By Ken Reed

The physical activity levels of our young people were already trending downward when Covid hit. Covid made things worse. Kids around the country were stuck at home, forced to try and learn virtually. An online math class is one thing. A physical education class at home is nearly impossible.

During the pandemic, […]

By Ken Reed

We’ve written about Major League Baseball’s injury problem in the past. Players are missing more games and playing fewer innings than ever before.

The analytics revolution in baseball has led to several new strategies in the game designed to give teams a performance advantage. However, as far as we’re […]

By Ken Reed

The mental health of athletes has never been a hotter topic than it has this summer. The mental health struggles of superstars Simone Biles and Naomi Osaka have brought conversations about mental health to the forefront in SportsWorld. Before Biles and Osaka, high-profile athletes like Michael Phelps, Andrew Luck, Kevin Love, DeMar […]

By Ken Reed

What’s best for the kids?

Whenever I speak to a youth sports organization, I always start with that question: What’s best for the kids?

Too often — in many cases, unintentionally — youth sports administrators, volunteers, parents and coaches let their adult egos drive the policies and decisions they make.

“The only […]

By Ken Reed

I was once told about some study that says simply by standing up — instead of sitting — you are eight percent smarter. And if you are walking vs. sitting you’re smarter yet. I never tracked down the study to examine the methodology, etc., but it intuitively made sense to me.

For […]

By Ken Reed

Cleveland Guardians. Sure it sounds weird. Cleveland’s baseball team has been called the Indians for more than a century. But everyone will get used to it.

Most importantly, it was the right thing to do.

Yes, the name “Indians” is less egregious than the blatantly racist name Redskins that Washington’s National Football […]

By Ken Reed

I feel terrible for Simone Biles. But in looking at this development in the big picture, I am also excited because the world-wide focus on her mental health, after she withdrew from the team and all-around gymnastics competitions, will significantly advance mental health awareness in both SportsWorld and society at large.

[…]

By Ken Reed

Mental health ills are very real and quite prevalent in our society.

And the pandemic has magnified the mental health challenges we all face.

Anxiety, depression, and suicidal thoughts have been part of the human condition from the beginning. The problem is very few people talked about their mental health […]

By Ken Reed

Youth sports are popular year-round, but especially so when kids are on summer break from school. Baseball, softball, soccer, lacrosse, and even summer basketball and volleyball leagues and tournaments, are all going at full speed right now.

When we talk about youth sports, we’re typically talking about organized youth sports. And […]

By Ken Reed

Okay, so Sha’Carri Richardson knew the rules regarding marijuana use and broke them in a moment of high emotional stress after learning her biological mom had died. She owned up to her decision and isn’t looking for empathy.

But please. Come on. Does smoking some pot — which is no more […]