Yes. Here I am talking about Basketball and such already and the new season has not even begun yet! But honestly, you DO want to bear with me. Today there’s a whole new spin to the perspectives and purpose of this post. I’d love for you all to give it a read, and then join in with your thoughts & experiences, regarding your kid’s sports. In the end, you and I can both win. ; )

Growing up as a kid, I was never really involved in any kind of organized sports. Neither was my husband, in his childhood.  Sometimes as a kid, in my free time, I played tennis against the school wall down the street, or my brothers and I played basketball in the drive way.  It was more of the ‘Around the World’ type of basketball, rather than any real 1-on-1. The only ones who took a beating, were the Hosta plants that lined the single lane driveway! I have memories of my Dad pitching a wiffle ball to me too, because I really loved to hit, and I wasn’t half bad! He’d even go get the ball, only to pitch it to me again, over and over.  But that was the extent of my sports. I was really more of the artist type. I spent most of my time drawing, painting, and (closet) singing, right through high school.  Going to art school was my plan right from Kindergarten, and when I graduated from high school, that’s just what I did.

So no one was more surprised than I was, to find I was going to be ‘one of those sports moms’. You know the kind.  The ones who are always on the sidelines, really into the game, screaming her head off the whole time? That would be me.

I remember the day I realized it too. Things had just begun in that little school gym, where I had brought my daughter {A}, and I immediately found myself out of my seat, hootin’, hollarin’, cheering, and shouting out instructional tips. I was all hyped up with excitement and adrenaline, and apparently making a little scene, because the coaches and all of the kids, kept looking at me with an amused expression.  Maybe, because it was just the first practice of this basketball season, for my first child’s, first practice, and first sport, ever.  I was the one and only spectator there, as all of the other parents had dropped their kids off.

(2006)

That was six years ago, when {A} was just 8 years old.  It was the beginning of a whole new experience, for all of us, as a family. The first reward we found in sports, was that it was another activity we enjoyed together. She really loved playing, and you could always find the other 5 of the 6 of us in the bleachers, cheering her and her team on. Her little siblings were a cheer section of their own!  Her Dad commentated quietly, often explaining to me what he thought just happened. And then there was me; the loudest of us all.

(2007)

We never doubted {A} would have a good time playing on a team.  She was always that kind of kid, who had fun no matter what she was doing.  She was a ‘people person’, who approached and befriended others easily. You know, very SOCIAL, even though she was a home schooled kid.  😉 To this day, people ask us if she is ever not smiling. But I’d always taught her, it was important to do her best, no matter what. I never followed the line of thinking with sports, that ‘as long as we have fun, that’s what matters.’ No!! We’re here to WIN!! Aren’t we? It’s great to enjoy it, but her team was counting on her to give it all she had, and so was I. She was probably an average player to start, being new not only to the game, but a year late into it, as opposed to her other girls who played the year prior. But, she was well-liked, and committed to her team.  Her biggest downfall was her heart on the court; she felt bad taking the ball away from even a player on the opposing team. ; ) We had a few chats about that, but otherwise, it was a great first and second season for her, as she learned the rules, in and outs of the game, through weekly practices and games. We all learned along with her, listening to instruction, and those ear-piercing whistle blows.

She was still working on refining all of her skills. Especially with her new physical self; she had grown 5 inches in the past year!

(2009)

As she got a little older, we saw things start to change in her a little bit.  She was getting on the other side of that awkward growth spurt. She was all knees and elbows, for a bit there. She had learned a lot more about the game, and so did we. Basketball had become a regular part of our lives, every cold season, as we got her to her practices, and watched more intently than ever, at her games.  She was practicing off the court more, her focus was better, her determination was stronger, and all of the skills she had acquired were starting to come together. I was enjoying seeing her thrive, and had become more maniacal than ever, at her games.  For perspective, I often leave a game with a throat that is torn up, and a new hair-do. ; )

She was still her happy-go-lucky self.  But she was more serious about every game.  We started having post-game talks on the way home, about the great plays, or ones she could have done better or differently.

(2010)

Then we hit a real milestone.  One might call it a ‘game changer’.  As more serious as she was about the game, she was still used to being on friendly terms with every coach she had had. One they all could joke with, and have fun.  But this new coach this one year, was alllll business. He wasn’t there to make friends, or waste his time. She didn’t like how he didn’t have a light-humored side.  She didn’t like how he demanded the girls do things a very certain and different way.  His way, as she saw it. She didn’t like that he was yelling angrily out onto the court at the girls, by name. (including his own daughter.)  She didn’t like a lot of things about this year. He drove the girls, hard. And he rubbed her sunny-disposition, the wrong way.

But I thought this coach this particular year, was a great thing, and I told her why:  Because it was a perfect lesson on LIFE. She was going to get a job someday, and not necessarily like how her boss does things. Or even her BOSS, for that matter. But she’d still need to do her job, follow instructions, be a team player, and respect the authority. Yes, when the time was right, she could re-evaluate things, and choose to seek a new job, more to her liking. But she had to complete the project she was committed to, just as she had to stay on this team and play the year out, just as she had committed to. It was going to be good for her, to work with someone she found very difficult.  It would help develop her character; teaching her the skills of tolerance, patience, obedience, and strength. She’d need to adjust. It would be a rough road for her, and I had every intention of being there for her, with some tough love. But she had to push herself through it.

