Saturday, May 9, Plant High School, my son Eric’s team, had an evening practice. It was the night before Mother’s Day and they invited all the mom’s to come. They had a normal practice with all the individual fundamental drills and team work mixed in. Normally at the end of practice, they have conditioning, where the players run sprints to help their endurance. But this night, Coach Weiner cut short the sprints, and gathered all the players together at one end of the field. Then he called the mom’s down out of the stands and their sons presented them all with a rose.
Our family, like most of the families there, had planned a nice dinner the next day after church where we would give our Mother’s Day gifts. The coach could have had the boys take their roses home and give them to mom the next day, but I loved his idea—You don’t have to wait for Mother’s Day to say thanks to your mom. She is the one who often drives you to practice and picks you up, she washes your uniform and packs your lunch. Mom is there for you, supporting you and loving you every day, and we should let her know how much we appreciate her and how much we love her. You don’t have to wait for one special day to let her know that. You can say it any time–even at practice. It was a great lesson for the boys and maybe a better lesson for us dads. Thanks Coach Weiner!
