How to Manage the Busy Sports Parents Life
When your weeknights are filled with waiting for practices to end and weekends spent traveling to those long away games.
You couldn’t wait to say your schedule is filled with practices and games because your busy sports parents.
You can’t wait for your kids to be at that age where they want to be in sports. You start them out when they’re just little as a way to get them out of the house, get some exercise and to be with their friends. Hoping that they will grow to love the sport and excel at it.
It starts with 2 nights a week of practices and a game on the weekend.
Before you know it, they’re in junior high, staying after school every night for practices and games. They’re signing up for club sports to learn as much as they can and learn all that they need to learn.
You’re traveling to long away games not just through the week but taking up most of your weekends till the season is over.
Figuring out how to get one kid picked up and the other to practice on time. Multiple kids in multiple sports means things eventually collide. You’re lucky if you have a village that surrounds you to be there to help when you need it.
Should we eat before or after? You’re eating dinners sometimes 8 or 9 at night, whenever you actually have time. That means take out sometimes when you don’t have things planned or ready and it’s just easier. (I have a meal planning routine set if you’re wondering how we manage to not run through the fast-food lines all the time).
All those early morning wake ups to hit the road when you just want a morning to sleep in on the weekend.
When the season is finally over you think you have a little bit of a break, but they tell you they want to try something different for the season.
It continues on and on and on. You find you’re thinking to yourself that you can’t wait for this part of their lives to be done. To not have to be at a practice, traveling 2/3 nights a week and weekends to games for the better half of the year.
This is the greatest part of being a busy sports parent.
Yeah, you might be exhausted running here and there all the time, whether it be for practices, games or to get new gear because they go through that like crazy and always need something new.
You feel like you don’t have time to make plans because there’s always something going on. Date nights or day dates are far and in between.
You’re dragging along your littles all over the place so you’re not missing any games, unless your fortunate enough to have someone to watch them for a couple hours or a day. Which we are thankfully!
You’re spending so much money on gas, food, cleats, uniforms, tournament fees, hotels, souvenir shirts.
You’re thinking is all of this worth it.
The Answer Is Yes, It Is Definitely Worth It!
Every long night, long weekends, the hour to three hours drives, (sometimes longer), the matches you sit through for the 3 minutes your kid is wrestling, the uncomfortable crowded bleachers or the hot sidelines, the money you’re putting into it all, all the uniforms, the newest cleats they want, or them constantly looking at new gear.
The friendships they’re making and learning what it is to be a teammate.
Responsibilities they’re learning having to keep their grades up and make sure their uniforms are clean.
Learning to be respectful when they lose, or things don’t work out the way they want.
Respecting their coaches, refs and other teams.
Taking loses and learning how to grow from them.
It’s teaching them to support their teammates and others.
They’re learning to work hard when they want to get better.
Teaching them that you have to lose to get better.
They’re understanding that when things get tough, you don’t give up.
Memories that they’ll be telling their kids later on if life.
Being a busy sports parent is the greatest thing I could ask for in this part of my teen’s life.
While I might be tired, exhausted, worn out and there are times when I want there to be a break, I remember all the things that my teens are learning and how they’re growing into the young adults they’re meant to be.
I remind myself that we only get this stage once in their lives. They’re going to graduate, move out or go to college and I’ll be wishing I had a busy schedule to fill my weeks. I’ll be wanting to go take them to try on new cleats or shoes every new season instead of them going by themselves.
I’ll miss those long hot summer weekends on the sidelines and the bleachers that we wouldn’t leave to make sure we didn’t lose our spot.
I’ll be wishing they’re asking to me to take them to the fields to practice with them one more time.
The time for them to be done with sports will come way to quickly and I’ll want just one more season to watch my kids do what they love the most.
Cherrish it! Enjoy it! Love it!
