USA Baseball

Being the mother of an athlete is a challenging yet rewarding role. So momsTEAM designated May as Sports Moms Month and has been celebrating by asking some of our favorite sports moms to share their wisdom by responding to a series of questions.

We heard from a fascinating range of sports moms, from a mom of an Olympic athlete to moms who were themselves Olympic athletes, from a moms of former minor league baseball players and NCAA Division 1 basketball players to a Minnesota hockey mom and author, from a sports nutritionist to an award-winning health and safety reporter.   

When my sisters and I were growing up, my father loved to spend time with us in the back yard (and later at the local school diamond) playing baseball. We never used a softballs, always baseballs. My dad had been a stand-out baseball pitcher and catcher for his high school during the World War II. He had hoped to play professional baseball but his dreams and elbow were shattered by a bullet while serving on the aircraft carrier Bon Homme Richard in the Pacific. Frankly, I also think the wear and tear of pitching also left him some serious rotator cuff issues, as he had a difficult time throwing very far as he got older.