ProfNet Experts Available on Domestic Violence and the NFL, Kids in Sports, More

NEW YORK, Sept. 19, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Below are experts from the ProfNet network that are available to discuss timely issues in your coverage area. If you are interested in interviewing any of the experts, please contact them via the contact information at the end of the listing. To receive these updates by email, send a note to [email protected] with the industries you cover, and we'll add you to the appropriate edition. 

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EXPERT ALERTS

• Under Pressure: Kids in Sports and the Pressure to Perform
• Domestic Violence and Pro Sports: What This Means for Rice and Peterson
• Link Between NFL's 'Warrior Culture' and Ray Rice Incident
• Texas Parallels Fed Probe of Medicare Fraud
• Financial Considerations for New Parents
• How to Pick the Right Fitness Trainer for You
• Positive and Effective Discipline Methods Parents Can Use

MEDIA JOBS

• Producer - Wall Street Journal (DC)
• Editor - Effingham Daily News (IL)
• Retail & Finance Reporter - Ad Age (CA/NY)

OTHER NEWS & RESOURCES

• Media 411: Encouraging Newsrooms With Newsroom Sounds
• ProfNet Success Story: Kerry Heaps, Strictly Marketing Magazine
• 9 Headline Writing Don'ts for Online Journalists and Bloggers

EXPERT ALERTS:

Under Pressure: Kids in Sports and the Pressure to Perform
Kensa K. Gunter, Psy.D., CC-AASP
Program Chair of Sport-Exercise Psychology
Argosy University, Atlanta
"Participation in team sports can help children and adolescents develop important social skills and decrease anxiety, improve mood and foster the development of important brain functions, including attention, planning, and organization. However, due to the growing intensity, pressure and competitiveness associated with youth sports, for some kids, participation can put them at an increased risk for experiencing performance anxiety, stress and burnout -- and parents and coaches can play a big role in that."
Gunter, a Certified Sport Psychology Consultant (CC-AASP) with close to a decade of experience, provides individual and team-based performance enhancement services to athletes and coaches with regard to mental skills training, athletic transitions, self-talk, confidence, cultural issues in sport, managing injury and disordered eating in sport. She is also a licensed clinical psychologist providing individual counseling to adults and adolescents. She is available to speak about the pressures kids face from coaches and parents with regard to sports activities, as well as offer tips on how parents can help their kids maintain a healthy view of sports and competition.
Media Contact: Anne Dean, [email protected]

Domestic Violence and Pro Sports: What This Means for Rice and Peterson
Michael Ian Bender
Family Law Attorney
The Law Office of Michael Ian Bender
"With NFL players like Ray Rice and Adrian Peterson being removed from their teams or suspended on allegations of domestic violence, they still have legal options to repair damage done to their careers. They could eventually -- and probably sooner instead of later -- be allowed back into the league. But because they serve as role models to our youth, it is important that the growing public outcries against this type of physical abuse and violence continue so that these players are not allowed back into the league. It is the duty of the League to help stop the cycle of violence by example."
Bender is a former judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, and now a practicing family law attorney. During his tenure as judge from 2008 to 2013, He heard thousands of cases in the domestic relations division, parentage and child support section of the Circuit Court. With more than 20 years of legal experience, he has a family law practice that focuses on divorce, parentage disputes, mediation, high-profile paternity representation, prenuptial agreements, child custody, visitation, child support, and preventing child abuse.
Website: http://www.benderlawchicago.com
Media Contact: Trish Rios, [email protected]

Link Between NFL's 'Warrior Culture' and Ray Rice Incident
Dr. Dave Sharar
Managing Director
Chestnut Global Partners
As the NFL grapples with Ray Rice incident, there's been a lot of talk about the link between these kinds of acts and the league's warrior culture. Pain is something you "shake off" -- to do otherwise is to betray weakness, which is clearly not an option if you want to continue collecting paychecks in the NFL. Issues relating to mental health, substance abuse, and family violence carry an even greater stigma. Says Dr. Sharar: "One thing we've learned in all the years of developing programs for companies around the world is that people need to be engaged and services need to be delivered in a 'culturally aware' manner. The sample applies to the NFL, which introduced a wellness/employee assistance program in 2012, but for it to work and for it to be utilized, the stigma needs to be reduced and awareness raised regarding the link between issues such as stress or fatigue, etc. and counterproductive behaviors, which in extreme cases can result in acts of domestic violence."  
Dr. Sharar has published over 70 articles in a cross section of academic, trade and business publications.
ProfNet Profile: http://www.profnetconnect.com/chestnutglobal/
Website: http://www.chestnutglobalpartners.org
Media Contact: Charles Epstein, [email protected]

Texas Parallels Fed Probe of Medicare Fraud
Kent Sullivan
Commercial Litigator, Former First Assistant Attorney General of Texas
Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP in Houston
"U.S. investigators are probing whether several medical labs may have violated an anti-kickback law by paying fees to doctors who sent blood samples to the labs for testing that was billed to Medicare. Texas has parallel laws related to Medicaid and an impressive reputation for policing health care fraud and is probably the most aggressive state in terms of resources and sophistication when it comes to pursuing Medicaid fraud. Since 2002, the state's Civil Medicaid Fraud Division has recovered more than $1 billion that has been shared by both Texas and the U.S. government since Medicaid is a state/federal program. As government health care grows, this effort is increasingly important."
Media Contact: Kit Frieden, [email protected]

