I remember the first time I went through the checkout line at our local grocery store with a case of Gatorade. It was intended for a group of nine-year-old girls who were heading to play soccer in the pouring rain. While I don’t remember if they won, I do remember that it was the beginning of a long relationship with the must-have sports drink.
Since those days on the soccer field some ten years ago, I can’t even begin to guess how many bottles this family has consumed. We’ve taken them to outdoor and indoor soccer games; outdoor and indoor field hockey games; lacrosse games; track meets; football games, basketball games and baseball games. They’ve traveled with my children to summer camps, weekend clinics, summer tryouts, winter tryouts and camping adventures.
While the sport or season has changed over the years, the one constant has always, always been Gatorade.
As a parent I am always hoping that my children stay healthy and strong. I can’t always be sure what they’re eating on the fly, but I know when I have the Gatorade handy it’s my way of helping them stay hydrated.
I had a great opportunity to participate in an interview with Mia Hamm's mother, Stephanie Hamm, who offered not only some incredible stories about raising her family of athletes, but some touching moments as well. She is working with Gatorade to help educate parents and young people about important issues that families with athletes might encounter.
Her video, posted on the new mom's section of the Gatorade website, is moving and inspirational, so I was so excited to be able to speak with her, along with an amazing group of women.
I asked her about siblings, and the potential to feel slighted or ignored in favor of the more successful athlete. This has been a problem at our house, and she offered some great advice, and some great stories about life in the Hamm house.
She added that it is important to allow children to experience as many sports or activities that interest them, and then allow them the chance to choose the one that they feel passionate about when they are ready.
In the spirit of youth sports, in honor of all the mothers of athletes everywhere, I am thrilled to be able to offer one of you a $100 gift card to Dick’s Sporting Goods!!! That's right people One HUNDRED DOLLARS!!!
The rules are as follows:
You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry
methods:
a) Leave a comment here about any advice for the parent of an athlete- what do you wish you had known when helping your child become all that they could be??
b) Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment
on this post.
c) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on
this post
d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the Official Rules to learn about
an alternate form of entry.
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, and you have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be
chosen!
So, give me your best advice, and let the sweepstakes begin!!
I would just advise the parent to be supportive and not put too much pressure on the child to win.
ReplyDeletemami2jcn at gmail dot com
tweet:
ReplyDeletehttp://twitter.com/mami2jcn/status/75913251002658816
mami2jcn at gmail dot com
Mine are young yet for organized sports, but one of the best lessons I got from being on a softball team that lost all games but the last? The importance of camaraderie among teammates regardless of talents on the field.
ReplyDeletetweeted: http://twitter.com/#!/36heather/status/75921215411339264
ReplyDeleteUgh. I hope this doesn't disqualify me. I would say that my husband and I will never be the parents of a great athlete for a reason, we are very low pressure. We want our kids to grow up secure in the knowledge that no matter what, home is the safe place and we will always love them. If they do great in their activities, awesome, but if not, as long as they're giving it their best, we're proud of that too.
ReplyDeletetweet - http://twitter.com/#!/todayscurve
ReplyDeleteI hope is that sports are not all about competition for my boys (who have yet to really get into it) but that its also about FUN. if they can have fun then winning and losing won't go to their head ... in theory, right? :)
ReplyDeleteMake sure your child is picking their own sport and that they love it! I see a lot of children trying to please their parents by playing sports they don't really like.
ReplyDeletelesleymitchell52@yahoo.com
Always finish the season. Even if you only learn one thing it was worth the effort.
ReplyDeletedawniawnie (at) aol (dot) com
It's good for parents to know that team sports are not the only sports! My son has been a martial artist for almost ten years, and is now training to become an instructor.
ReplyDelete-->To make sure they enjoy themselves and have fun and there is nothing wrong with trying to win. However, it's not the end of the world if you don't.
ReplyDeleteSports in so many ways mirror how things are going to be in life. There will always be someone making the calls, and they won't always be fair...but you must abide by the rules and keep a good attitude while working as a team to acheive the goal. Wow--I need to be a motivational speaker!! tee hee...
ReplyDeleteThe thing I think is most important is to not yell at your child when they mess up- because they will. It not only humiliates them, it makes you look like an ass. Let them play and make comments on the positive and they will play harder and get better for the right reasons.
ReplyDeleteI am the mom to 2 boys the middle child is a great athlete, the oldest is just like his mom all thumbs and the baby is so so We make sure that they all know that we loive them equally and that Everyone is not destined to be an athelete, do your best and we will always be proud of you.
ReplyDeleteI was a ski racer. The best thing my dad did was to become a ski racer too. He totally understood what it meant to be in the starting gate and feel like you were going to pee right then and there.
ReplyDeleteMy advice is to always be there for them! Don't be the parent who drops their kid off at the game or sends them with a friend. Even if your kids don't tell you it, it means so much for them to see and hear you supporting them at all of their games. I also want to second the comment above, to "keep it positive" with your cheering and comments/peptalks to the kids.
ReplyDeleteI think all kids need to learn to lose. They need to learn that what matters is that they play their best and they play AS A TEAM. A good game isn't always a winning game. Also, they need to learn to support their teammates. If they are not playing, they should be watching and supporting the team.
