10 Life Lessons I Learned as a Football Mom

Howdy! Maybelle Crabtree here. I am a Football Mom. Or at least I was. Matthew played youth football here in town for six years. It’s what our family did from August to early December. Everything, and I do mean everything, in our household revolved around the football schedule.

Football was good for Matthew; it kept him on track. It was a release for his boundless energy. And his school grades actually were better in the fall semester because of the strict timetable he kept. He even received a Scholar Athlete award every year from the league. Not bad for a boy who hated school. His head coach emphasized the importance of school and if a boy’s grades faltered he wasn’t allowed to play in the game on Saturday. Matthew wanted to play so he kept his grades up.

Matthew was a great player if I do say so myself. His coaches called him, The Professor, because he knew the playbook frontwards and backwards in his head. He knew each play and where each position was supposed to be in that play. He was the go-to guy when there was short yardage to achieve for a first down in a play I called The Wedge. The quarterback handed the ball off to Matthew and he would plow his way through the line and pick up the necessary yards and sometimes more.

I screamed and cheered, making myself hoarse, from the bleachers each Saturday of the season. Sometimes I’d get involved in the game I would forget to watch the girls! Good thing Tom was always right beside me otherwise we might be missing a girl or two.

What I Learned from Football

I could go on and on about those days. Maybe in some future posts I’ll talk more about football. But what I want to really talk about in this post are the lessons I learned about life from football. Heck, we could all learn a thing or two from football. Now I know what you’re thinking, “What in the world could I learn from football?” Well I’ll tell you there’s a lot but I’ll shorten it for this post. Well, here’s a few things I learned from football:

1) Always Keep the Goal in View and Know Where It is

The goal of football is to score points. In the back of the end zone are uprights to guide the team to their goal. In the same way, we need goals and directions in our lives. Otherwise we wander aimlessly. Goals give us purpose.

2) Keep Pushing Forward Even Though Someone is Trying to Push You Back

Sooner or later, someone, or something, will get in the way of you achieving your goal. When a obstacle occurs, push through it. Before long, you will break through the line and see your goal again.

3) Victories are Measured in Small Increments

Break your goal into smaller, easier steps and when each one is achieved, celebrate! You are one step closer to your goal.

4) If You Break a Rule, You are Penalized

We goof up in life. After all, we are human. It is in our DNA. Whether significant or small, there will be a consequence.

5) There is Someone Waiting to Take Your Place

Always give the best you can to whatever you do. Give it all you got because there is someone waiting on the sidelines for their chance to get into the game and play.

6) Sometimes You Fumble the Ball

Again we are human. We make mistakes and we lose our grasp on whatever it is we’re doing. We are disappointed and wish we could have a do-over. But that cannot happen. Accept it and move on.

7) Know the Play and Stay in Position

We get off course with momentary mishaps or miscommunications We are not sure of where we should be. Ask for help. Get directions. It’s okay to do both.

8) It is Okay to Punt

Punting is not failure; just a temporary setback. You will get another turn.

9) Sometimes You Get Injured or Hurt

Life isn’t fair sometimes. Deal with it and do what you have to do to get back in the game.

10) The Scoreboard Does Not Always Show the True Score

It may look like you’re losing but keep your head in the game and never give up There is more to life than just winning. It is how you play the game.

Matthew opted for other extracurricular activities in high school. But we still attended the games every Friday night. We knew most of the players personally from that youth league. I still cheered and screamed but with a little less vigor. I had no vested interest in the game anymore. Football Mom was no longer a title I held.

Officially, I’m not a Football Mom anymore. Now when I see a boy suited up or a mom wearing her son’s jersey number, tears form in my eyes. I remember my little boy and the lessons of football and realize that in my heart I will always be a Football Mom.