Boys, Sports, Gatorade, Being an Athlete's Mother and a Giveaway

Thirty-eight summers ago I was a ten year old little girl living on a street in New Jersey. I played with my sister Melissa, my dolls and rode my bicycle around my neighborhood. I played hopscotch up the street with my best friend Laura and occasionally climbed trees. Other than that, I read books. In fact, I was probably the biggest bookworm for miles -- if not the country. I had absolutely no interest in sports other than an occasional Sunday afternoon of Wide World of Sports on the television and the Olympics every four years. That disinterest and near aversion to anything athletic continued for the next thirty years, except for a brief, avid interest in my high school boyfriend's football games and then the near-hysteria of basketball years at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Michael Jordan was a classmate).

I turned forty-eight years old this week, and I've never developed any athletic ability and remain one of the world's biggest bookworms. But I'm also the mother of not one, but two boys who are not only interested in sports but are actual athletes -- dare I say jocks? And I have to admit that while I still struggle with the rules of every sport they play (lacrosse, baseball, basketball, flag football and soccer), I actually enjoy them.

Who knew?

As most of you know, I have a daughter, too, who is sixteen years old, but she has severe disabilities related to a seizure disorder that she developed at three months old. As a result, she has never taken ballet or hip-hop or played volleyball or basketball or soccer. She has never run or jumped, either. When I see my sons playing sports, their beautiful and perfect bodies running and jumping and throwing, I can only marvel at the seeming effortlessness of it all. I am filled with gratitude for their sheer physicality and have, surprisingly, found myself committed to helping them become the athletes that they want to be. And then I marvel at how I've sort of, kind of, become a sports mom.

So, what's all of this about? As a part of the BlogHer community, I was asked to post about my experiences being a mother to athletes. Gatorade is sponsoring this post and also letting me give away a $100 gift card to Dick's Sporting Goods! And while I still can't believe that I'm out there doing this -- driving my sons to their incessant practices, buying their equipment and making sure that they have it all, instilling a sense of sportsmanship and the importance of physical activity for one's well-being -- I'm also learning about things like sports nutrition and hydration and what role this plays before, during and after a game or practice.

Gatorade and the Women's Sports Foundation have created a pledge to support young athletes in their quest TO BECOME the best athlete they can be. You can read more about the program and take the pledge HERE To encourage mothers to support their athletes as they BECOME, Gatorade will donate one dollar up to $10,000 to the Women's Sports Foundation for every pledge they receive atGatorade Moms.

And the $100 giftcard to Dick's Sporting Goods? The sweepstakes runs from August 29th through September 30th. Just tell me how you help inspire your young athlete to be their best.


Here are the rules:

No duplicate comments.

You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post

b) Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post

c) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post

d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.



This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older.

Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail.You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.


The official rules are available here.



Additional chances to win the gift card to Dick's Sporting Goods are over at BlogHer's round up page.