Life lesson I learned this week

I posted in a girls wrestling parent group this week about excited I was that London had the opportunity to learn about NIL deals, recruitment and branding through this community.

The response was fast and sharp which I should have expected from a FB group of strangers, but still, it caught me off guard.

It sent me thinking about something I’ve seen with people who start new things or make progress in something: the beginning is rarely kind. There’s usually noise before there’s momentum, and the noise often says more about the room than the person.

What hit harder was that this wasn’t about me, it was about my kid. That’s the moment that makes me wanna ask someone to hold my earrings because I'm about to make choices that don't look great on paper, ha! But I paused.

It also made me notice how different sports feel. When London played hockey, the parent spaces felt more supportive. Wrestling feels more individual - which it literally is but I wasn't expecting that to extend to the parent energy.

As I start this journey with my daughter, especially as a young female learning not to take everything to heart, it’s making it very clear how important the right kind of armor is when she puts herself out there. Not to block the world, just to keep other people’s opinions from moving in and taking over her head. You already train for top mental performance when you compete, but adding outside commentary is a whole different layer (even for me as a Mom!). Athletes are basically mini public figures now and it makes a lot of sense why Taylor Swift doesn’t read her comments! :)

The lesson I learned was the same as the athletes here need to watch what things they let into their energy bubbles and heads, parents need to do the same. For me, I am going to exit the wrestling FB group to only allow proactive things in...and to make sure I don't end up in prison (kidding...but am I though?). :)

Has anyone else noticed different sports carrying different "support" vibes when it comes to the parent side?

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