Financial Considerations for New Parents
Bijan Golkar, CFP
Vice President/Senior Advisor
FPC Investment Advisory, Inc.
The arrival of a baby is an exciting event, but it also brings additional financial challenges and decisions for the whole family. Golkar can discuss four key financial considerations to help new parents prepare for many of life's unknowns. For example: "Start by applying for your child's Social Security number right away for tax purposes. All parents are eligible to claim each child under 19 as a dependent on their tax returns, which reduces taxable income by what is called the dependent exemption ($3,900 in 2013)."
Based in San Francisco, Golkar has been quoted in The Wall Street Journal, Forbes, U.S. News & World Report, Yahoo! Finance, The Fiscal Times, Bankrate, DepositAccounts.com and more.
ProfNet Profile: http://www.profnetconnect.com/bijangolkar
Website: www.FPCWealth.com
Media Contact: Steve Garmhausen, [email protected]

How to Pick the Right Fitness Trainer for You
John Platero
CEO and Personal Trainer
The National Council for Certified Personal Trainers
"Since personal trainers have such a wide variety of clientele -- from teenagers to senior citizens or from a deconditioned population to performance athlete -- it is important that a trainer personalize the exercise application to appropriately service the client, both safely and effectively based on science not a marketing term. We believe health and fitness is based on three legs of a tripod: exercise, rest and nutrition."
You shouldn't approach your health and fitness with a one-size fits all attitude. Know what to ask, what to look for, and what to expect when you want to get real results. Platero, who trains celebrity trainers like Gunnar Peterson and Gregory Joujon-Roche, is available for interviews to answer all questions related to personal training. He is the author of "Yes, You Can! Fitness After 40" and "The Power of Personal Training."
Website: http://www.nccpt.com
Media Contact: Kevin Derkash, [email protected]

Positive and Effective Discipline Methods Parents Can Use
Toni Schutta
National Speaker, Author, Parenting Expert
Get Parenting Help Now
"A lot of public attention has been drawn to the issue of how children can, and should, be disciplined in light of the criminal charges filed against Vikings player Adrian Peterson. Many parents struggle with how to discipline their children. While some parents use physical force, many others use time outs, yell, or take away privileges as their go-to discipline options. Over 100 research studies have concluded that spanking has negative consequences for children in the long-term. Yet, many parents feel stuck not knowing effective means for correcting a child's behavior. There are at least 10 positive discipline options that parents can use so they can raise children who are responsible, respectful, and successful. Five positive options parents can use include: logical consequences, problem-solving, praise, structuring, and rewards. Say, for example, that two kids are arguing over what video game to play. Parents could use the following positive discipline methods to resolve the conflict. If one child was playing the video game first and the other child barged in, the parent could give a 'logical consequence' by not allowing the second child to play video games the rest of the day. The parent could also sit the children down and do problem-solving with them. The parent could say, 'We have two children that both want to play video games at the same time but they don't want to play the same game. Let's come up with three ideas on how to solve this problem together.' When the kids have come up with several options, one option is selected to implement. Parents can also use praise as a strategic discipline tool. Every time that the parent sees the children cooperating or sharing a video game, the parents can praise the behavior with specific words that reinforce the good behavior. 'Thank you for playing the video game together and working as a team. I love it when you two cooperate and play together so nicely.' A parent could also use 'structuring' to solve a video game problem. If it's common for the two kids to argue over video game usage, a schedule for playing video games could be used so they aren't playing games at the same time. A reward system for video game usage could also be implemented. When children have completed their homework and chores, they earn 30-minutes of video game usage."
Schutta is offering a free webinar for parents on Tuesday, Sept. 30 at noon CDT called, "3 No-Fail Discipline Strategies." She is the author of "20 Great Ways to Raise Great Kids," as well as a licensed psychologist. She has 10 positive discipline methods she teaches parents. 
ProfNet Profile: http://www.profnetconnect.com/toni.schutta
Website: http://www.getparentinghelpnow.com
Expert Contact: [email protected]

MEDIA JOBS:

Following are links to job listings for staff and freelance writers, editors and producers. You can view these and more job listings on our Job Board: https://prnmedia.prnewswire.com/community/jobs/

• Producer - Wall Street Journal (DC)
• Editor - Effingham Daily News (IL)
• Retail & Finance Reporter - Ad Age (CA/NY)

See more listings here.

OTHER NEWS & RESOURCES:

Following are links to other news and resources we think you might find useful. If you have an item you think other reporters would be interested in and would like us to include in a future alert, please drop us a line at [email protected]

• MEDIA 411: ENCOURAGING JOURNALISTS WITH NEWSROOM SOUNDS. What do you to feel good and to get motivated? Perhaps you work out or maybe you listen to music. One newsroom in London has a very unique way of pumping of their staff. Check out what they do to keep their writers motivated: http://prn.to/1BQM3X2
• PROFNET SUCCESS STORY: KERRY HEAPS, STRICTLY MARKETING MAGAZINE. I recently caught up with Kerry Heaps, the publisher of Strictly Marketing Magazine and host of Strictly Marketing Talk Radio. Since she is a loyal ProfNet user, I wanted to chat with her about how she finds success when sending out queries. Here's what she had to say: http://prn.to/1r2PEOi
• 9 HEADLINE WRITING DON'TS FOR ONLINE JOURNALISTS AND BLOGGERS. You spent hours laboring over an article or blog post. You did your research and fussed over sentences until they were just right. The only thing standing between you and your next assignment is a headline. Here are nine things you shouldn't do: http://prn.to/1u1cN6f

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