunka hunka burnin Barbie

Olympics Opening Uses One Girl's Voice, Another Girl's Face

Matthew McConaughey keeps placenta

Do All These Chinese Gymnasts Look 16 to You?

Birth inspires lottery ticket purchase

Retarded movie boycott

Gold (OK, Silver) Medal Girlcrush: Dana Torres

Amy Kuras — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 21:02:00 GMT

I'll admit it – I have a huge, full-on girlcrush on Dara Torres. She's 41 years old, people, has a body most women half her age would envy, shows both really great sportsmanship (congratulating other swimmers with a big smile, asking the ref to delay the start of qualifying heats so a Swedish swimmer could switch out her ripped suit for a good one) and a tough competitive spirit, and oh yes, is the mom of a two-year-old.

Admittedly, she has significant financial resources – this June story in the New York Times magazine pegs her training costs at around $100,000 per year – and has won only one individual medal, the silver in the 50 meter freestyle she picked up last night.

But I find her enormously inspiring, that someone could come back from childbirth and be not just as good as she once was, but better. I think all of us who’ve struggled a little bit to find our new identities after having children can find some inspiration in that.

I also love that she shows mothers can be healthily competitive, and not just over the stupid stuff we can allow ourselves to get bogged down in like who has the nicest strller or the cutest haircut or the most stylishly attired kid. Most women are smarter than that, and athletes like Torres show how much smarter.

As for me? I am about as unathletic as a person can be (seriously, I once needed stitches from banging my head on a barbell) and the only medals I get are of the "participant" variety. But when I hop on a treadmill at the Y tomorrow, I'll be thinking about her and hoping someday I can kick one-tenth the ass.

The Sins of the Mother: Little League edition

Brett Singer — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 20:57:00 GMT

So what do you think of this: the Freetown Youth Athletic Association in Freetown, Massachusetts has a rule that requires parents to staff the concession stand at Little League baseball games. One mother, Jodie Hooper, didn't show up for her shift. As punishment her seven-year-old son was suspended for two games.

Some Freetown residents cried foul, saying the punishment was excessive and misplaced.

I'm all for parental involvement in children's activities, but when you require participation, there has to be some wiggle room. The article doesn't say what the circumstances were that led to Foster not showing up for her shift in snacky goodness, but maybe give her a chance to explain before punishing the kid? And how do you explain to a seven year old that he can't play baseball because of something his mother did, something that he has no control over?

image: mentalfloss.com, doctored by me

'Retired' Tennis Star Returns to Court 6 Weeks Post-Partum

Madeline Holler — Sun, 13 Jan 2008 22:04:00 GMT

Tennis anyone? Oh, not me. I think the sport is as boring to watch and discuss as it is to play. But what I do love is sports talk that centers on motherhood. Obviously. I can't get enough of stories about women who not only continue to compete during and after pregnancy, but especially when the thrive because of it. Sometimes, kids do just the opposite of draining your aspirations. They turn it around an inspire them.

This is what happened to the 31-year-old tennis star Lindsay Davenport. She retired in 2006, pregnant with her son. But the retirement turned into maternity leave when a few weeks before giving birth, she got the strangest pregnancy craving yet: a return to the tennis court. Six weeks post-partum, she was playing in a doubles tournament.

Her boy, Jagger, is 7 months old now, and mom is making the rounds in the big tournaments. Serena Williams, for one, is in awe.

"I mean, I'm speechless because she looks better than me and she's seven months out of having a baby," Serena Williams said here at a pre-tournament news conference. "I'm convinced if I had a baby, seven months later I'd probably still be in the hospital trying to get over the pain."

Oh, Serena, it's not THAT painful. But the comeback is still pretty cool.

Having a kid has forced her to be selective and make difficult choices -- a refrain lots of mothers know. Baby Jagger's presence has changed her in more than one way. He helps to keep her temper in check -- or at least forces her to creatively manage it.

No matter what, win or lose, the presence of Jagger has changed everything for Davenport. She lost to Jankovic in Beijing and afterward told her nanny, who was with Jagger, that she needed a minute alone.

