Sports moms are in a league of their own. They start the day early and end their day late, and treat their kids’ every game day as their own as well. They are literally everywhere – in the car trailing their kids’ buses (if they aren’t personally bringing their kids to the game), in the bleachers screaming their kids’ names at the top of their lungs, in the closest possible spot where they can capture a clear video of their kids, and – you guessed it – behind their screens updating their friends and family through a play-by-play.

Aren’t sports moms so adorable?

Behind these charming gestures is a sacrifice for days on end. Sports moms exchange their time for themselves and their rest to personally witness their kids apply what they learned from training and rehearsals, no matter what the result of the game or competition will be.

What can parents learn specifically from sports moms? Mommy Maedel Lara, a part-time lecturer, shares her story of being a dedicated and full-time sports mom. Read on and take notes!

Mommy Maedel and her husband were both varsity swimmers back in the day. Knowing the benefits of being in a competitive sport, they both raised children in a household where sports is “almost at the same level of importance as academics.” While many would think it’s only a logical step for them to raise swimmers from the get-go, they did otherwise and offered them choices first.

“Every summer, we would try a different sport. Basketball, T-Ball, Soccer, Swimming, Ballet, Jazz, Folk Dancing, Aquathlon, Triathlon, and Running are some that they tried. Weekends were spent running from the pool to the dance studio or the soccer field. The thought process however was simple: we required our kids to engage in some form of competitive sport. And the formula was also simple: they should try different disciplines and allow them to choose which one they would prefer. My sons chose swimming early in the game, while my daughter could not decide between swimming and ballet. She did both for about 6 years before deciding to hang up her goggles and stick to her pointe shoes.”
Mommy Maedel

Mastery and excellence in playing a sport require long years of training and discipline. Mommy Maedel started their kids in Mommy and Me swim lessons as early as a few months old not only for safety and comfort, but also because they have a history of asthma in the family. Her kids’ journey as competitive athletes started when they were 5-6 years old, and all of them are now reaping the rewards of being disciplined student-athletes.

“Billy is now 25 and was a varsity swimmer from 3rd grade till he graduated from UP Diliman, summa cum laude. Currently, he is a 4th year medical student at the UP Manila College of Medicine. Anne is now 20 and a 2nd year Mass Communications student and is a member of the UP Filipiniana Dance Group. As of this writing, she is in France on a month-long tour with the group. Academically, she has also excelled as a consistent honor student. Paul is now 17, a 12th-grade student, and was a member of the UAAP Juniors Champion Team for Season ’85. Like his older siblings, he has also done well academically as an honor student.”
Mommy Maedel

While other kids have just read or encountered the saying, “Hard work trumps talent, when talent doesn’t work,” Mommy Maedel’s student-athletes children have lived it. Through their years of training and competing, they learned valuable life lessons such as respect for authority, trusting their coaches and the process, and being humble in the face of both victory and defeat, to name a few. With every game, win or lose, Mommy Maedel was there to listen and guide her kids to process and absorb these life lessons.

“Their lives have been a balancing act of managing their studies and their training schedule. They spend at least 2-3 hours training each day, 6-7 days a week, even on holidays. They understand sacrifices and delayed gratification. They understand that the medals are simply bonuses, and what truly matters are the life lessons they learn as they navigate in their chosen discipline – time management, resiliency, being competitive, fair play, work ethic, tenacity, teamwork, discipline, losing and winning graciously, rising and learning from ‘failures’ or losses.”
Mommy Maedel

Whether kids are engaged in individual or team sports, it’s rare that they succeed on their own. There is always a whole village rallying behind the kid or the team he or she belongs in, and parents can help make their kids understand their success is deeply rooted in equally selfless individuals that eventually turn into their sports family.

“My kids know that whatever they have achieved could only have come from a support system that composes of parents, siblings, teammates, coaches, teachers, other family members, and even their opponents who challenged them, crushed them, got crushed by them but in the end turn out to be among their closest friends in life. They have shared experiences that only they would understand and appreciate.”
Mommy Maedel

Mommy Maedel, like many dedicated sports moms, has grown and learned so much from being physically there for their kids during their events. As a student-athlete herself, she understands the importance of having someone to cheer her on, no matter what. As a parent of student-athletes, this is what she underscores:

“The most valuable lesson I have learned is simply to be there for them. When they were younger, my role was to make sure they would eat, that they wouldn’t miss their events, and that their races or events were documented. As they got older, I thought that I could forego going to meets since they could already take care of themselves. I was wrong. I realized that I needed to be at the bleachers or the stands to cheer for them yes, but more importantly to be there for them when they have bad races and performances, which have happened and will continue to happen.”
Mommy Maedel

Raising kids who are engaged in competitive sports has prepared Mommy Maedel’s kids to know their way in sports and in life. This is an encouragement to parents who are still thinking about when and how to start their children in playing sports. Through screams of victory and tears in defeat, Mommy Maedel reminds parents to always align their minds and hearts to what truly matters.

“Being athletes have prepared them for life in ways that they could not have imagined when they started. As parents, we are of course very proud of their achievements but more so of the hard-working and productive human beings they are developing to be.”
Mommy Maedel