At Kids in the Game, we prioritize and focus on safe play for all of our young athletes. In order for our kids to have the best performance possible on and off the field, we want to highlight the importance of taking care of our bodies and give you five tips to do so properly! The following tips are a culmination of actions to take before, during, and after any athletic play and practice to give our athletes the best chance of recovery and injury prevention.

Tip #1: Proper Stretching Before and After Activity

An important but at times overlooked part of injury prevention is stretching before and after play, and making sure our bodies are loose and warmed up. In order to best avoid injury, athletes should first warm up the body before intense activity, including stretching by doing light exercise such as running in place or jumping jacks. Once loose, proper and safe stretching is crucial because it keeps the body flexible. When stretching, make sure to hold for 10-20 seconds but never to the point of pain. After exercise, cool down for 10 minutes by decreasing the intensity. Cooling down helps the muscles by decreasing soreness.

Tip #2: Proper Technique and Training

Another major cause of injury in youth is the improper technique used when working out, training, and participating in sports activities. It is important to always remember to listen, follow directions, and not be reckless on the field for not only your safety, but for your peers as well. This includes but is not limited to wearing all equipment the proper way, not taking reckless actions during play, and always having proper form when working out or stretching.

Tip #3: Refraining from Overuse of Body and Muscles

Muscle overuse can cause injuries and have long term effects on the body. Some signs of overuse are severe joint or muscle stiffness, not being able to put weight on a certain body part like the ankle or wrist, favoring one side of the body over the other, and experiencing unusual weakness. In order to best prevent this, young athletes should rest, stretch, hydrate, and have a health and wellness evaluation. These evaluations can identify possible health concerns that may lead to overuse injuries.

Tip #4: Staying Hydrated

In our daily lives outside of sports, it is extremely important that we stay hydrated. Drinking water prevents dehydration which is very common for athletes to experience, especially in sports played outside during hot weather. Additionally, staying hydrated helps prevent cramping and spasms, another common experience for athletes. Some additional benefits of staying hydrated are: improved muscle function, regulated blood pressure, and improved circulation.

Tip #5: Taking Mental Breaks and Rest

Lastly, it is crucial for all athletes to take breaks both physically and mentally and engage in interests outside of the sport. At times, one may feel pressure or psychological strain causing stress or burnout. In order to combat this and reduce fatigue, having a focus on maintaining a healthy life balance, taking a mental break from sport, and taking a physical break from physical activity is most important. Our mental and physical health are equally important components of overall health. 

Naomi Osaka and Simone Biles have become household names for being the best of their kind. They are champions of their respective sports. Osaka shocked the world when she pulled out of the French Open and Wimbledon, citing mental health struggles. Biles, expected to continue her reign of a fully gold sweep at Tokyo this year, also withdrew from competition to preserve her mental health.

Osaka is only 23 years old. Biles is 24. Their list of accolades includes four Grand Slam titles for Osaka and 25 world championship medals for Biles. To hold the titles at such a young age comes with an enormous amount of attention, and eventually, pressure. Being named some of the best athletes in the world, regardless of sport or gender, is an additional large onus. The pressure to be great falls extra hard on these women, and lately, it’s been getting to them.

We often forget that our mind is an active component of our body, and should be treated as such. Even more often, we as spectators hold these athletes to an incredibly high standard, and we can sometimes contribute to the stigma that is attached to taking time off for mental health reasons. 

One of the biggest differences between men and women who play sports is the realism that factors into the individuals’ motivation to play. Men often grow up with the hopes to be a professional, and typically believe that they have the skills to get there eventually. Women, however, have repeatedly been reported to have less confidence in themselves and their abilities to go pro. This contributes to high dropout rates around high school and college in women. The pressure to be great is felt at a much earlier age, and the self-scrutiny it takes to make it to the top often tears them down.

As we encourage more women and girls to participate in sports and believe in themselves, we must also believe in them and their abilities. This can manifest in many different ways — in the support of our children, watching women play sports on TV, and advocating for and providing resources to the women who are still not receiving equality in the sports world.

Becca Myers is a 3-time gold medalist in swimming. She has competed in three Paralympic Games for the US and had been left with no choice but to withdraw from the Tokyo Games. In her public statement, she cited the reasoning behind her decision to withdraw was because of the lack of support services for her disability and lack of mental health services. 

Even in the wake of a mental health crisis during the COVID-19 Pandemic, adequate counselors are still staunchly lacking at the Olympic Games. For the athletes participating, this may mean the inability to compete, or to compete at their best performance.

