Fun Friday – Pre-season jitters – 3 ways to ease the stress of high school football season

The beginning of a football career

My teen son came home from school with a small stack of papers that he pushed into my hands. 

“Here you go, Ma.”

“What’s this?” I asked.

“The football schedule for the upcoming season.”

There were four or five pages filled front and back with information. There was a calendar for each of the next three months, a list of football camps over the summer and a list of meetings and fees.

No it wasn’t overwhelming…said no one ever.

After several deep breaths and rubbing my temples with my fingertips, I was ready to digest football season and all it had in store. My pre-season jitters began to subside and I created ways to manage the stress in planning for the season. Here they are:

1.      Look at the big picture and break it into manageable tasks – identify which items need to be taken care of first; complete health forms, schedule physical.

2.      Establish a budget plan – are there player fees, equipment to be purchased, and other expenses? – My son told me the other day that he needs new cleats. My first questions was, “How much do they cost? Are they about $50?”

My son’s reaction was hearty laugh, then he said, “Ma, you can probably get one cleat for that amount and some laces.”

He told me I would need double the amount I suggested. For that amount I told him I needed him to finish building the fence in the backyard, clean the basement and complete a few other back burner projects.

3.      Ask for help – you don’t have to do everything yourself, its okay to ask for help if it’s needed. Family and friends can help with transportation to practices/games and camps; turn it into an outing. Sometimes my mom will travel to an away game with me, we’ll munch popcorn, chat and even watch most of the game.

Is your child involved in an extracurricular activity? How do you prepare for his/her series of events?