Parent's Role

 Editors note; The following article originally ran in June 2012 for our “Sports Dads Month” focus on dads we identified as helping to keep all kids safe.

Being the father of an athlete is a challenging yet rewarding role. At MomsTEAM we think sports dads deserve to be honored, not just on the third Sunday in June, but for an entire month. So we have designated June as National Sports Dads Month and invited some veteran sports dads to share their wisdom by responding to a series of questions (the same ones we asked sports moms in May). We will post a new blog for every day of June, which we hope you will find interesting, empowering, and informative, and that you will share them with your family and friends.

Being the mother of an athlete is a challenging yet rewarding role. So momsTEAM designated May as Sports Moms Month and has been celebrating by asking some of our favorite sports moms to share their wisdom by responding to a series of questions.

We heard from a fascinating range of sports moms, from a mom of an Olympic athlete to moms who were themselves Olympic athletes, from a moms of former minor league baseball players and NCAA Division 1 basketball players to a Minnesota hockey mom and author, from a sports nutritionist to an award-winning health and safety reporter.   

Have you ever taken the time to sit back and really think how fortunate you are as a parent to be able to share your child’s athletic experiences with them?  Do you appreciate how such moments can actually bring the family together?  Do you know just how excited your kids get knowing that we are watching them play? 

I know that, when you are going through the experience, it is sometimes hard to stop to realize just how fortunate you are to be given these years with your kids.

Someday you will look back at these years, and hopefully in a positive way.  I know I have.

Being the mother of an athlete is a challenging yet rewarding role. So MomsTEAM has designated May as Sports Moms Month and is celebrating by asking some of our favorite sports moms to share their wisdom by responding to a series of questions.

So far this month we have heard from a fascinating range of sports moms, from a mom of an Olympic athlete to moms who were themselves Olympic athletes, from a mom of two former minor league baseball players to a Minnesota hockey mom and author.

Today, we hear from Heather McKenzie, a nurse, sports mom and cheer coach from Union Bridge, Maryland:

MomsTEAM: Were you an athlete and what sports did you play as a youth (under 19)?

Being the mother of an athlete is a challenging yet rewarding role.  So momsTEAM has designated May as Sports Moms Month and is celebrating by asking some of our favorite sports moms to share their wisdom by responding to a series of questions.

So far this month we have heard from a mom of an Olympic athlete, two sports moms who were themselves Olympic athletes (one a gold medalist), an award-winning health and safety reporter for the Chicago Tribune, the mom of two former minor league baseball players,  a mom and writer from Texas with a football-crazy son and cheerleader daughter, a Minnesota hockey mom and author, and a top sports nutritionist.