For many, exercise and athletics are an outlet. Working hard, forming a routine, playing with a team, all contribute to positive mental health. Anxiety and depression diagnoses are on the rise, and one of the only tools we have as a community is awareness and acknowledgement of the challenges at hand. When mental health is neglected, it festers. 

Simone Biles, Naomi Osaka, and Becca Myers have done the seemingly impossible this year. By withdrawing from some of their biggest stages, we as fans and as players ourselves are led to reconcile where we stand with our mental health conversation. Younger generations are witnessing these leaders take a stand when things are not right, whether it is with their mind, their body, or their support systems.

Needless to say, 2020 brought a myriad of unexpected challenges across the globe and in the United States and now that we have entered a new year, we are collectively as a nation, and as individuals, hoping for a better 2021. It is undeniable that many parts of our society have been affected one way or another by this past year. The future of quality education throughout the United States is no exception. Now that 2021 is upon us, and there is a new administration taking office, we will be looking into what this may mean for the future of education, during and post pandemic. 

President Joe Biden has formally announced his cabinet which has the most people of color and most female representation in history, as well as the first openly gay Cabinet member. As an organization rooted in promoting diversity, this is definitely something to celebrate! The Cabinet member that has us excited and will have an immediate impact on our organization and our kids is Biden’s pick for Secretary of Education, Miguel Cardona.

Who is Miguel Cardona? 

Cardona was born to Puerto Rican parents who migrated to the United States. He grew up in Connecticut and in public housing. As a child, he attended the local public school and was an English Language learner.  This has influenced his focus and desire to close the gaps that ELL students have compared to their classmates. He was the first person in his family to attend college, became a public school fourth grade teacher, and later served as a principal for 10 years. In summary,  he has first-hand experience in the public school system in the United States and knows its weaknesses. He not only attended a public school himself but also was an educator and administrator. 

Cardona is entering this position in one of the most important but also taxing times possibly in the history of the U.S.; during a pandemic that has affected the education system, children, and young adults within it, for nearly a full year now. It is no secret that there is a large equity gap in the U.S. education system that has continued to widen during this pandemic. Students around the country are struggling and those that reside in low-income communities are suffering the most. According to a U.S. census survey, conducted in April of 2020 “4.4 million households with students still lack consistent access to a computer and 3.7 million lack internet access.” Cardona as well as Biden acknowledge this disparity.  

Biden has spoken about increasing funding and recognizes that some parents have to drive their students to coffee shops just so they can attend school or turn in homework assignments. At Kids in the Game, we too have adjusted our program models to adapt to the unique online school climate. This year we opened Remote Learning Centers at multiple locations so parents had the flexibility to drop their kids off at a site and trust that their school work would get done in a positive environment. They were then able to work a full day, many being essential workers. 

Importantly, Cardona recognizes the essential challenges he is facing did not just become an issue with COVID-19, but have been systematic issues throughout the history of education in the U.S. 

Biden and Cardona’s COVID-related plans: 

1. Reopening schools: President Biden and Cardona both stressed their desire to re-open schools, but made sure to emphasize that they want to safely re-open schools. Biden explained that he would like to have the majority of the schools in the U.S. open again by then end of the administration’s first 100 days. Biden further discussed that to do this they would need funding approved from congress to be able to provide more ventilation and cleaning services. 

Other Plans for the Education System: 

Both Cardona and Biden as well as Vice-President Kamala Harris are focused on addressing multiple equity gaps in the U.S.’ education system, including but not limited to:

1. Increase funding for Title I schools: In his address, on December 23rd, Biden asks “How must it be in America that parents have to drive to a parking lot of a coffee shop or library for wifi that they cannot afford at home so that their kids can attend school?” To help address this problem as well as others faced by low-income families in the U.S they expressed their desire to provide triple-funding for Title I schools. 
2. Mental Health Services: Biden proposed his plan to double the amount of school psychologists, therapists, and nurses in schools. This will give teachers the opportunity to focus more on teaching. 
3. Increased funding for HBCUs:  Biden’s presidential campaign often emphasized their desire to narrow the inequity gaps within our education system. Now that Biden is the president-elect it is no different as he has proposed to invest $70 billion into HBCUs and other minority focused serving institutions. 

What does this mean for Kids in the Game?

We at Kids in the Game provide direct programming to public, private, and charter schools no matter what neighborhood. One of our main goals is to narrow the inequality gap within one of the most segregated cities in the country. It is exciting to see a Secretary of Education who wants the same. 

To read more about Biden as well as Cardona’s plan for education, you can click here.

Written by Sol Ashgarcia