Sports Parenting content provided by Dan Saferstein from his book "Win or Lose: A Guide to Sports Parenting", published by The Trusted Guide Press. Visit DanSaferstein.com for more information.

TAKE LOTS OF PICTURES

I have come to appreciate all the pictures my wife takes at games and tournaments. She takes pictures of our children, their teammates and friends, and the parents of their teammates and friends. We have become friends with a number of these parents. I have even become friends with a couple of their coaches. It makes any journey so much richer when you can make friends along the way, and I’m sure these friendships are what I’ll remember most when their competitive sports days are over.

When I look at older pictures, it occurs to me how many people our children have met through their sports activities. In addition to their teammates, they’ve also gotten to know players on other teams, some who now play on the same team as they do. Over the years, all the little rivalries seem to fade, and I’m left with a feeling that we are all a part of the same community, the same sports family. There are people in this sports family from all over the world, people with different political leanings, people who I probably would never have gotten to know if we hadn’t had children on the same teams.

The other day, I looked at my son’s team picture from a recent tournament and felt so glad for him. I didn’t feel glad because they were holding up a trophy and had ribbons around their necks. I felt glad because I knew he was standing alongside friends who he would remember for the rest of his life.

Dan Saferstein, Ph.D. is a Licensed Psychologist, consulting with individuals, families, coaches and teams in his Ann Arbor-based practice. He is a contributing writer to Soccer Coaching International. You can contact him at dansaferstein@earthlink.net.