SportsBrain is a Chicago based organization helping athletes stay safe through comprehensive baseline concussion testing and concussion management programs for youth, high school, college, and professional sports organizations. We publish a monthly newsletter with articles of interest to parents, coaches, teachers and athletes.

1. MENTAL TOUGHNESS TIPS
“Success is most often achieved by those who
don’t know that failure is inevitable.” –Coco Chanel
“Only those who dare to fail greatly can ever
achieve greatly.” ­–Robert F. Kennedy
“Success is stumbling from failure to failure with
no loss of enthusiasm.” –Winston Churchill
“Many of life’s failures are people who did not
realize how close they were to success when they
gave up.” –Thomas A. Edison
Take a look at our Mental Toughness Academy.
Your athletes can develop the skills to block out
distractions and overcome poor performance during
competition. In our 8 Module Course we incorporate
guided visualizations and other training techniques
to teach athletes how to master their thoughts and
emotions while playing at their peak level.
See how the Mental Toughness Academy can
help your athletes by visiting our website!
MENTAL TOUGHNESS ACADEMY
ISSUE 27 • MARCH 2015
THIS ISSUE
A MESSAGE FROM
SPORTSBRAIN
PAGE 1
MENTAL
TOUGHNESS
PAGE 1
BASELINE
CONCUSSION
TESTING
INFORMATION
PAGE 2
HOW TO MAKE A
SMOOTHIE
PAGE 2
HOW TO BUILD A
TRULY SUPER SALAD
PAGE 2
NOURISHING
YOUR CHILDREN’S
CREATIVITY
PAGE 3
DATES OF INTEREST
PAGE 3
HELICOPTERS AND
SNOWPLOWS
PAGE 4
A MESSAGE FROM SPORTSBRAIN
Climatologists say that we enjoy talking about the
weather so much—well, because—temperatures vary
so much season to season. We can talk about the past,
think about the future, dream about our next holiday,
chuckle about how cold or hot it was six months ago,
and watch the movement of time.
Spring is around the corner. Depending where you and
your family reside, you may be able to join me shortly in
saying goodbye to our collection of snow boots (be they
water-proof, water-resistant or commuter boots, meaning
they leak in puddles, a lot!), hats, scarves, gloves, mittens,
heavy coats, short days and frigid temperatures.
In this issue of our newsletter, we have chosen to discuss
parents. From one angle, how to spot a helicopter parent
and how we need to let our children make choices and
develop independence. From the other angle, we also
need to remember that they are kids, and childhood
should be fun. Children need the freedom to develop their
creativity and we need to allow them the time, space and
resources to do so. Rounding out this newsletter are two
charts with some fresh ideas for salads and smoothies. If
your household is anything like mine, I’ve served one too
many soups, stews or apple crisps over this cold winter—
and myfamilyiscraving some more colorful,brightmeals.
Thank goodness our stores are beginning to stock some
new fresh fruits and vegetables; blueberries, dragon fruit
and asparagus and they will all be gobbled up before the
apples, oranges and healthy salads.
Awareness of TBI (Tramautic Brain Injury) continues
to increase. Beyond sports injuries, common causes
of TBI include:
• Falls–children and seniors are especially prone to
these injuries
• Impact–being struck by or against an object or person
• Motor Vehicle Traffic Incidents
• Physical Assaults
• Child or Elderly Abuse
You are able to learn more with the following resources:
1. Parents: www.cdc.gov/headsup/parents
2. Youth Sports: www.cdc.gov/headsup/youthsports
3. High School Sports:
www.cdc.gov/headsup/highschoolsports
4. Schools (School Nurses, Teachers, Counselors
and School Professionals):
www.cdc.gov/headsup/schools/nurses.html
www.cdc.gov/headsup/schools/teachers.html
5. Health Care Professionals:
www.cdc.gov/headsup/providers
6. Older Adults:
www.cdc.gov/traumaticbraininjury/seniors.html
Knowledge is power. Make a commitment to learn more
about concussions—the signs, the consequences,
return to play/learn/work best practices.