"I hit my racket on the ground, took a deep breath, and I thought, 'OK,' and we were all good again," Davenport said. "It took about hours less than it used to, to get the anger out. I didn't want him to see me do it.

"I was like, 'Would you mind walking outside for one second with him?' She did. [I] broke a racket. They came back in and it was fine."

With a mom on the court, I'm almost tempted to follow tennis. I mean, I won't, but I am tempted.

Fall Babies Better at Sports

Karen Murphy — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 12:29:00 GMT

I'm pretty athletic now (though embarrassed even using the word next to Kelly), though as a kid I was pretty hopeless: stick-thin, uncoordinated, always last or nearly-last to be chosen in teams in junior high. Balls coming toward me weren't caught, they were fended off or met slight resistance from my nose. yeah, hopeless. And now I have something to blame: my season of birth.

14000 kids born in 1991 and 1992 were studied in the Children of the 90's Project, which has been following their health and development since birth. Their activity levels were examined at age 11, and kids who were born in the autumn were found to be the biggest, strongest, and most developed in their school year, making them by extension better athletes, whereas kids born in the spring (like me) were the least active of any of the seasons, about 9% less. Finally! Someone to blame for my years of P.E. hell!

So what does this say for your kids? Later-born children may struggle to keep up, and so may get 'turned off' games and exercise. This effect could last beyond the age when a few months make a significant difference. Yes, by making you loathe sports ~~until one day you explode because you've been downing a pint of Ben & Jerrys every day~~ until one day you find out it's fun and your life changes forever.

Or something like that.

Let's weigh in here: anybody here with fall or spring kids? How do they fare in sports? And what were you?

Non-Jock Kids: Lonely, Rejected, Friendless

Karen Murphy — Sat, 20 Oct 2007 17:11:00 GMT

Middle school was hell, because it was in middle school that I became painfully aware of my complete and utter lack of athletic prowess. Tall, skinny, and awkward, I was consistently left among the little clutch of other athletic outcasts when the stronger and more capable girls picked teams. It didn't matter what sport it was; I was hopeless at all of them, and it didn't take me long to figure out my standings in one fairly important world.

Fortunately, I outranked many of those kids in other ways and didn't suffer too much in the long run (after all, P.E. was only one period out of an entire day and could be blocked out mentally if I worked hard enough at it). But many kids aren't so lucky, as a new study reveals. Kids inherently know how they stack up in the jock world, and there is a complicated but obvious-to-everyone ranking system that goes along with it. And kids who can't play sports are regarded, even by themselves, as lonely and less well-liked, while popular kids automatically are thought to be better athletes.

I've got a kid who just entered middle school this year and I see in him the same pattern. Not terribly confident either athletically or socially, he feels a bit of an outcast even though he shines academically. It makes me want to just hold him close and tell him that in ten years it won't matter, but what about those ten years?

It's sad that physical achievement, while obviously of importance in maintaining fitness and overall health, is still the benchmark of social acceptance in childhood. This skewed perception certainly is likely to skew the little minds of many generations of kids to come, as I don't see a change occurring any time soon. But hello, a little more emphasis, maybe, on other ways of being successful would likely cut way down on therapy for kids who just haven't yet grown into their bodies. And placing greater importance on achievement in the arts or academics would certainly help create a better-balanced world, don't you think? Yeah yeah, call me idealist.

Chinese Girl Swims River With Feet and Hands Bound

Madeline Holler — Sat, 06 Oct 2007 18:41:00 GMT

Hey, I thought they stopped binding feet in China a while ago.

This week, a Hunan father tied up his eight-year-old daughter's arms and legs and tossed her in the Xiang River for a three-hour swim. He says his daughter swam like a dolphin, covered a mile and loved it the whole time.

She is training to swim the English Channel, a goal she is desperate to achieve, her father (a teacher and self-made trainer) said. The dolphin-style swimming practice was his idea, and he assures everyone who condemned the feat/feet that she was never in danger since he was swimming next to her the entire time.

(Side note: Am I the only one thinking fondly of Patrick Duffy’s swimming techniques in the tragically unacclaimed late-70s/early-80s television series “The Man from Atlantis”?)