ReplyDeletetweet: http://twitter.com/#!/krf0109
ReplyDeleteI always let my child choose what sports he was interested in. Even though he is built perfectly for football or hockey, we never pushed him into it... He did karate for years and learned a lot of self-discipline.
ReplyDeleteI'll be back to read the comments often--we are knee-deep in sports parenting issues! I have an 8-year-old boy with a man-sized temper on the field, on the mat, you name it. We have been dealing with this for a couple of years, and I think it may be some sort of karmic payback for my own poor behavior on the field as a kid. We struggle as the parents of the ONLY kids on our team and possibly in our league that has this issue to this extent. Fortunately, we have an understanding and cooperative coach to help with the consequences (and hopefully the rewards when our son finally gets this conquered). We work on reminding him that this is a control issue, not a talent or a brains issue and try to remember that he is only 8 (almost 9). I didn't start playing softball on a regular basis until I WAS 9, and yet he has played baseball for 5 years, soccer for 5 years, and wrestled for 2! And we always remind him that no matter what he does on the field, we still love him (even as we ban the TV, video games, late bedtimes, sleepovers...)
ReplyDeleteOkay, I don't have a blog, so no entry there. I don't really have any standout athletes yet--kids are ages 10, 8, 6, 4, & 2, but only one round of intramural basketball & 2 rounds of Upward soccer under our collective belts. I tried the link for the official rules, & it said "file not found". Sooooo, I'm hoping I get an entry just for trying!!
ReplyDeleteWe've got a girl that loves to be on a team, but isn't super motivated... We work hard at finding a balance between her enjoyment of being on a team and motivating her. I think she could be a better athlete if she'd put in a bit more effort, but don't want to make it a "chore". We're hoping that she finds her "thing" and becomes self motivated, even if it isn't sports!
ReplyDeleteWe're a baseball family. My 3 boys all play and hubby coaches. The most important thing hubs like to get across is commitment, trying your best, and good sportsmanship, all while having fun. I think they're all kind of related and have to do with attitude more than anything else. Winning is not stressed, but by stressing the commitment and trying hard, the kids have had winning seasons more often than not.
ReplyDeleteI also agree that positive parent support makes a big difference, especially for the younger ones. There's nothing sadder than having a kid who has no one come to the game to cheer for them. The other parents do their best to cheer for the kid, but you can tell that it still hurts them. Some of the different leagues for different sports here actually have rules for cheering and have asked parents to either follow the rules or not come to the games anymore. I love that, because sometimes the parents do get too intense.
To be patient with other players your kids play with remember they really don't know much better based on how their parents raised them and give the coach a break he's working with what he has and every child deserves to play "it's only a game'
ReplyDeletetbarrettno1 at gmail dot com
tweet
ReplyDeletehttp://twitter.com/#!/ChelleB36/status/78231252351725568
tbarrettno1 at gmail dot com
Get organized and follow the schedule, so you can balance between school, home and sports.
ReplyDeletehttp://twitter.com/tcarolinep/status/78306891343736832
ReplyDeletetcarolinep at gmail dot com
Love and praise above all.
ReplyDeleteMCantu1019 at aol dot com
I learned it was never as important that they won a game but that they had a lot of fun doing it.
ReplyDeletegmissycat at yahoo dot com
Tweeted here too
ReplyDeletehttp://twitter.com/#!/gmissycat/status/81863665246158848
gmissycat at yahoo dot com
My advice would to let the kids have fun. Don't put so much emphasis on winning. Also, control your emotions and don't embarass your kids!
ReplyDeletemarcia.goss@gmail.com
Tweet.
ReplyDeletehttp://twitter.com/#!/mgoss123/status/84740485972893697
marcia.goss@gmail.com
THE BIGGEST ADVICE I WOULD SAY IS SO IMPORTANT TO REMEMBER IS TO HAVE FUN WITH SPORTS- IT'S NOT ABOUT WHO WINS THE MEDAL- IT'S ABOUT THE JOURNEY ON THE WAY kytah00@yahoo.com
ReplyDelete2ND ENTRY TWEET @ http://twitter.com/#!/kytah00/status/84790898583543808 kytah00@yahoo.com
ReplyDeleteFirst off, let me say that I do not have kids. That said, IF I did have kids, I would make it a point to avoid ever having crazy schedules as much as humanly possible. I do that now in my marriage. We do not say yes to everything and do not join every club/group that we would want too, but we always have plenty of time for each other. I think you could do the same with kids!
ReplyDeleteAngie
14earth at gmail dot com
I tweeted here: http://twitter.com/#!/FotoMacro/status/85748926686310400
ReplyDeleteAngie
14earth at gmail dot com
It is important to finish what you start. No one should quit in the middle of a team sport season.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteit's impt not to project your dreams onto your kids. let them find their own.
ReplyDeletekolpin4680 at gmail dot com
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ReplyDeletehttp://twitter.com/#!/kolpin4680/status/86480671543013377
don't pressure them.
ReplyDeletehlee99 (at) gmail (dot) com
Make sure it's fun for them!
ReplyDeleteeugeniewu at gmail dot com