Youth Sports: How Do Single Parents Do It?

My wife was away on a women's religious retreat so I was riding solo this past weekend. This would not be a problem normally, but my two athlete's had a very busy schedule.

Crazy Youth Parents Series

Here is the crazy schedule that I managed this weekend.

Friday - Golf match and basketball tryout for my son and soccer practice for my daughter.
Saturday - Basketball game, soccer game and select basketball tryouts for my daughter and basketball tryouts and baseball game for my son.
Sunday - Basketball game and soccer game for my daughter. My son, thankfully, had the day off.

Ten athletic events in three days for two kids with one parent. I know parents who have 5 or 6 very active kids. I know single working parents who somehow keep up with today's young athletes. I applaud you both.

The Main Point

Being parents of athletes is not easy. Being a single parent of athletes is nearly impossible. The responsibilities are seemingly endless. This past weekend I did the following tasks to prepare my kids for the weekend of sports. I washed uniforms, tied shoes, searched for and found missing equipment, practiced with the kids in the yard, shopped for new basketball shoes, arranged for rides, drove teammates home, went online to download directions, drove 250 miles, cooked meals, prepared water bottles, watched games, practices and tryouts, encouraged my kids, talked to coaches, consoled and cheered for my kids. To handle a schedule like this you need to be prepared and you need help. I made a chart of all the activities and I worked deals with other parents to carpool.

I had a great weekend. I saw a win and a tie in soccer against some really tough competition, I saw a heartbreaking loss in a basketball tournament final and a blowout win, and both my kids made the select teams that they tried out for.