Back to the girl: English Channel administration is pretty much saying “over our Coast Guard’s dead body" regarding (1) swimming with bound limbs in English waters and (2) anyone under 16 years old swimming the Channel for an official record.

That’s bad news for yet another eight-year-old girl, this one from India, who is also training to swim the 21-mile stretch of choppy waters, which also happens to be the world’s busiest shipping lane.

How many other eight-year-olds are training to swim these marathon distances? I'm getting the impression that my kids are lazy.

Photo: Daily Mail

Olympian Marion Jones Busted for Steroids and Pregnancy

Rachael Brownell (Redsy) — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 18:02:00 GMT

Olympian Marion Jones is one amazing athlete. I'm sure I"m not the only fan deeply disappointed by her recent admission of steroid use. Rumor has it that she also might be pregnant with her second child...

I love that I'm raising my daughters during a day and age when women athletes are commonplace, and sports an be a regular part of their growing up years. The downside is that more female athletes will get caught up in the same pressures and competitiveness that their male counterparts have for years.... I look forward to finding another heroine for my girls to worship...

Are Sports Too Soft?

Kelly Mills — Mon, 18 Jun 2007 20:30:00 GMT

We've had lots of interesting discussions on kids and sports, but boy, there's always territory to mine here. One parent on Catholic Answers Forum posted a whole laundry list of questions regarding what sports parents choose and why. ("How important is the possibility of a professional career in the sport?" I'll field that one: unless you have already given your kid steroids or named him Tiger, dreeeeam on.) Some of the questions and answers are pretty good, and then I read this response:

The one thing I hate about kids team sports as of late is the new "we can't be competitive" attitude. I don't understand getting to play positions you haven't worked for (my own kids included) and I don't understand the "everyone gets a trophy" mentality. I don't understand telling a kid who's born to play shortstop that they can't play there because we have to let someone who's not qualified play there. It's like it's the worst thing in the world if our kids fail or are disappointed. It's not helpful in preparing them for a world that should work on the merit system. When I was a kid (a most overused phrase) we played where the coach put us and we were happy to be playing. If we wanted to be in a certain spot, we worked harder.

I do think this raises a real interesting point about the current obsession with protecting kids from any kind of disappointment or possible sense of inadequacy. Let's not romanticize the days when some kids were picked last for teams (and it probably still happens, because I don't recall most gym teachers being a forward-thinking, egalitarian bunch) but at the same time, what does it mean to work hard if everyone gets an equal turn regardless of effort? I dunno, as an unathletic kid the whole competitive thing freaked me out so much I was terrified to even attempt most games. But I can also see some validity to this argument, especially for older kids. What do you think?

Enough is Freaking Enough: Over-the-Top Youth Sports

Jessica Ashley (Sassafrass) — Fri, 20 Apr 2007 13:04:00 GMT

My boy loves him some golf. He wakes up most mornings and asks if he can play golf before breakfast. He knows all the big names and talks about Tiger, Vijay, Ernie and Annika. He abruptly changes the subject at dinner by emphatically interjecting, "Golf is very important...," rambling on about the difference between miniature golf and real golf and practice shots and teeing off. He played his first nine holes last month and he owns no less than three sets of clubs, one with real irons. He's two-and-a-half.

When people see us hitting the ball from the sand on to the fairway (also known as the wood chips to the field at the park) or see him at the indoor driving range with my husband or my dad, they either laugh and nod knowingly or they look at suspiciously. And for shared joy or judgment, they almost always say the same thing, "Maybe he's the next Tiger!"

And I both cringe and swell to hear this. What parent doesn't want their kid soar at something that they love? What parent doesn't envision their child living their dream? If those dreams are built on toddler obsessions, then yes, maybe my little boy will grow up to be the next Tiger.

But dreams aren't built on toddler obsessions. Next month, he could be more interested in tools or dolls or playing school. Next year, he could put the clubs away for good. Really, this doesn't matter to me. As much as talking golf for hours (and hours and hours) on end exhausts me, I love it that he loves it so much. It isn't about learning the proper way to grip the club or how far he pummels the ball or knowing the difference between a birdie and an eagle (what is the difference anyway?). It is about the joy the of playing.

