I am almost done this stage of my life - one headed to college, one in high school and one in middle school. Almost done. I have logged a lot of hours sitting at baseball fields, track meets, basketball games - you name it. We've had good coaches, bad coaches, mean coaches, too. I did it for my kids. The exercise was good for their bodies, being part of a team taught them something too. I never felt it was the most important thing in their little lives. I wanted them to be good students and good people too. Sooner or later, I figured they would stop playing sports but the lessons they learned, well, those were priceless.

I think (hope) it's not so much reliving our past victories in sports, but wanting our kids to feel that sense of accomplishment in winning a game, or being part of something that's bigger than they are. As a travel soccer player as a child/teen, I know what a positive experience that was for me, and I hope my Eldest has the same experience. Kristin, I too, have kids playing soccer, baseball, and lacrosse. I'll pray for you, you pray for me!

I love the excitement of soccer, basketball, football and volleyball, even when it comes early in the morning. I enjoy watching sports and have been known to watch games where I didn't have a player in them.

They have all been great lessons in life for my kids: teamwork, hard work, exercise, losing with dignity, getting along with different kids of people, and especially commitment.

It's great to win, sure that's exciting, but the process is the best of all.

My son is only 14 months old right now, so I have awhile until the traveling games begin. But, as a basketball/soccer/volleyball/softball player and track runner in my younger years, I know I will encourage my son to play sports as much as possible. It was probably what kept me out of trouble as a teenager - knowing not only my parents would be disappointed in my behavior, but also that I might get kicked off a team. Also, while I was never a stellar performer in any of my sports, playing taught me that even an average player has an important role on the team. Plus, in a time when obesity is on the rise, it's a great way to combat the fast food fixes! So, I think I care because I want my child to have similar experiences and learn similar lessons that I did as a child.

"Is it for them, or for us?" Yes! It's for both of you. You get to see how your kids act and interact with their peers. It's a pretty good indicator of how they act when you're not around. But they learn so much from being part of a team, both good and bad. Good when they feel like they contribute to a win - bad when they see how one persons actions can mess up everyone... The best parts of my childhood were my parents always being at my events. Sports, band, chorus..you name it. One of my parents was ALWAYS there. It kept me in line..sure! But it let me know how important I was to them. They never had to tell me. I just knew.

i know why i do it. as a brand new mom of a 15-year-old, i do it to show that i care. there is nothing like seeing his smile when he sees that his working mom made it to the game. i need him to know i support him. i may never know what off sides means, but i can cheer for him as loudly as possible - to make up for all the years he's lived with no one cheering him on. so yeah, it's for him.

Too funny - our oldest (7) just started playing regular rec-league soccer, and last year I decide that since I played soccer in high school and rec in college, I ought to stop watching and start playing...much to my delight I signed up for a "B" team indoor co-ed league, and then to my major dismay, found out that the B team was actually all 21-yr-old off-season college players from our local university (I am 32). I played in 2 games and honestly thought my body would just fall apart in the middle of the game, or I would have a heart-attack at half-time, and then decided that the league wasn't for me. Now, though, I am too happy on the sidelines, totally out of shape, glued to my daughter's performance (but don't say much because I am too competitive and I don't want to be Mr. Yell). Now I'm not sure what to do, because I would like to up the exercise/activity quotient but doing something fun aka. a sport, is so much better than the treadmill at 6am.