Soccer Mom

Welcome to the "On Balance" guest blog. Every Tuesday, "On Balance" features the views of a guest writer. It could be your neighbor, your boss, your most loved or hated poster from the blog, or you! Send me your original, unpublished entry (300 words or fewer) for consideration. Writers need to use their full names. Obviously, the topic should be something related to balancing your life.

By Maggie Leifer McGary

It all started when I went to see my 11-year-old daughter's championship soccer game. Soccer is not my bag; for the most part, her dad attends practices and games. What does that say about me as a mom that I don't make every soccer game or hockey match? In today's kid-centric society, admitting I don't feel it necessary to attend every sports event is tantamount to announcing that I'm a crack addict.

As I was watching the big game, I tried to remember, back when I swam as a kid, whether any dads ever attended practices or meets. Then suddenly, snapping me out of my reverie, a guy jumped from his chair and screamed at his daughter on the field, "Goddamn it--pay attention!" As the game went on he kept up a constant stream of equally abusive "cheers."

The next day, I sent an e-mail to the director of the soccer organization expressing my horror at what seemed acceptable parental behavior by other bystanders. Still fired up, I offhandedly made a comment on a local paper's Web site in the "Speak Out" section. I figured my online tirade would be tucked away in cyberspace along with the thoughts of everyone else who was "speaking out" on personal pet peeves.

Wrong. A few days later I got an e-mail from a friend saying "Bravo! Your comments were right on." Then I got a text from another friend crowning me "Outspoken in Olney." When I got home that night I unearthed the previous day's issue of The Gazette and saw my rant had been printed in the Opinions page, preceded by a headline craftily written by someone other than me: "Are Parents Ruining Sports for their Kids?" followed by my full name.

Then a friend told me that my "letter" had caused quite a stir and the local sports club was launching some kind of investigation. I had no idea my personal account and comments would spark such an outrage.

What role does "balance" play in kids' sports today? Are you a bad parent if you opt out of your kids' activities? Or the other extreme -- becoming so emotionally involved that you curse your kid from the sidelines? How can you find the so-called happy medium that's best for you and your kid?

Maggie Leifer McGary is a former stay-at-home mother who now works as a Web writer and developer. She lives in Olney, Md., with her husband and two children. She writes about balance and other random issues on her blog, Motherwhatnowredux.

By Leslie Morgan Steiner |  January 8, 2008; 7:00 AM ET  | Category:  Guest Blogs
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