The SKLZ Quickster net is the perfect backyard practice tool for every sport involving a ball. In the two weeks we have had the net it has been used to practice field hockey, soccer, baseball, golf and football. We had way too much fun chipping golf balls at it and trying to get them in the center pouch.

The Quickster is large – measuring 7 feet x 7 feet, but it is super easy to assemble (my 15 year old and 10 year old got it all set up in under 5 minutes for me) and has a storage bag so you can easily take it to the field and set up an additional practice station. The bag target is detachable and you can position it just about anywhere in the net to practice shot or throwing accuracy.

The SKLZ Quickster retails for $149 and can be purchased at your local Sports Authority store or online at SportsAuthority.com.

What we are giving away:

We are giving away two (2) SKLZ Quickster nets.

How do you enter:

Required entry: Leave us a comment on THIS post sharing what sports you and your family would be able to practice more if you won the SKLZ Quickster net.

Bonus entries: Get BONUS ENTRIES by letting your friends know about our giveaway. Get one extra entry for each of the following, but come back and leave a second comment telling us where you shared it:

• Post about it on your own blog, in a forum, tweet about it or share it with your friends on Facebook
• Follow us on Twitter (we are @SportsGirlsPlay) – please send us a tweet letting us know you are following us and introduce yourself, too.
• Like us on Facebook (we are SportsGirlsPlay) – again, feel free to leave us a note on Facebook saying hello and that you are entering the giveaway.

Rules

• Leave your comment(s) no later than midnight April 23, 2012.
• Make sure your email address is right. We only use it to contact the winners and we will NEVER share it or publish it.
• You must be 13 or older to enter. If you are under 13, just ask your parent, grandparent, favorite aunt or uncle to enter for you!
• We will be using the “And the winner is” plugin to select two (2) winners at random.

Disclosure: Sports Authority sent us a SKLZ Quickster net for purpose of review but the opinions of the product are our own!

It has been a while since I have put together a recommended reading list, but there are some good reads out there this week whether you are a sports mom or dad, sports fan or athlete!

• Let’s start with a few posts for all the dedicated sports moms and dads out there! Stats Dad wrote a great piece on parenting athletes and maintaining a good healthy marriage – yes, it can be done!! How do you make it work – especially when you have more than one athlete in the house (like we do)?
• In the sports nutrition department we have Healthy Eating in Youth Sports from the Women’s Sports Foundation’s SHE Network and Organizing Your Sports Diet tips from Nancy Clark at Our Game Magazine (awesome resource for soccer players by the way!)
• These two young ladies are showing us that you can be athletic and feminine at the same time – Brianna Amat – Homecoming Queen and Winning Field Goal Kicker was featured at Pretty Tough and Alaina Bergsma who excels on the Volleyball court and in the Pageant Circuit on the Aries Apparel  blog.
• Hilary Levey Friedman has excellent commentary (as usual) on benefits of girls playing sports in her recent post From Captain to CEO: Young Girls and Sports.
• I learned about the organization Be The Game via JBM Thinks’ post called Help Every Kid Play Sports. Every child should have the opportunity to play sports, but the reality is that many families simply cannot afford for their kids to play. According to the Be The Game website, We are not a charity. We are a company that believes in philanthropy and through small acts of kindness we can all create greater results and make our world a little bit better for our children!

Here’s to a successful sports filled weekend for everyone! My youngest daughter has her first swim meet of the short course season this weekend, so it will be chlorine fumes, stop watches and lots of cheering for me!

Looking for some good youth sports related reads for the weekend? Don’t miss:

• Get a glimpse into the goings on at a major youth track meet as Track Mom keeps us up to date with her daughter’s track journey at Youth Outdoor Nationals.
• StatsDad offers some insight into helping your athlete deal with not making the team and shares an extreme Mom’s way of dealing with it the wrong way.
• Want to know what to pack for your next sporting event? Trophy Mom has thought of everything – including the toilet paper!
• If you are going to be near the Mall of America, Olympic Gymnast Shawn Johnson will be there signing autographs on Sunday, July 10.
• Know an exceptional athlete between the ages of 7 and 15? One that excels in sports, school and life? Nominate them for the Sports Illustrated Kids SportsKid of the Year!
• Gymnasts do pretty crazy things and sometimes the mistakes they make are just funny! Send in your team’s gymnastics bloopers to Gymnastike by July 31.
• Barbara Hopewell, mother of Olympic gold-medal swimmer Summer Sanders, shares her perspective on how to motivate your child’s athletic passion at home.

