- My daughter is on the softball, volleyball, and cross country teams at a small high school.
- We can't even begin to count how much time and how much money we invested in her school sports.
- Although she has no plans to play sports in the future, we have no regrets.
My daughter enrolled in T-ball when she was in the lower grades of elementary school and has been on a sports team ever since. Being an athlete is a big part of her identity.
In elementary school, she played every team sport she could. During the summer, she joined local and travel teams. Currently, she is a high school student and a member of the volleyball, softball, and cross country teams.
That means I've spent a lot of time shuttling her to and from sporting events and sending large sums of money to her hobbies. While some parents I know have hinted that high school sports aren't worth their time, I've found some rewarding benefits.
Sports consume a huge amount of time
As the mother of a three-sport athlete, the seasons sometimes overlap and I sometimes wonder how I can fit everything into my schedule. There was a summer when her daughter was on two softball teams and a volleyball league at the same time, and even tried to run cross country training miles. It's a complete mess sometimes.
Some mornings my alarm would go off at 5:30 a.m. to take her to the bus for 6:30 practice or Saturday's cross country meet. At that time, I sometimes questioned my sanity.
My daughter is unable to find a regular part-time job to save up for college due to the uncertainty of sports seasons. Your employer won't necessarily understand if your softball game is rescheduled at the last minute because of rain and you can't come to work. Instead, she earns money by doing small jobs whenever she can, like assisting at softball games and babysitting.
My daughter is not a superstar on any team so this is not an investment in her future
My daughter is an excellent athlete in all sports, but she was never in the spotlight or one of the superstar athletes that coaches wanted on their teams. She will never earn an athletic scholarship in college or play a sport professionally, so we don't spend our time and resources with that in mind.
She was never scouted by a top college and just hopes to play softball in college if she can make the team.
So I sometimes wonder if it's worth the time and money my husband and I spend buying softball equipment, driving to games and practices, and spending on team T-shirts and running shoes. I easily spent several thousand dollars.
But think about how much she has grown as a result of the sport.
My daughter has changed by participating in sports
Over the years, playing sports has done wonders for my daughter. I've watched her grow in her confidence and I've watched her handle countless setbacks with incredible grace. She overcame her unfortunate injury, dealt with difficult teammates, handled criticism well and became mentally tough.
She also learned how to juggle a sometimes daunting schedule.
She is physically fit and one of the reasons we wanted her to take up sports in the first place is the health benefits of exercise. We believe that alone is well worth the time and money we spent.
The time we spent playing sports brought us closer together.
My daughter isn't the only one benefiting from all the time spent in sports. Her husband and I also shared the perks.
The time we spent in the car on the way to practices and games gave us endless experiences and memories. Her husband and I were so moved when our daughter hit her first home run over the fence and ran to home plate with her cheering teammates standing there to congratulate her. I often remember the big smile on my face.
My daughter and I have spent a lot of time playing volleyball and running together to get up to speed for cross country. We laughed, chatted, and joked, and she talked about how much she would miss these moments when she went off to college. It was a really bonding experience for us.
If she were lucky enough to play softball in college, her father and I would happily drive hours just to see her play on the diamond once or twice. . And that's what makes all this worth it.