After all, he's just a kid. His path -- toward the green or in a lab or in an art studio or in front of a chalkboard or at a piano or on roads around the globe -- is not yet determined. He still has a lot of discovering to do before he even finds the gate that leads to the grassy area that overlooks the path.

So how does all of this joy and discovery turn so quickly in a kid's life to the great pursuit of the W and two-a-day practices and playing sports year round? How does a kid's passion for hitting or catching or kicking a ball lead to traveling teams at the expense of a kid's health and his parents' sanity and her interest in anything else at all?

How does a college scholarship or a professional contract become the goal for a ten-year-old? And how does a spark that sport sets off lead so fast and so furious to chronic and long-term injuries in children, babies?

Regan McMahon, author of Revolution in the Bleachers: How Parents Can Take Back Family Life in a World Gone Crazy Over Youth Sports, recently excerpted and podcasted by the San Francisco Chronicle, digs into the overwhelming reality of over-the-top youth sports culture, how it plants itself early and grows up into unhealthy bodily injuries and unnecessary pressure on kids to win games, scholarships and the coveted contract.

McMahon's chilling investigation spans hospital statistics and interviews with pediatric orthopedic surgeons, professional team medical directors, parents, kids, personal trainers and other people who have witnessed the intensity of youth sports rise over the last twenty years. It is the very message that our kids' health is at stake in the sports game that makes this article one of those rare links worth forwarding to your email list of mommy and daddy friends.

It comes down to this: There are many, many kids who are specializing in one sport, playing year round with inadequate breaks between practices and seasons, and being pushed (or learning to push themselves) toward prodigy status.

And that situation inevitably leads to this: Compromised growth plates in developing bodies, increased tendon and bone wear from repetitive motion and a long list of pains that range from shin splints up to Little Leaguer's shoulder, all injuries caused by over-use and under-rest.

Not only are the injuries chronic for many young athletes, the problem of injured young athletes is chronic. The U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission reports that in 2003, 3.5 million kids received medical treatment for sports injuries. All of those kids were under the age of 15. This number rose four times in eight years. It is estimated that 30% of those kids -- just over a million soccer-playing, pitching, cheerleading, running, skating, balance beaming children -- had injuries caused by over-use.

And while many children's sports schedules out-do the rigors of a professional team, McMahon points out that one of the sad ironies of all this is that the ultimate reward may not ever be attainable to over-played kids anc clarifies, "So let's get this straight: Parents are putting their kids at risk having them play year-round so they can one day play professionally, and the pros are starting to be wary of players who may have worn out their arms trying to get to the majors."

The cost is tremendous, not just in co-pays and hospital bills, but on the still-developing temples of the children we sighed over when they insisted on sleeping with a tennis racket as a toddler. It costs families weekends spent relaxing and rejuvenating rather than schlepping a child from game to game to game, and it costs parents time together or alone while they are booking hotel rooms for away matches. It costs families bonding by prioritizing practices over rituals like dinner at 6. It costs children the opportunity to flit from piano to painting to hip-hop class to develop more than just one part of their bodies, brains and interests. It has devalued the life lessons we learn when we lose and importance of exploring the world, not just the inside of a kiddie-sized arena.

And all of this madness has cost kids the chance to just play, to embrace the spirit of childhood, to be healthy and happy and have fun.

So read this bit and if you are as enraged and inspired as I am, read the whole book. Pass it on to your playgroup, your preschool, your kid's track coach. As McMahon says, "The time has come to get our priorities straight. No trophy, no scholarship is worth endangering our child's health."

I think my priorities were pretty straight before I read this article, but now, they are far more aligned. After nap time today, my boy and I will surely be headed to the park, golf clubs in tow. And when we get there, we will be swinging for...well, the swings. And no matter how far or how crazy the ball goes, I hope we will not worry about the looks from passers-by or when we will get on a real green or where this whole golf thing will one day go. I hope we can just enjoy this funny and tiring toddler obsession while it lasts.

[photo credit: Mike Kepka]