She stuck the year out. Not always happily, especially in the beginning. But she learned to deal with it all quickly. She learned to relate to the coach, on his terms.  And I was right.  By year’s end, she was a new player. She had grown so much, as a person, had new found skills, and had developed in so many ways, more than she ever had, more a than any other year. Through the difficult year, both physically and mentally, she had changed a lot.  By leaps and bounds. She had gained stamina, and a more mature perspective. She found her drive.  She had found her aggression, in a big way, on the court!  She was going for that ball, no matter who on the opposing team had it, and she would fight to hold onto it to the floor.  She wasn’t one to mess with, anymore.

She had become a real athlete.

And when the last game that year had just been played, she was the only girl who went up to her coach, and said, “Thank you, for coaching me all year. I learned a lot from you.”

As a sports mom, I had become concerned about more than just getting her here and there, or where ever she needed to be.  I had learned how to give her all she needed, as an athlete.  I wanted to be sure she always had the energy and hydration, come practice or game time. That meant making sure she always ate right, and ate the right things, at the right times. And to keep the fluids going down. I wanted to make sure I kept her strong, and healthy!  An injury was the last thing I wanted for her.

Basketball was the sport she’d always been involved with.  But she’d learned to throw a mean football, at 5 years old.  It was something she and her Daddy did a lot in the yard. Of course the older and bigger she got, the better she became.  On the court, old basketball coaches could not even believe how tall she had gotten. There was a 2 year span where she had grown a total of 8 1/2 inches!  That was really helping her game.  But she was also growing more and more interested in football.  She loved watching the games on tv, and was intent on playing Flag Football.  One clinic with Coach Greg, and she was hooked.

(2011)

Her last year on the town’s team, was an incredible one for her.

(2011)

She was so sad to have outgrown the league, but she went out with a bang!

She had come a long, long way, in the 6 years she had played. She worked hard with the basketball, even off the court, developing skills you don’t often see in a player that age. Never mind a girl. She had learned to dribble with her knees!  She was passionate about basketball, and it showed.  Especially to those who noticed these things.

She was encouraged by current and former coaches, to go for the public South High School team. She wanted to play for them, badly.  And so I had every intention of being sure she had that chance to play for them, even though she was home schooled. I understood she’d have to pass try-outs. But I had heard making the team, or actually playing, could be…challenging, for home schoolers.  I’d cross that bridge when I got to it, if it ever proved to be a problem.

But that time was not here yet.  She had her heart set on making it onto the town’s spring Flag Football league, before she grew out of the age range.

Of course, she had to make the team, first. And that she did. Her former coach (Greg) knew her the second she walked into the try-outs, and her place on a team was practically automatic. ALL of the coaches were there to observe, taking notes for drafting the players they wanted.  The most unlikeliest of coaches drafted her first, based on observing the reaction of Coach Greg when she walked in, and then watching her tryout.

She played, and was the only girl in the whole league!  She wasn’t treated any differently than the boys.  And she didn’t play any differently, either. She was an unexpected force to be reckoned with.  She was passionate about Flag Football now, too. She just loved playing the game. And it showed.

(2011)

Just as with Basketball, we were on the sidenlines, making some noise, for her and her team!  As if my big long camera lens didn’t draw enough attention to myself, screaming my head off half the time did!  I just couldn’t help myself. Michael and I had a game, to see how long I could be quiet.  The excitement and anticipation at times, was more than I could contain. We found sports to be a rush like no other.  I had felt my own competitive streak come alive that very first practice she had, at 8 years old, and it was clearly in her blood too. She helped take her Flag Football team all the way to the Superbowl, where they lost by 1-single-point!  It was a hard pill to swallow.  It was a fluke, actually!  But we were busy digging up the grace we needed, to be good sports about it. ; )

(2011)

After all, she had to be a good example, to her biggest little triplet fans, who were so very inspired by their big sister.

She was a STAR, in their eyes, and about to try making a mark of their own, in sports.

(2011)

High School Basketball is a few months away yet, but I had started making contact with the powers that be, real early, and she found herself at a Volleyball clinic twice a week, at the public South High School. She quickly fell in love with this sport too, and they quickly took notice of her.  It was nothing short of boot camp.  But she kept going back, and they were impressed she did, and were happy to see her. Her potential coach said to us, “The biggest sign of a true athlete, is not just skills, but being tough. And she IS. She’s got that.”

Try-outs for the public South High School Volleyball team are coming up, and she’ll be there ready to show her stuff.  She’s been training on her own. I can say it’s looking promising, and a very busy year, with 3 kids in sports anyway. Maybe 4.

(2011)

{A} has her dreams and goals, short & long term,  and she’ll always work hard to reach them. She has high standards for herself, anyway.

But even if she didn’t, she always has me to push her. ; ) 

To me, being so involved in sports, and having such passions for it, has proved to be full of benefits, skills, and gifts, and a truly effective way to pave the way, to play the game of life!  If sports doesn’t literally take {A} where she wants to go, it will certainly have given her all she needs on the inside, to get there on her own.

She’s the picture of young athletes all over the world, just like her. If you’re a parent of an athlete-in-the-making, or one who is already, this is your lucky day. I’m giving away a:

$100.00 Dick’s Sporting Goods Gift Card!!
(We’re sorry -This Giveaway has now ended.)

One way you can have a chance to win, is to tell me:

In what ways do you see your kids playing sports, as preparing them for the game of life?

****

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This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older.

Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail.

(I will also announce the winner via our Facebook Page and our Twitter.)

The Sweepstakes Dates are:  8/29 – 9/30 (Now ended.)

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GOOD LUCK TO EVERYONE!

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