I Would Make a Terrible Stage Mom

Yesterday was the longest day ever. I was up at 5:00 to get The Teenager and one of her teammates to Neighboring City for their volleyball tournament which lasted until almost 5:30 in the evening with hardly a break for lunch.

While the team got off to a slow start, losing their first two games, they came back with a vengeance, fighting their way back into the championship round where they took third place. Third out of over twenty teams ain’t too shabby although; to hear some of the moms at the tournament, the girls could have played a lot more aggressively.

While I agree that the team wasn’t exactly gelling during the morning games, I was surprised by the energy some moms put into their, how shall I say this, "support" of their daughters. And, by support, I mean rabid sidelines coaching, obviously.

It reminded me a little of that crappy show on cable, where the moms push their young daughters into beauty pageants so that mom can relive her Glory Days (assuming any of those mothers ever had Glory days full of beauty pageants which, I rather doubt) and, it doesn’t really matter if the kid is having a good time or doing her best because Mom knows how it can be done better. Win! Win! Win! So, yes; volleyball stage moms are just like pageant moms except, they deal in kneepads and sweatbands instead of high heels and tiaras. Win! Win! Win!

And, lest you misunderstand me; I’m not against winning by any means. I’m not against supporting your kid. I’m not even against sharing an encouraging tip for improvement but; I do kind of draw the line at second-guessing the coach and at humiliating my kid on the court.

Now, granted, I was never very sporty. I didn’t play volleyball so, what do I know, really? On the other hand, I was a cheerleader and I am relatively confident that, were The Teenager to go out for cheerleading; I would refrain from screaming proper Herkie technique at her from the sidelines.

I’m just saying.

My Dad is totally shaking his head right now and wondering where he went wrong. Hi Dad!

Anyhoodle, as I said, eons ago, The teenager and her team did an awesome job. They are really coming together as a team and they were super-stoked to get to play at the college gym in Neighboring City. I was looking forward to doing some shopping in the city while the team was between games but, as luck would have it; there was no down-time between games. The kids pretty much played back-to-back games. I did find a half an hour to run to the mall for a shower gift for my Bunco friend who is expecting but, other than that, the shopping was a bust.

It’s ok, though; we get to do the same thing again in two weeks and, with any luck, I will find a bit more free time in between biting my nails and biting my tongue.

We’ll see.