Thank You Moms!

I am spending my weekend coaching in my last AAU basketball tournament of the season and am sending this newsletter entry out a day early in honor of Mother’s Day on Sunday. I want to wish all mothers a very happy Mother’s Day. I hope all of you moms are celebrated by your families and given the respect you deserve! Although I will not be able to visit my own mom on Sunday, I look forward to our phone call on the way home when the tournament is over and know she will be excited to learn how things went. She spent over half her life following my sports escapades-be it playing or coaching-and was always there to support-no matter the results of the event.

This got me thinking about a special group of moms I want to highlight today. Just this weekend, I’ve had communication with moms who were supporting their sons/daughters at basketball, volleyball, baseball, soccer, and tennis. While some moms will wake up Sunday to breakfast in bed or a great lunch out, others will wake up in hotel rooms, spend a long day in bleachers or tournament chairs, and then head out on the road again.

These are the mothers and grandmothers of athletes (and coaches!).

They’ll spend Mother’s Day not being celebrated—but celebrating their athletes and coaches. You see and hear them cheering, encouraging, uplifting, waiting, and then repeating all over again. These moms don’t get much rest on weekends, and Mother’s Day is no exception. Whether it's travel baseball, club volleyball, soccer tournaments, or AAU basketball, they’ve traded a lazy Sunday at home for a long day on bleachers and time spent traveling to an event. They sit through the cold, the heat, the rain—not for applause, but for making sure their children knows they matter and they are there for them. Because we all know that presence is love. And their kids will remember it—even if they don’t say it today!

As I think back, my mom (and dad!) spent thousands of hours at sporting events to watch me play and coach-never complaining about the time spent, the cost involved, or the time it was taking them away from other activities. They saw me at my best, and often at my worst, but always kept coming back.

So thank you, moms for all of these things:

When your kid is on the bench and doesn’t play as much as they want-you lift their mood.
When they blow the game, you remind them of their worth.
When they doubt themselves, you give belief until they find their own.
When they are ready to give up, you give them reasons to continue.

You often set aside your own schedule, your own needs, and sometimes your own activities so they can compete, grow, and belong on a team.

My mom did this for me every day and still does many of these things today as I continue to coach and work to positively impact others! I have witnessed many moms doing this at the tournament this weekend as well.

So thank you moms of athletes (and coaches) Thank you for being their biggest fan.
Thank you for hugging them after losses. Thank you for celebrating more than just your own athlete but for his/her teammates as well. Thank you for seeing them as the great people that they are, not just their performance.

Happy Mother’s Day to who many of us would consider to be the heart of every team, every tournament, every road trip.

I see you. I thank you-and I celebrate you—today and every day!

Have a great week!

Coach K