Open up the lines of communications with your child’s
coach, with their teacher, with their camp counselors,
with their caregivers, with your community.
My favorite quote this month comes from Plato. He was
both a philosopher and mathematician in Classical Greece.
“We can easily forgive a child who is afraid of the
dark; the real tragedy of life is when men are afraid
of the light.”
Be safe, be strong. Dream about the longer days and
warmer nights, just around the corner.
Barb Wiseberg
Editor
Barb.Wiseberg@SportsBrain.com
QUOTE
“Character consists
of what you do on the
third and fourth tries.”
–James A. Michener

2. MARCH
Brain Injury Awareness Month
MARCH 4, 2014
Purim (holiday begins
at sundown)
MARCH 8, 2015
International Women’s Day
Daylight savings begins
MARCH 17, 2015
St. Patrick’s Day
MARCH 20, 2015
First Day of Spring
MARCH 29, 2015
Palm Sunday
MARCH 30, 2015
National Doctors’ Day
DATES OF INTEREST
BASELINE
CONCUSSION
TESTING
INFORMATION
SportsBrain
conducts regularly
scheduled baseline
concussion testing
throughout Chicago;
Madison, WI; and
Chester, NJ.
Please see our
website at
www.SportsBrain.com
for specific dates
and times.
SportsBrain offers
Neurocognitive,
Eye Tracking, Balance
and Reaction Time
Testing as part of a
comprehensive Baseline
Concussion testing
model. We provide these
services for individual
athletes, youth sports
organizations, schools,
park districts, colleges
and professional teams.
We have multiple testing
locations or we can
arrange to conduct
testing at your facility for
your specific group of
athletes. With a variety of
cost-effective
and hassle free options
to keep your athletes
safe, SportsBrain fights
concussions. Email
testing@sportsbrain.com
for more information.

3. NOURISHING YOUR CHILDREN’S CREATIVITY
Imagine that today is a snow day or a holiday of
some sort—schools are shut, and many offices and
business are closed. Time to catch up on laundry,
household tasks and the latest series on Netflix.
But, what are the kids going to do all day long???
It is easy to give children electronic tablets or access
to a variety of apps, and just assume that this will
keep them busy or entertained. However, why not
put away these devices for most of the day and
make a committed effort to engage in a variety of
creative activities and games with your children?
The possibilities are endless!
Dr. Joanne Foster is an occasional contributor to our
newsletter. The following post originally appeared
on the site “Creativity Post”, with the title “Young
Children and Game-Playing: Ten Suggestions for
Parents and Care-Givers”.
Kids lead very busy lives. There are so many books
to read, places to go, people to see, things to do, and
games to play.
Games help to fuel children’s creativity–and
vice versa.
Here are ten suggestions for parents, babysitters,
camp counsellors, and other care-givers to consider
when thinking about games for young children:
1. Keep it safe. Children should feel comfortable
within their environment. A safe and properly
supervised setting is necessary for free-spirited
play, and also allows adults to step back a bit and let
children work things out for themselves—and then
feel a sense of accomplishment.
2. Encourage both independent play as well as
interaction. Sometimes kids like to be on their
own. However, connecting with others can lead to
wonderful opportunities for learning and discovery,
help children develop relationships, and give them
a chance to practice important skills like sharing,
listening, and taking turns.
3. Make it fun. Don’t be fussy. Get creative! Involve
the senses. Let play be unstructured, and if possible
take the activity outdoors so everyone gets some
fresh air.
4. Boredom is okay. It lets children figure out what
they want to do next, and what interests them. Don’t
feel you have to fill a child’s every waking moment
with activities.
5. Keep a bin with lots of stuff handy. Arts and crafts
supplies, dress up clothes, boxes, blocks, books, and
whatever else might capture children’s imaginations
and enable them to create their own games.
