10 Things You'll Only Understand If You're a Sports Mom

Even if you’re timid and quiet during your day-to-day life, something about watching your child compete brings out the loud and proud fan in you! Somewhere between their first soccer game and the high school varsity team, you became that mom, and you wouldn’t have it any other way. You scream, yell, get heated, and love every second of it.

You feel like you spend more time in your car then you do in your actual home, and your gas bill exceeds your grocery bill each week. Your vehicle is fully stocked at all times with blankets, lawn chairs, extra equipment, and lots and lots of snacks, which you also call lunch on your super busy weekends.

Sports moms are accustomed to the second dinner that follows the intense, calorie-burning practice that comes after the first dinner. Your life consists of more food, more cooking, more dishes, and more cleaning than you have time for.

Your bank account takes a massive beating to keep up with the sports mom lifestyle. The league fees, uniforms, traveling, eating on the run, and equipment purchases add up, and before you know it, your sports budget is larger than your mortgage payment. You often mention your financial commitment to the sport if your child suddenly wants to drop out, miss a game, or perhaps, reveals their desire to suddenly try something new. Sure, kid! Just take all my money!

You catch a whiff of your kids as they hop in the car after practice, and you must roll the windows down in order to breathe sans gagging. They smell like rotten, sweaty old shoes that have been worn for months on sockless feet. How is it even possible for your children to smell this bad? When you tell them this, they reply with a “thank you” that is 100 percent sincere, because, well, this awful stench is proof of their hard work on the field.

There just isn’t enough time in the day, the week, or the month to do other things. When you or your kids get invited to a social outing, you have to check the intense sporting schedule and all relevant email updates from the coach before responding. Your weekends are jam-packed with games and practices, and though you complain about it until you’re blue in the face, when a sports-free weekend finally arrives, you miss the chaos and structure that your intense sporting schedule provides.

Showers are sometimes required twice-daily to keep up with the stench and mess that come with being an athlete. The good news? The days of battling to get your child into the shower are long over; they want to hop in that shower just as badly as you want them to after a good workout on the field. They may linger in there under the streaming hot water for 40 minutes if you let them!

The homework struggle sucks. If you’re lucky, your scholar-athlete will start their homework immediately after school dismisses. More likely, however, your child will put the homework off until after sports, dinner, and second dinner, only to start it at 9 p.m. Some master procrastinators may even save their homework for the morning. Whatever their method of attack, the homework/sports struggle is a big one.

You take the time to capitalize on every loss, every disappointment, and every sports-related frustration by turning it into a valuable lesson that will last a lifetime. When you debrief after a game, you listen and teach as only a number-one mom-fan can do. Through sports and your guidance, you’re teaching your children the importance of being part of a team, playing and acting selflessly, and finding the silver linings in every loss. Winning is great, but losing offers lessons and opportunities for growth that can’t be overlooked.

The mother-child sports bond is unique. As your child matures into a young adult, they’ll begin to acknowledge the sacrifices and commitments you made as a sports mom, and they’ll offer appreciation and gratitude. You’ll smile as a tear forms in your eye and you realize it was worth every single penny, long drive, and sacrifice, because whether you like it or not, you’re a sports mom for life. The day will come when you’re sitting at home bored on a beautiful Spring Saturday, thinking to yourself, “I’d do anything to be back on those sidelines.”