I have also found some good sports related deals this week:

• Danskin is having its Biggest sale Yet – 65% off over 150 Styles
• ChicksPlaySports is having a Summer Sale, use promo code CPSSUMMER to take an additional 25% off your purchase!
• Shop Reebok’s Summer Blowout Sale with all Shorts and Tees Only $9.99 using code BLOWOUT! Hurry, valid 7/8-7/14
• New Markdowns Up to 60% Off at SpeedoUSA.com!

Have a great weekend!

I have collected some great resources and checklists to help you decide if your athlete is ready for an overnight camp and what you need to pack.

• Let’s start with my printable summer camp packing list – one is specifically for gymnasts and the other one is for just about any camp.
• Mom’s Team has a good checklist for parent’s preparing to send their athlete away to camp
• PBS’s Bob Ditter on how to get kids ready for camp - the independence, maturity and mental preparation
• Jennifer O’Donnell has some good tips to help you determine if your tween is ready for an overnight camp
• TypeA Parent has another good article on how to make sure your child’s first camp experience is a successful one

Don’t forget to label EVERYTHING! Either invest in some good Sharpie markers or better yet, Mabel’s Labels has a Limited Edition Camp Combo™ that is perfect for labeling everything your child may need at camp.

What other tips do you have for sending kids off to camp?

Some of the most helpful, pertinent and positive articles I have found this week…

• Youth Sports Hydration Guidelines at MomsTeam.com has a nice chart for determining how much and when to give your athlete fluids before, during and after workouts.
• Before a sports season, there is one question you should ask your child
• The SafeKids organization has a good printable PDF on how to prevent overuse injuries
• JBM Thinks has a good article on Helping Your Athlete Deal With Mistakes
• Chaperoning a team trip or camp this summer? You have to read Alyssa’s 7 Tips for Chaperoning a Bunch of Girls!
• Get a teen’s perspective on the Pretty Tough book series at ChicksPlaySports.

On Monday, May 2nd I will be visiting Gatorade headquarters in Chicago with other Sports Moms to learn even more about the science behind Gatorade, and to hear from Gatorade scientists and sport nutritionists about how nutrition and fuel help our young athletes’ performance. If you have any questions for the scientists regarding Gatorade and sports nutrition, leave me a comment below and I’ll see if I can get it answered.

We will be taking in a lot of great information I will definitely be sharing what I learn with you in the weeks to come. However, I will be using Twitter to share some insights and will be hosting Twitter Gatorade trivia contest throughout the day, too! I will have four Gatorade Sports Mom Survival Packs to use as contest prizes for the first Twitter follower who correctly answers each of my Gatorade trivia questions.

Here are the details of the Twitter event:

What: Gatorade Twitter Trivia Contest with Gatorade Sports Moms
When: Monday, May 2 between 9 am and 3 pm Central Time
Who: Everyone is welcome and the even will be hosted by me @SportsGirlsPlay
Hashtag: Use the hashtag #SportsMoms to mark your answers
Prizes: Winners will receive a Gatorade Sports Mom Survival Pack, which includes:

• Gatorade dri-fit shirt (women’s cut)
• Gatorade water bottle
• Gatorade towel
• Gatorade drawstring bag
• 18.4 oz of Gatorade 02 Powder (makes 4 qt of Gatorade)

Don’t miss out on the Twitter party or other upcoming events on SportsGirlsPlay! Follow me on Twitter now – @SportsGirlsPlay and don’t forget to like the SportsGirlsPlay Facebook page, too.

Twitter bird courtesy of Link Creative

TeamSnap is a very easy-to-use, web-based application that helps busy parents and coaches keep their teams organized. It was built from the ground up to be powerful and intuitive — for busy parents, not computer techies and was recently featured on the popular Lifehacker website for its iPhone app’s usability.

Parents and coaches can use TeamSnap to maintain the roster, track availability, manage the schedule, coordinate who’s bringing the snacks, send emails and text messages, collect team fees, share photos and much more. It’s all in a central location accessible only by those on the team with the ability to share select information on a public site.

By making it easier to manage and organize their teams, TeamSnap gives parents more time to focus on their important role in youth sports which includes supporting their child, instilling values, and building confidence.

What we are giving away:

• One free, premium, annual TeamSnap membership ($79 value) and a $50 gift certificate to SportsAuthority

How To Enter

• Simply leave your response to the following question in the comments on THIS site:TeamSnap makes it much easier to keep track of your children’s sports commitments and saves time spent on organization. If you had an extra 20 minutes each day, what would you do with it?
  
