Parents of athletes are so underrated. They sit hours on end in a gym or at a field, on a cold bleacher, butts numb, worrying about their kid. They want nothing more than to see their child succeed and have fun at what they do. They are always the first to come up to us after a game to congratulate us on a job well done or the first to comfort us when we had a tough game. They are our biggest fans, while we are our toughest critics. They know how to push us to our best ability, without pushing us too far. They know what makes us mad, what makes us upset, or just what makes us tick. They’ve been through everything with us and know us better than any other person.

So let’s start from the beginning with little league. Most of us probably had at least one parent, if not both, coaching us at one point or another. They were our first exposure to the game we love and the first to teach us how to play. They spent hours trying to teach us how to swing the bat correctly, how not to travel with the ball, and how to pass a ball. Even outside of practice they would work with us in the backyard trying to help us figure out a certain skill of the game. They may have been frustrated with us at times, but they persisted in helping us. They didn’t want to show favoritism, but at the same time, they wanted their kid to have lots of playing time, so they would work to get us to that point.

Now we head to school ball and team cuts. Yikes. What a scary time for us as athletes. What we may not have known is that it was also a scary time for our parents. They had taught us to the best of their ability so far and hoped that it was enough. When we came home with that letter saying we made the team, our parents came and jumped in excitement with us, constantly congratulating us on all our hard work. They may have even taken us out to dinner at our favorite restaurant to celebrate.

Once we were on the team, they came to every single game that they could. They would take a bunch of pictures so we would have those to post and keep for memories. They would video for us so we could see what we needed to work on and what we did well. When we may not have gotten the playing time we wanted, they would let us cry and complain and then they would sit with us to figure out how to make our skill better to get to the point we wanted. They would drive us to the gym to work on it with us and when we finally got more playing time, they were so excited for us and all our hard work paying off.

Then it was time to figure out if we would play in college or not. They helped us make videos to show off our best moments and find all our stats to send to schools. They took us on countless school visits, some for our sport and some just for academics, so we could see which we would enjoy more. They made pros and cons lists with us to help us make a decision. They told us they would support us in whatever we decided and they truly meant it. Some may have decided to not continue playing their sport and they completely supported that! While when others of us got into that school that we wanted, to play the game we love, our parents were ecstatic for us.

Through everything, our parents have been there for us. When we felt like we weren’t good enough, our parents were there to reassure us that we indeed were great at our sport. When we felt that our playing time defined us as a person, they taught us that sports were not everything. They loved us regardless of our playing ability and our mistakes on and off the court. So when you’re feeling like no one cares about you, call your parents and tell them thank you. Because they care. They’ve always cared. Just take a look at the time and effort they’ve put into just your sport. Now think about everything else in life they’ve been there for breakups, job trouble, deciding a major, money problems, etc. Parents are all-stars.

Thank you, mom and dad!!