Enjoy your child's journey

Did you ever sit back and really think how fortunate you are as a parent to be able to share your child’s athletic experiences with them?

How excited are our kids when we can watch them play?

These athletic moments can actually bring the family together.

Being right in the middle of these athletic years makes it difficult to realize how fortunate you are to be given these years with your kids. Someday you will look back at these years and hopefully look back in a positive way.

My wife and I are blessed with three great kids. We can actually look back with great joy and satisfaction knowing that they really did get to enjoy their childhood not only in sports but also outside of sports.

Were there ups and downs? Most definitely and we were able to help them through these disappointments. We were also able to keep them grounded through their accomplishments.

If I were to look back at my own experiences, not only as a professional soccer player of 10 years but also as a parent of three successful kids, and now able to share with other families the secret to our kids success. (www.TwellmanSoccer.com and www.ChooseItRight.com) I would have to say to these families, it was their efforts but not without our guidance.

This meant something different for each one of our kids.

For Taylor (my oldest, former MLS MVP and now ESPN analyst) it meant sports as the main focus in everything he did. A great student but playing a sport professionally was his goal. His focus, since he was very young, was always around a ball. It started with a balloon that kept him occupied. This quickly moved to a soccer ball, baseball, basketball, hockey, football or golf. It really didn’t matter as long as he could be doing something with a ball.

James (a Stanford University grad and athlete, a Professional soccer for two years) is three years younger then Taylor. A great athlete in his own right but all along had different interest along with his athletics. Followed his older brother and played all of the sports but always wanted to experience other things. It could have been fishing, camping or attending lectures by dignitaries. For whatever reasons his interest, his gifts took him other places along with his sports.

My youngest child, my daughter Alexandra (University of Richmond and St. Louis University grad and athlete) was given the gift of athletic ability just like her brothers. She followed this gift all the way through college and enjoyed playing soccer, softball, field hockey, and basketball as well. As a young girl, she had many interests outside of athletics. She loves her animals, she loves her fashion and she loves the outside. Theses interests have continued as young adult.

Realizing that given the gift of athletics is just that, a gift. This gift might just mean being a college or even a professional athlete. It more than likely will only mean enjoying a childhood of athletics and nothing more. So enjoy… wherever our kids take us.

Tim Twellman

Director of www.TwellmanSoccer.com

SRVP of www.ChooseItRight.com