Mothers make a significant sacrifice and contribution to teach their children how to play sports, or at least encourage them. 

This is an effort to recognize some of these contributions.   

I recall the special efforts, interest and encouragement by Audrey Tittle, my mother,  as she struggled to work and still took an active interest in my brother and me, encouraging us to go to practice and “anything worth doing is worth doing it right.”  She would take the time to listen to us talk about our experiences.  

Bernice Gray, my mother-in-law, took an active part to teach our son about baseball: catch, pitch and bat.  

Linda,  my wife, was always an encouragement to our son and also our grandchildren to encourage them in sports and trying new activities. We wanted to expose our son to at least try out with T-ball when he was five-years-old.  He would come home and tell his mother he didn’t want to play.  She would encourage him to at least keep trying and if he didn’t like it after the first season then he wouldn’t have to continue.

Our son played on some great teams through his school years and also at Englewood High School in Jacksonville where they had a winning team.  He and his wife now teach their children and encourage them – not just in baseball but other sports as well.  

These influences, as subtle as they may seem, created special moments and influences for which I am very grateful. 

In an effort to tell about a mother’s influence, I would like to know of your special experiences.  

Think about what you would like to say as a tribute to mothers.  I’ll ask some questions in a couple of days to help trigger your thoughts so others can benefit from your experience.