• Get bonus entries by letting your friends know about our giveaway. Get one extra entry for each of the following:
  • Post about it on your own blog, in a forum or share it with your friends on Facebook
  • Follow us on Twitter (we are @SportsGirlsPlay)
  • Like SportsGirlsPlay on Facebook
  • Like TeamSnap on Facebook
• Come back and leave a second comment telling us where you shared it.

Rules

• Leave your comment(s) no later than midnight February 9, 2011.
• You must use your real name and email address in the comment form below – don’t put your email address in the comment itself. If you don’t we can’t contact in the event that you win.
• We will be using Random.org to select one (1) winner.

UPDATE – Congratulations to Amanda D. – you are the winner! I have emailed you with additional details on claiming your prize.

For the past 26 years I have been an advocate for girls participating in sports and have (and continue to) been involved as a coach, parent and athlete. The primary reason I started Sports Girls Play was to provide a positive resource for other parents, coaches and athletes in a wide range of sports. Having coached literally hundreds (probably closer to a thousand) girls from ages 3 on up, I have seen the benefits of sports directly as these little girls have grown into successful young women. I have seen the benefits of sports in my own daughters’ lives and have chronicled quite a bit of it here.

Some of the articles that I have posted over the years that I think best represent the spirit of the Rally for Girls Sports Day include:

• Coaching Reflections
• Success is Not Always Measured in Medals
• Confidence – The Secret Ingredient
• Getting Past “I Quit”
• What a Difference a Year Makes
• Observations from the Rink
• Sports Can Help Kids Focus in School
• Thanks Sports Parents

So, in support of Rally for Girls Sports Day, take a minute and answer the question, “What did you win by playing sports?”  in the comments below.

Part of me is ready to start my shopping now, but the other part of me knows that the deals are to be had on Black Friday (and Cyber Monday). Here are a few good deals for those of you looking for gifts for your athletes:

GYMNASTICS & DANCE Deals

• Destira Leotards are 15% this weekend! At checkout, enter coupon-code TGIVING. Offer expires 11/28/2010.
• Danskin Leotards - Black Friday & Cyber Monday Only! 40% Off Site-Wide Plus Free Standard Shipping! Use Coupon BLAFRI10 or CYBMON10.
• Get a FREE PEACE BAG when you buy any pair of Bloch shoes at AllAboutDance. Limit one per customer, while supplies last. May not be combined with any other offers.

GOLF Deals

• Take $20 off orders of $100+ at Golfsmith.com when you use code TD4FC3P to save! Offer Expires 11/30
• Get 15% off any size order this Black Friday to Cyber Monday. Use CYBER15 at checkout. *Manufacturer Restrictions May Apply

SWIM Deals

• Cyber Monday Sale! 25% Off Any Order + Free Shipping Over $50 11/29-11/30 at SpeedoUSA.com!
• Save 15% with the code THANKS10 at Swim2000.com

LACROSSE Deals

• Receive a FREE $20 eGift Card on Orders Over $100 from Lacrosse.com! Use code 3FRIDAYGC

TENNIS Deals

• Purchase any Head YouTek Tennis Racquet and get Free Head Backpack. Expires 11/30/2010. *valid while quantities last.

EVERYTHING ELSE

• Save 33% on orders at BowlingShirt.com through 11/29 using code “GOBBLE33″
• Cyber Monday Sale – Free Shipping on All Items plus save up to 40% on Outerwear at FansEdge.com
• Purchase the NEW BodyMedia FIT Mobile Bluetooth system and receive free shipping through 12/31
• Reebok Black Friday Deal: 50% off all Fleece, Polar Fleece and Velour Apparel 11/26-11/28 using code WARM!
• YogaAccessories.com – Buy one Get one Free!
• AgooApparel – 40% off active clothes for active kids!
• Cleatskins cleat covers (these are the PERFECT gift for soccer players, golfers, and any sport with cleats) 15% off your entire order

How to use the summer camp packing list:

• Print out the Summer Camp Packing List from the PDF files below – one is gymnastics specific and the other is for any sport
  • Gymnastics Summer Camp Packing List
  • Sports Summer Camp Packing List
• Slip the printed packing list into a plastic notebook sleeve or laminate it
• Check off items as they are packed with a dry erase marker
• Wipe off once everything is packed and pack in your camper’s luggage so she can use the list to re-pack her stuff on the last day of camp

Feel free to print out as many copies of the list as you like and share the list with your friends. All I ask is that if you post the list online (whether it be on your club or camp website, Facebook, or a forum), you link back to SportsGirlsPlay.com for the actual file download.

Your athlete might also enjoy our matching printable training journal to keep track of her workouts, whether she is at camp or just to keep track of her summer improvements.