Dietary Supplements Tied to Health Problems in Young Adults Supplements claim to boost energy or build muscle, but they may compromise your health, according to a study published in The Journal of Adolescent Health. Roughly 1,000 people under the age of 25 reported medical issues linked to supplement use between 2005 and 2015. Food and Drug Administration records revealed that 40 percent of these patients experienced severe health events, such as hospital visits or disability, Time reported. What's more, 166 hospitalizations and 22 deaths were linked to supplements.  Read More

Youth Sports Parenting As a leading expert in youth sports, Fox News recently asked PCA to be featured in a segment focused on youth sports parenting and the effects it has on a child's youth sports experience. This was part of a three-piece segment on youth sports focusing on the rise of injuries, increasing costs, and "out of control" parents and coaches. PCA President Tina Syer appeared in the third segment about parent and coach behavior in youth sports.   View this clip (that reached 1.4 million viewers) featuring Tina...

Mental Toughness Toolbox: Avoiding Psych outs and Intimidation   A common problem that a lot of swimmers struggle with is finding themselves getting psyched out or intimidated by the competition. You know the drill – you have to race against Larry Lightening Fast or Linda Lifetime Bests and you get yourself totally freaked out by them. Your heart starts pounding, your breathing gets faster and shallower, your muscles tighten and before you know it, you don't want to race against them. You just want to get their autograph. They are sooo...

Clean Sport - United States Anti- Doping Agency (USADA) Supplements:   Reducing Supplement Risk with NSF Certified for Sport®   Dietary supplements are regulated in a post-market fashion, which means that no regulatory body approves the accuracy of the label or safety of the contents before they are sold to consumers. As such, no dietary supplement can be guaranteed to be 100 percent risk-free. If athletes choose to use supplements despite the risks, USADA has always recommended that athletes use only dietary supplements that have been certified by a third-party program that tests...

Seasonal Eating Guide Seasonal eating means eating fruits and vegetables that are locally grown during their official growing season. When food is grown in season, it is more nutritious because it is adapted to the region, grown in soil, and harvested at its peak. Buying seasonal foods also decreases the amount of both packaging required and the greenhouse gases generated from driving your food across the country.When you go to the grocery store, you see fresh produce from all over the world, but just because fruits and vegetables can be...

Important Information About Changes to WFLA Meet from the Host Club Dear Invited Teams, We have gotten approval from all parties to combine our prelim sessions.  We will do 11 and older warm ups from 6:30 - 7:30, and 10 and under from 7:30 - 8:00.  The meet will start at 8:00 a.m. all three days.  Timelines show that we should be finished with the prelim sessions between 11:15 and 11:30 daily.  We will be starting finals at 4:30, so the pool will be open for warm ups at 3:15. ...

MAAPP Is Coming June 23rd - Information from USAS Please Read the MAAPP News! There are still a couple weeks left before the June 23rd deadline to implement MAAPP. Your feedback has been heard and much appreciated, and we want to continue to provide resources to assist you in your implementation. Please take the time to visit www.usaswimming.org/maapp. We continue to add additional resources and update existing resources to assist you in understanding and implementing the policy. The new resource additions this week include short webinars that break down each section...

TrueSport Expert Series - Anxiety The TrueSport Expert Series is an in-depth look at youth sports from experts, ranging from coaches, to doctors, to nutritionists, to sport psychologists, on topics examining the performance, values and health of youth athletes. Click Here to play the videos. Dr. David Conan-Norville on Anxiety Sports challenge young athletes to push themselves past their self-imposed physical and mental limits. Dr. David Conant-Norville, a board-certified child and adolescent psychiatric physician, explains how coaches can help athletes build confidence and manage the anxiety that comes with high...

TrueSport Expert Series - Attitude The TrueSport Expert Series is an in-depth look at youth sports from experts, ranging from coaches, to doctors, to nutritionists, to sport psychologists, on topics examining the performance, values and health of youth athletes. Click Here to play the videos. Noah Hoffman on Attitude Sport not only teaches us how to be better athletes, but better people. Noah Hoffman, two-time Olympian in cross-country skiing, shares how his teammates taught him a huge lesson on attitude. Learn more about Noah Hoffman.

TrueSport Expert Series - Leadership The TrueSport Expert Series is an in-depth look at youth sports from experts, ranging from coaches, to doctors, to nutritionists, to sport psychologists, on topics examining the performance, values and health of youth athletes. Click Here   to play the videos. Sally Roberts on Leadership Leaders aren’t made overnight. Sally Roberts, former elite wrestler, sport psychology consultant, and founder of Wrestle Like A Girl, explains how coaches, parents, and all role models play a part in developing leadership skills in athletes that help them and...