Sideline Behavior

The New Year has started, which means a new school semester and a new sports season.  It is cold and wet outside, so we have taken our sports enthusiasm from the gridiron to the basketball court; a tough transition for a dedicated football mom like me!

That my knowledge of basketball wasn't nearly as deep as my understanding of football was driven home to me, so to speak, during the first week back to school when I picked up my son and four of his classmates after school.

Being the mother of an athlete is a challenging yet rewarding role. So momsTEAM has designated May as Sports Moms Month and is celebrating by asking some of our favorite sports moms to share their wisdom by responding to a series of questions.

So far this month we have heard from a fascinating range of sports moms, from a mom of an Olympic athlete to moms who were themselves Olympic athletes, from a mom of two former minor league baseball players to a Minnesota hockey mom and author.

Today, we hear from sports mom and diet guru, Tammy Beasley:

Australian tennis pro Bernard Tomic made an unusual request last weekend to the chair umpire during his quarter-final match at the Sony Ericsson Tennis Open in Miami. 

During a changeover he asked to have his dad "banished from the stands."  Seems his dad was, according to an article in USA Today, "noticeably upset with his son's performance", which the reader and fans might conclude, would impact Tomic's ability to focus. "He's annoying me. I know he's my father, but he's annoying me. I want him to leave as soon as possible," Tomic reportedly told the umpire.