Bittersweet Time For Senior Athletes (And Their Families)

We are in the final moments of the winter sports season for teams and individual athletes.  My thoughts always turn to those seniors who are finishing their high school careers, especially the ones that won’t be competing on the collegiate level.  For some this is final time to put on a uniform and represent a school and in some cases community.

These moments are especially bittersweet for parents as it marks the end of an era for their sons and daughters.  They often reflect on all those practices from the time their kids were maybe 5 years old and yet it seems like just yesterday their little cherubs were lacing up sneakers, ice skates, and running shoes for the first time. All those trips to gyms and other facilities, often at odd hours and yes the money and time spent on camps, clinics and more.

The best wrestlers survived the region championships last week and are on their way to Atlantic City with the ultimate goal of getting your hand raised on Saturday as one of just14 state champions.  Meanwhile basketball teams have begun the grueling task of winning sectional, group and state titles and knowing all along that their next loss will be the final one of the season. There are only a couple of shore teams still playing hockey and the indoor track and field season is down to this weekend’s Meet of Champions.  At least those athletes have a spring outdoor season but for the others this is it.

At times seasons fly by at an alarming but for many athletes and their families there will not be another season.  So enjoy what is left.