7 Honest Points From Mom To Girl Wrestlers
Deb North
I was recently asked to be a guest blogger for the “Sisterhood of Wrestlers.” I am thankful for the opportunity and am certainly glad to do so. The topic we came up with for this particular blog post is “Tell the parent’s perspective of sports.”
As the mother of three athletic girls, I have gained this perspective over the years and I would like to share that perspective with you now. There are seven points associated with my perspective:
#1—We LOVE to watch you play.
I thought I would hate giving up my weekends, but I absolutely love to watch my girls compete in sports.
#2—Having said that . . . we invest a lot into you.
We pay for private coaches and a lot for gas and hotel rooms. You MUST show us that you care if you want to continue.
#3—We should be your ONLY ears for venting.
If you are frustrated and need to vent, the ONLY person you should vent to is us. Do not vent to your coaches or teammates. We can come up with a strategy to address your frustration (which will most likely include practicing outside of regular practices.)
#4—Practice like you play.
Again, if I’m driving you to practice and giving up my evenings and weekends, you have to practice like you play. We need you to be present and give 110%.
#5—Follow through on your commitments.
If you aren’t having fun anymore and want to quit, we’re fine with that. BUT you must follow through on the commitment that you’ve made to your team and finish your season.
#6—Champions are made in the off-season.
If you truly want to be the best at something, then you have to work harder and smarter than everyone else. This includes working on your mental game.
#7—Your education should ALWAYS come first.
When it comes time to look at colleges, we are going to investigate schools with degrees that you want to obtain and then we will talk to coaches. You will not receive any athletic scholarship offers if your grades and ACT scores aren’t good. You must always prioritize your schoolwork.
This is one parent’s perspective on sports, and I want to thank the “Sisterhood of Wrestlers” for asking me to share my perspective.
Deb North is no stranger to assuming non-traditional roles. She became both Mom and Dad when she was widowed in 2010 with three daughters aged 8, 3 and 4 months old. She assumed the roles with great passion, supporting the girls in many various sports throughout the years. Grace is a college track athlete. Rae plays volleyball, basketball, softball, and runs track. Annie plays softball, volleyball, wrestles, throws the shot put and throws the turbo javelin in track and field.
Deb has owned the successful executive search firm True North Consulting since 2010. She launched YES! Athletics in 2019 to support girls in non-traditional sports.
Check out the YES! Athletics Website and their amazing shoes made just for girls wrestlers