6. Give children time and space. Don’t pressure
children into adhering to time frames that short-
circuit their game-playing. When it’s time to wrap
things up reassure them that they can still continue
whatever they’re doing another time.
7. Respect children’s preferences. If they’re not
interested in a particular game, set it aside. Don’t
force kids to play a certain game just because you
like it. Perhaps it will be more appealing another day.
Talk together about other options.
8. Make it developmentally appropriate. That is, not
too simple as to be a drag, and not too complicated
as to be overly challenging or to cause consternation.
However, it’s okay if kids confront setbacks along the
way because that’s how they learn resilience. Even
the simplest board games are designed to show
children that they can recoup if they hit a snag or
move in the wrong direction.
9. It’s not about winning. It’s about the pleasure of
participating in something that is enjoyable, and
potentially a learning experience.
10. Cultivate curiosity. Harness spontaneity,
including seizing the moment and trying something
different or innovative, and let children take the lead
and show what they’d like to do. For example, it may
be something technological (fine in moderation)
or something totally silly, or cerebral, or artsy, or
low-key, or somewhat rough-and-tumble.
Above all, be supportive—of children’s choices,
interests, abilities, and creative impulses
If you are interesting in learning more about infusing
creativity into your children’s environment, please
visit www.creativitypost.com. The site includes
posts by many seasoned columnists including
another post from Dr. Foster’s entitled “Why Should
Creativity Matter to Kids? What’s the Big Deal?”.
For more information see Beyond Intelligence:
Secrets for Raising Happily Productive Kids by Dona
Matthews, PhD and Joanne Foster, EdD (House of
Anansi, 2014) and visit www.beyondintelligence.net.
Also visit Joanne Foster, EdD on Facebook—Not
Now Maybe Later: Helping Children Overcome
Procrastination.
Thanks to Creativity Post for first posting this
blog entry. The Creativity Post is a non-profit
web platform committed to sharing the very
best content on creativity, in all of its forms.
www.creativitypost.com
“Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the little voice at the end
of the day that says I’ll try again tomorrow.” –Mary Anne Radmacher
ABOUT
JOANNE
“When we give ourselves
permission to fail, we, at the
same time, give ourselves
permission to excel.”
–Eloise Ristad
QUOTE
Joanne Foster is a parent,
teacher, consultant,
researcher, and education
specialist. Dr. Foster teaches
educational psychology at the
Ontario Institute for Studies
in Education at the University
of Toronto and has over 30
years of experience working
in the field of gifted education.
She writes extensively about
high-level development, and
presents on a wide range
of topics at conferences and
learning venues across
North America.
She is the co-author (with
Dona Matthews) of the award
winning book Being Smart
about Gifted Education
(2009, Great Potential Press),
and Beyond Intelligence:
Secrets for Raising Happily
Productive Kids (2014,
Anansi Press). Her latest book
is Not Now, Maybe Later:
Helping Children Overcome
Procrastination (2015, Great
Potential Press).
For additional information, visit
www.brainpowerinitiative.com

4. ISSUE 27 • MARCH 2015
BRAINWARE
We are a national organization concentrating on the implementation of comprehensive
baseline concussion testing and concussion management programs for youth, high school,
college, and professional sports organizations. SportsBrain also provides cognitive,
mental toughness, and leadership development training to maximize mental performance
both on and off the field. At SportsBrain, we fight concussions by offering flexible
schedules with multiple locations to make baseline concussion testing more accessible.
500 Lake Cook Road, Ste 350, Deerfield, IL 60015 • T: 855-32-BRAIN (322-7246) • F: 888-253-5997
www.SportsBrain.com @Sports_Brain
HELICOPTERS AND SNOWPLOWS
At first glance, these two words seem out of place in our
newsletter. However, both are words that have entered
our vocabulary to describe a certain type of parent.
