Youth soccer season is in full swing across the nation! US Goalkeeper Tony Meola has teamed up with Allstate Insurance. As the official insurance sponsor of U.S. Soccer, Allstate has teamed up with Meola to help ensure that our nation’s youth soccer players are taking the proper precautions to protect themselves as they play this great game as well as to provide education and inspiration to youth soccer players this fall.

Tony’s Tips for Youth Soccer Players

• Avoid injuries by wearing shoes that fit. Not much equipment is required for soccer, but cleats that are too small or too big can irritate your feet. Also, don’t worry about those flashy cleats your friend is wearing. Wear what works for you. Still learning the game? Go with molded cleats over the more dangerous metal spikes. An all purpose cleat will serve you well until you get a better feel for soccer cleats.
• At halftime or in between games, get off your feet. To conserve energy in your legs, find a shady spot near the field, have a seat and rest up for the next half or game. If you can elevate your feet for a couple of minutes, that would help.
• For all goalkeepers out there, learn how to dive properly. The better your technique, the less inclined your are to get injured. Also, wear the padded pants to protect your legs. Taking proper training to be a goalkeeper will be well worth it.
• Cross-training by participating in multiple sports is a great way to train as well as avoid injuries, especially for field players. For example, the constant cutting, different speeds and short bursts in basketball translate very well to soccer. Being involved in other sports also helps.
• Don’t be a hero. Some soccer injuries can be caused by consistent overuse or playing through pain. If you sustain an injury, take the time to heal up so you can get back on the field! And remember – injuries need to be managed long term, not just in the short term.
• Stay hydrated to stay in the game! Whether you’re playing in a game or practicing, fluid replenishment is vitally important to battle fatigue and avoid dehydration, especially in the summer months. And remember – small sips or else you might find yourself right back on the sideline!
• Whether you win or lose, join your team for a brief cool down jog after the game. Icing after games is also a great way to begin the recovery process.

And one tip from me – HAVE FUN! Soccer is a game everyone can enjoy – whether you play in a league or in your backyard scrimmaging against your friends – soccer is great exercise.

The Cover Girl Classic is being held in Chicago on July 23rd. It is one of the meets that gymnasts can use to qualify to the 2011 Visa Championships which is considered to be a stepping stone for many in their journey to earn a berth on the 2012 US Olympic Team. Shawn will only be competing in two events – most likely bars and beam – for both the Covergirl Classic and Visa Championships as she is still recovering from knee surgery. I’m excited to see how she does – as so many comebacks are disappointing – but I’m rooting for Shawn!!

Shawn has also signed a sponsorship deal with Nike leading into the 2012 London Olympic Games. She will be wearing Nike cross-training gear, but I can only wonder if Nike will launch a line of Shawn Johnson apparel. Its unlikely they will enter into the leotard arena, but you never know.

Image Source: ShawnJohnson.net

Seen here at the ESPY awards, Nastia and Evan have been dating since last summer, but word is that its now official. They do make a very striking couple!

We all know she can swim, but can Natalie Coughlin dance, too? We’ll find out tonight on the season 9 premier of Dancing With the Stars. Olympic swimmer Natalie Coughlin is paired with 5 season veteran and season 1 co-champ Alex Mazo.

I am guessing that Natalie will be the 13th act to perform tonight as according to her Twitter stream her vote number is 1-800-VOTE4-13. Personally, 13 is my lucky number and we will certainly be voting to make sure it is her lucky number, too.

Watch Natalie’s first DWTS interview with Alex on learning to dance and how she thinks she will do from TVGrapevine.com:

Good luck Natalie!

Carly is going to host a live chat with her fans on Stickam.com on Thursday, August 27 at 5pm CST. For more information, please visit: http://stickam.com/carlypatterson.

From the official press release:

CARLY PATTERSON’s new album, Back to the Beginning is available now!

The Chicago-based MUSICMIND RECORDS has signed former Olympic Gold & Silver Medalist CARLY PATTERSON to an exclusive recording agreement with plans to promote Carly’s debut album with a full scale promotional tour, guest appearances, and etc. The label is distributed by Federal Distribution, a division of Universal Music Group and has announced release of Carly’s debut album, Back to the Beginning on August 25th, 2009.

“We are extremely excited about Carly. She is poised to emerge as one of the unique music discoveries for 2008”, says Anthony Ferguson, General Manager/A&R for MusicMind Records.

