Chasing babies around home
Balancing coaching, mothering duties can be tough
Four years ago, my friend Becky Wilcox became a mother on Mother's Day.
Nice, but not so unusual to merit a column.
What makes this story interesting is that 18 hours before giving birth to daughter Grace, the Hinsdale Central coach was standing in the third-base coach's box yelling directions to the Red Devils' softball team during a doubleheader.
And while Wilcox hung up her cleats to chase Grace and subsequently two other babies around her home, many coaches don't.
Plano assistant softball coach Jen Osman knows all to well the "juggling act" of raising a family and teaching softball fundamentals to teenage girls.
Osman, who is expecting baby number two at the end of June, has been coaching the Reapers since daughter Molly, now four, was just nine months old.
"I've never been one to sit still," Osman said. "It's not surprising I'm running around like a chicken with her head cut off."
Having supportive relatives lend a hand has helped balance Osman's routine of substitute teaching, parenting, coaching and pursuing an additional degree, so she can teach full-time.
That's something Rosary head softball coach Tara Tattersall knows all too well.
Tattersall's husband, Matt, is a resident at the University of Wisconsin Hospital in Madison and during softball season she and daughter Maddie, 2, live with her parents in Aurora.
"I have a great family that helps me out," Tattersall said of her parents and in-laws.
Both Osman's and Tattersall's daughters attend games, weather permitting, and have fun hanging out with the big girls and watching Mommy work.
"She's at an age where she is more into it," Osman said of Molly. "She loves hitting off the tee and everyone knows her."
Whereas Molly is trying to hone her skills as a player, Maddie on the other hand is relishing emulating Mom.
"She repeats everything I say," Tattersall said, as she recalled a recent practice where Maddie was yelling directives to the Royals seconds after she had. "She is really active and has fun watching."
Both coaches agree it helps having athletic departments willing to accommodate their needs.
"Mary Lou (Kunold) has no problem with me bringing her along," said Tattersall, as her daughter played in the Rosary Athletic Director's office.
But with all of the juggling, hardships and chasing the little ones around the diamond, both love their jobs and can see how motherhood has made a difference in their coaching styles.
"I can handle the girls a lot better because it is nothing like a four-year-old's temper tantrums," muses Osman. "I am able to laugh off a whole lot."
Tattersall says she is a softer coach since becoming a mother and understands the sacrifices parents make for their children.
"It's not about you anymore," she added. "It's about your child."
And as all Fox Valley coaching moms celebrate today either with an elaborate brunch, breakfast in bed, flowering bouquets or the best gifts of all-those made with tiny fingers out of love, I wish each and every one of you a Happy Mother's Day and continued success on the playing field.
Tamara McQueen-Salentine is a Beacon News columnist.