From time to time we’re called up to volunteer, in some capacity or another, by the club. Last weekend one of the moms from my son’s team was on field marshal duty (the task involves retrieving balls that make their way over the super high fence and into the woods, reporting scores, keeping the crowd under control - a topic for a future blog- and wearing a beautiful vest that is the mark of authority!!!). A ball took flight over the fence and landed in the pond next to the field… there was no stick long enough to retrieve the ball, so our brave and dedicated volunteer had no choice but to tough it out and make her way across the thin ice. Well… I think its obvious what happened.

So what is this “Raising Athletes” blog all about? A recent comment on a blog entry questioned why this blog has several entries about Manchester Memorial sports, and fewer Nashua postings. The answer pure and simple - the internet audience is not just Nashua.

Push! Push! Push! After all, don’t you want your kid to go pro?
Dads, do you remember growing up as a teen - the school work, girls, pressure to succeed in sports, and zits? I’m only going to touch on the sports end of this topic.

Do you remember your Pop Warner football days, Little League moments or Biddy Basketball games long ago?
I have many memories of my games as a child, and others I covered as a photographer for The Telegraph. Some are good ones, and others I’d rather forget, if I could. For me, it’s not the games themselves that stick in my head, but the events surrounding them. Unfortunately, we don’t get to choose which memories to keep, or forget.

I’ve photographed and read about people named #1 sports fans in their communities, but I have never met one who inspired so many people, lived to help others, and suffered through cancer so much, as my father, Duane Hammerstrom.

 
He was nicknamed the first “Hammer” in the family. I am the second, and my son, Brandon has [...]

It’s 6 a.m. on Saturday morning and you’ve been up for an hour already packing a cooler. The laundry was done at midnight, and still in the dryer. Your child is just waking up, and searches his dresser for clean socks. Dad is packing the car with chairs, jackets and an armload of water bottles. [...]