Born in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the 20-year-old Carly Patterson has come a long way in such a short period. The gymnast made her debut at the senior international elite level, winning back-to-back American Cup titles in 2003 and 2004, as well as the title of 2004 U.S. Co-National Champion. Patterson was also a member of the 2003 World Championship Team where she won a Silver Medal in the all-around and helped lead the U.S. to their first ever World Championship team Gold Medal. It was also at this competition that Carly’s signature beam dismount (an Arabian double front) was officially named “The Patterson”. At the 2004 Olympic Games, Carly and her teammates earned the silver medal in the team competition. It was also at this competition that Carly became the first American woman in 20 years to win an Olympic Gold Medal in the all-around title category since Mary Lou Retton.

In 2006, Patterson decided to retire from Gymnastics after having lower back issues and to pursue a life long passion of becoming a recording artist. Since the games, Patterson has stayed occupied with event appearances (gymnastics related and otherwise), landed a number of high profile corporate sponsorships, appeared in a Mobile ESPN commercial aired during Super Bowl XL, appeared on Celebrity Duets (produced by Simon Cowell of American Idol fame) and finished her authorized biography, which is currently in bookstores nation wide.

Carly is currently visiting radio and TV in support of her album and has recently released the music video for her single, “Time to Wake up”. With the assistance of Universal/Republic, MusicMind Records plans on garnering national and international recognition for Carly Patterson’s August 25th, 2009 CD release.

Additionally, Carly is going to be doing am exclusive live chat with her fans on Stickam.com on Thursday, August 27 at 5pm CST. For more information, please visit: http://stickam.com/carlypatterson

Download Back to the Beginning on iTunes: http://bit.ly/CarlyPatterson

Stop back in later this week for more on Carly and her debut album!

The season premiere will be September 21. Natalie Coughlin will be joined by 15 other contestants including Tom DeLay, Donny Osmond, Kathy Ireland, Kelly Osborne, Melissa Joan Hart and more.

Coughlin is excited about having the opportunity not only to learn to dance but also to train hard at something else besides swimming. I know we will be looking forward to seeing what she can do and cheering her on!

On Wednesday, June 3 she threw the first pitch at the Dodgers – Diamondback MLB game.

And May 23 she was trying out the race car driver thing at the Coca-Cola 600.

I don’t know about you, but I seriously doubt we’ll see Shawn making a comeback in the gym anytime soon. She seems to be cashing in on her success and having a great time doing it!

AC: What do you like most about cheer?
Dakota: I love stunting! I’m a flyer and I just love that. Also, you make so many friends in cheerleading. Sometimes it’s a long way to games, and we have to travel for hours on a bus, and you kind of bond with your teammates. I think that’s really nice.

AC: What is it about stunting that you love so much?
Dakota: You know it really came naturally to me when I first started doing it. It’s probably my most favorite thing about cheerleading—I’m the one who’s always like, ‘OK, let’s stunt now.’ I really love doing toe touch Baskets.

As usual the debate as to whether cheerleading is a sport continues, but as far as Dakota is concerned, cheerleading is a sport – and one she really enjoys.

Photo courtesy of PopCrunch

Olympic Gymnast Shawn Johnson was crowned winner of Dancing with the Stars season 8 after performing a very confident Cha Cha with partner Mark Ballas.

After seeing Shawn’s very first dance at the beginning of the season I was skeptical that she would have the ability to win. However, Shawn worked as hard in dance training as she has all her gymnastics years and it pays off. She overcame her hesitations on body movement and got into to every character she had to play. She took her gymnastics background and made it work for her in a completely new way.

Congratulations Shawn! We can’t wait to see where you take your talents next.

Olympic Gymnast Shawn Johnson has another accolade to add to her resume – she was awarded the AAU Sullivan award this evening at the New York Athletic Club in New York City. (Photo – AAU Sullivan Award winner Shawn Johnson seen here with Mitchell Musso on the set of DWTS from Flickr)

There were five finalists for this year’s award – Shawn Johnson, fellow Olympic gymnast Nastia Liukin, Volleyball player Cynthia Barboza, Basketball player Tyler Hansborough, and the members of the US men’s Olympic 4×100 swimming team.

The AAU Sullivan award is considered to be the Oscar’s of the sports world. It is used to recognize outstanding amateur athletes who show excellence in their sport, leadership, character and sportsmanship.

Congratulations Shawn!