I have had a hard time keeping up with my blog this past week. I've been glued to the TV watching the Olympics. If they ever make television watching an event, perhaps I can qualify for a team! I've written and re-written this post several times, but I keep tweaking it as I watch a little more. (I find it interesting that women, who would normally groan when their husbands are glued to the television watching sports and flipping through channels to catch all the games, are quite likely to be doing the same thing when the Olympics are on.) The athletes amaze me. The stories behind them are interesting. I have to say though, I don't think anyone did the background stories better than ABC in the 80's. I learned about people in different countries, saw their villages and towns, and therefore, became involved in the outcome of obscure sports I knew nothing about. This year a few stories really stuck out.
Olympic Athletes run, swim, jump to the beat of a different drummer. They sacrifice normal childhoods. They carry determination and dedication to levels that leave the rest of us breathless.
And then there is another huge part in the life of an Olympic Athlete. The Parents. I watched them in the stands, barely contained in their seats as they encouraged, prayed, and rooted their children on. The bond between the parents and these kids is special. Without their infinite support, many of the athletes would never have made it to London.
The story that touched me the most was Gabby Douglas. Not because she is aptly nicknamed The Flying Squirrel. Not because she has a smile that could end world wars or a perky effervescence that makes you want to grab the person standing next to you and hug them. No, those are nice qualities for a star, but that's not what Gabby's story truly signifies. If the dictionary showed a picture of Sacrifice, Gabby's face should be it. And so should her mother's.
Two years ago Gabby decided that she wanted to go to the Olympics and in order to do that she convinced her mother to let her move to Des Moines, Iowa to train with Shawn Johnson's trainer. The family didn't move. Just Gabby. She was 14. What guts that took. Nerve. Sacrifice. Dedication. Love. I'm talking about her mother.
Gabby moved in with a host family. When asked how many times she has been home in 2 years, she said 'I haven't been home'. Wow. From age 14-16, never went home. I assume her mother has been out to see her at least a few times, but that question wasn't asked, so I don't know. It costs money to travel. And raising an athlete is expensive. All I know is that I don't know if I could make that sacrifice as a mom. How do you let them go? For most of us letting our kids go to summer camp for a week is hard.
As much as the athletes sacrifice, what the families sacrifice is almost beyond comprehension for me. The money. The time. (Any parent of a child athlete knows how much little league can cost in both time and money.) These families are into full time sports training! As a parent it is always a struggle to find a balance between pushing a kid too hard, or holding them back. But the financial sacrifice would stop most of us.
Athletes sacrifice a lot, but their sacrifice is different than their parents. A parent didn't sacrifice for something they loved. They sacrificed for someONE they loved.
I watched Gabby's mother and her host mom as she took gold in the All-around in gymnastics. I'm a weeper. Give me an emotional moment...happy, sad, nostalgic, patriotic...I'll be hugging the box of Kleenex.
I watched them through my tears and I heard myself whisper "You go, Mom! You earned this too."
The athletes may be our heroes, but the parents... well they are in a class by themselves.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
I read this with interest because I've "known" someone competing in the Olympics since the Sydney Games in 2000. My niece, Hilary was in the 2000 and 2004 games for rowing - in the women's quad, and in the 2008 and 2012 games it's Scott's best friend's wife, Amanda, who is sailing in the women's 470.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure that all athletes' families sacrifice in the same way as Gabby's. Hilary's childhood, for example, was quite normal, and she didn't even know what rowing was until her freshman year of college. She was an excellent cross country skier on her high school team. The sacrifice came after graduation from college when Hilary didn't get the "real job" and only employment (she did live in babysitting for a time) which allowed her to be near rowing clubs, as she made her way to qualifying for the US team. It was at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics (which she attended) when she realized, "I can do this" - and then went for it. I don't know how much my brother was able to help her financially at that time, but I *think* (though I'm not sure) that Mom and Frank helped her supplement the meager stipend that the US rowing team gives it's team members.
Amanda is a different story. She was groomed at the Shelter Island Yacht Club, and the parents had the money to nurture her there. It became clear she was good early on, and she was singled out, did some traveling during competition - but I also think she lived a pretty normal childhood, too. Since she has been on the US team, the sacrifice has been huge - but mostly from Amanda herself. SHE has learned how to be a magnificent fund raiser for herself - mostly from corporate benefactors. It's amazing what money a sailor has to have - much more than rowing. She married - and her husband has commented that he's "given over his credit card" numerous times when there is a short fall, and Scott has intimated (without being specific) that they have debts, and that her parents "aren't all that generous" - although what does Scott know?
In short, all families of athletes sacrifice, but think different sports require different sacrifices from both the athlete and the family. For example, a gymnast could never begin their sport as late as Hilary did her rowing. Gymnasts require more childhood parental support. Personally I don't think that my brother or Amanda's parents sacrificed in the same way that Gabby's parents did. But - being a parent of an athlete surely changes you!
By the way - Amanda Clark (and Sarah Lihan) are in 9th place, and have qualified for the medal round on Friday, but the best they can do is 5th, so they are out of the actual medal running. They came in 12th last Olympics.
Congratulations to Amanda and Sarah. And belated ones to Hillary. I agree many sports are less intensive than others. I think swimming, diving and gymnastics are among the higher profiled ones and gymnastics is one of the biggest because age makes such a difference. That's why parental involvement is so big. But these days, when I talk to parents I hear the amount of money they have to shell out just to play local sports. I'm glad I never had to do that.
ReplyDelete