Sports Mom???

I am a sports mom extrordinaire. Over the years I have supported (financially and emotionally) my kids in such sports as T-Ball, Baseball, Soccer, Gymnastics, (church)Basketball, Swimming, Ultimate Frisbee and Cross-Country. I even coached one son's soccer team for a couple of years, and taught pre-school gymnastics to help pay for that same son's gymnastics team fees.


Recently, however, my youngest son has decided he wants to be on the wrestling team at his high school. As great as I think sports are for kids, I'm not too sure about wrestling. What good can come of a sport where the goal is to overpower your opponent and then slam him down on the mat??? So far, as I've picked this boy up from practice, I've been met by bruises, cuts, scratches and a bloody lip. I am NOT impressed!!



I was not impressed at the end of one practice where the boys were running from one end of the wrestling room to the other. One wall was concrete blocks, the other was a wall of mirrors. As the boys were racing from one wall to the other, you guessed it, one of them ran full on into the wall of mirrors and shattered one of the panels. The boy fell to the ground, and the glass fell onto the mat. Thankfully, the boy was okay, just one small cut and a little shaken up. You would think that this would mean the end of practice for the day, but no. The coach just moved the boys over to either side of the broken glass and contunued the drill.



I am not impressed with the amount of time wrestling takes. School gets out at 3:30. Wrestling practice goes from 4:00 until 7:00. That's the scheduled time. It's never over before 7:15, and often goes until 7:30. This is Monday through Friday. On Saturdays they go from 9:00 until Noon. On weekdays, this means that Peter has left the house at 6:00 AM to go to Seminary (a before school scripture study class) and isn't home before 7:30-7:45 PM. Then he has to shower and eat dinner. That leaves us about an hour of down time before bed at 9:30. When is he supposed to do his homework? What about family time? What about Wednesday night church youth group? What about Scouting?


But, while I'm not impressed by wrestling, Peter loves it. He loves the physical exertion. He loves the weight-lifting they do for an hour each day. He wears the bruises and bloody lips and cuts and scratches as badges of honor, earned by a hard fought battle on the mat. He loves the comaraderie of his team mates and how the coach demands the best they can give.

So, like any good mother, I bite my tongue. I try to ignore the cuts and bruises and instead focus on the light in his eye, his confidence, and how he is building not only physical strength, but strength of character as he meets and exceeds the demands of the sport as well as the demands of the coach.

I just hope I can make it through the season.