What is your first thought when you see a successful athlete? Is it the cheers, the lights & action, the hard work and long nights of practice? Or do you think about the laundry, the minivan, and the late night dinners? If you’re thinking the latter, you may just be a sports mom. As athletes, we count on our parents to get us to and from practice and games, we ask them to buy us the best equipment for success, and then, after the game, we celebrate - while our mom’s get the grass stains out of our jerseys for our next game. Teri Dickison is no stranger to these late night dinners and long days of practices and juggling her childrens dreams and her home, “I remember one time, all four of my kids had practice at the ball fields at the same time. So, I loaded up my white Astro van with all of the clean laundry and sat in the parking lot watching their practices and folding my laundry – because if it didn’t get done then, it wasn't getting done”. As a mom of 4, Teri often had several practices and games to attend weekly, so she and her husband would split up and support each of their kids in their activities throughout school, “We had four children in sports – you just made it work. You also just lowered your standards – the meals weren’t as good, the house wasn’t as clean, we didn’t have the big fancy 100” TV, you just made it work”. Now, they both get to sit together and enjoy the amazing talents of their only daughter, Kristen, as she plays College soccer for Tiffin University.

Teri had no intentions of ever being that mom, who was so intense at the games that her kids couldn’t focus, “ I did not want to ever be the mom in the stands screaming like a fool. I NEVER wanted to be the parent ranting and raving at the coach because of this or that. My promise was to support my daughter and her sports career. After 24 years of being a sports mom, I think I do ok.” She shared some of her own defining moments, “I will never forget probably one of my best moments, I was at a game one time, and the parents from the other team were screaming “Take her out! Break her legs! Stop her!”. And I quietly went to the other end of the field, away from the crazy, and paced back and forth until the game was over”. She was determined to never allow her protective nature to hinder the growth of her only daughter, sharing “I let her fight her own battles. I never ran to the coach over playing time, I never went to a parent because their kid was a jerk. She knew if she didn’t like playing time – work harder. Her game, her career, was just that HERS… I always had an opinion. I always had advice – but I tried not to offer them unless needed”.

Kristen wanted to get in on EVERY sport she could sign up for, and for Teri, a decision had to be made concerning her daughter’s physical and mental health. How well could her knees hold up to the constant bombardment, how well can she balance school and athletics, will she exhaust herself beyond repair? Kristen didn’t back down, nor did she give up, Teri stated her concerns, “She would go until she dropped, she would always give 1000%. My main concern was her knees, her physical body. That is why, when asked, there was NO way she was running track, playing spring soccer, and participating in AAU basketball at the same time”.

There truly is no question about the pride and love Teri has for her daughter, sharing several of her favorite moments of life on the field with her daughter, you can almost feel it yourself. “My favorite moments are never the big ones – breaking a record, scoring her first college goal (heck getting recruited to play college soccer). They were all of the small, subtle moments… You know, the ones where the crowds gasp because they cannot believe what they just witnessed (because it was so amazing and uncommon). The header out of nowhere, in heavy traffic, to score the winning goal. Or the moments when you know a player from another team is out to deliberately hurt her – to stop her at all cost, and she just keeps taking the beating and keeps going. My favorite moments are when she does her job and does it well – and truly has no clue how amazing she is”. - All My Love - Kae

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