Did you hear this phrase from your grandparents when you were a kid? “I used to walk 5 miles to school in the snow and rain.” With a roll of the eyes and a “ya sure, ya betcha” reply, I found a way to change the conversation.

Why can’t parents just keep their mouths shut and let the coaches coach? It was all over the laps the coach made the man’s son run for being late for football practice.

So, just how to you tell your kids you’re out of a job, can’t make the car payment or you need to dip into their college funds to cover the mortgage? Those would be tough to swallow for children of any age.

Don’t be alarmed when your son tells you after the baseball game that he was told to put on a “suicide squeeze.” And mom, he hasn’t turned into a baker after “laying down a bunt.” Well, the weather isn’t changing when the coach asks the pitcher to “bring on the heat.” But, maybe the following list of terms, slang and phrases will enlighted your baseball vocabulary.

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.

I had a headache last night, and ringing in my ears. It didn’t come from my car stereo, and not from cheering on the Red Sox last night. I blame it on the short woman sitting behind me at the Class L Junior Varsity Basketball Tournament yesterday at Manchester West High School.
When I picked out a seat in [...]

So what do you get for three bucks these days - one pound of propane to heat my house, a gallon of milk, a subscription to The Telegraph, but not admission into a basketball game at Bishop Guertin High School. That will cost you five BIG ONES.

One of the school budget-trimming proposals out there will eliminate the current junior high athletics as they are today, and replace them with intramural-style sports. After reading a letter sent out to parents of Nashua junior high students (provided to me by a friend), I wondered who is behind this shift - or shaft as many [...]

What better way to keep athletes’ grades up, than to offer them tutoring in an after-school study hall. That’s the new program some Memorial High School football players will take part in throughout their school year.