Flashback—40 years ago:
For better or worse, we didn’t have scheduled
playdates, electronic devices or a playroom full of toys.
There were only a few shows on television that we
enjoyed so we watched those same episodes again
and again. We carved out places to play in our homes,
in our backyards and at the park. Fast food was an
occasional treat. Our parents went out to dinner to nice
restaurants—adults only, we were hardly ever included.
Families did not move around a lot and many of us
were surrounded by neighbors, relatives, siblings
and in the background, our parents. Discipline was
strict and punishments were adhered to.
Fast forward to the 21st Century:
A recent study, conducted by researchers from the
University of Mary Washington and published in
the Journal of Child and Family Studies, concludes
that “helicopter parenting” can lead our children to
depression and an overall dissatisfaction with life.
A“helicopterparent”,likeanyparent,comesinavariety
of shapes, sizes and attributes. We must remember
that life today is not the same as it was in 1970, due to
a variety of familial, societal and financial evolutions
(or setbacks, depending on your perspective).
There is no test to define this new breed of parents.
However, there does seem to be a general consensus
that some parents are “too involved” and other
parents understand the importance of letting our
children grow, develop and make mistakes, as they
learn to navigate our complicated world and make
their own decisions.
As an informal test, does this often sound like you or
your spouse/partner?
Do you.
1. Text your child during the school day several times?
2. Think they are too busy for household chores, since
schoolwork and team sports are “so competitive”?
3. Get too involved in their school projects, instead of
proofing a final draft of their work?
4. Completesomeoftheirhomeworkyourself,sothatthey
are able to concentrate on some of their core subjects?
5. Micromanage their evenings and weekends,
ensuring they are always busy, active and involved?
6. Drive them to the bus stop, or wait at the bus stop to
pick them up, avoiding walking home a few blocks?
7. Confuse love with gifts. Does any child truly need
an endless stream of gifts from caring parents and
relatives throughout the year?
8. Subscribe to the germ squad? We don’t live in a
bubble and kids get dirty, clothes get ripped and
stains don’t always come out, despite our best
efforts. It is so ironic that preschool teachers need
to remind parents to dress their children for play,
not in fashionable outfits.
9. Hand pick their friendships? In a perfect world, our
children would develop friendships with our friend’s
children, so we could have a two-generation
playdate. But life doesn’t work that way. Some
friendships are everlasting, some are temporary
and some don’t get off the ground at all. Children
need to learn to test out different relationships
and understand that they will develop a variety of
friendships through their lives, some close, some
casual, and some that fizzle.
10. Lack spontaneity?
In late 2014, our home lost power for almost a
week, right before Christmas. It was inconvenient,
frustrating and taught us to better prepared for the
future. But it was also a lot of fun. Frozen pizzas on
the barbeque, board games, cuddling up together to
sleep. We couldn’t plan any of this, and some of our
carefully laid out plans were scrapped.
We are all guilty of wanting what is best for our kids.
BUT, we often do need to step back and watch them fail.
My 14 year old son has been working on his science
fair project for over a month with a friend. It is due
tomorrow morning and I still don’t know what they are
presenting. I do know that these boys realized they
missed one part of the project, and had to scramble
to get it done over the weekend. They developed a
timeline, arranged where the work was going to get
done, went to bed late one night, got up at 6:30 am
the next morning to complete it, and they are putting
the final touches on the project this evening. The
parents are able to see their displays tomorrow night,
after their presentations, after they have received
their mark, for one hour.
I hope their presentation goes well. If not, their
presentation next year will be better. I hope.
Mental performance
is a big determining
factor of success in
competition. Help
your athletes improve
their mental abilities
by going through our
BrainWare program
which develops
their cognitive skills.
This program has a
proven track record of
success and the skills
developed along the
way will benefit the
athletes academically,
personally and
professionally.
See how the BrainWare
program can help
your athletes by
visiting our website.