Happy Mother's Day Coach! I Mean Mom ...

If you've tried to coach your son or daughter, you know that it takes a delicate balance of patience, understanding and an unwavering agreement with your offspring on where you "draw the line" between your two roles.

More times than not, it's easier said than done. 

With Mother's Day upon us, Patch caught up with two local high school coaches who coach their daughters at the varsity level. They share with us the unique relationship that is required to be successful with both the team and the girl.

In other words, they touch on the good, the bad and the car ride home.

volleyball coach Liza Rogers coached her senior daughter Nina this year and confides that the two of them shared memories of a lifetime together through the experience.

"Having the opportunity to coach my daughter, Nina, was truly a gift that was given to me," said Rogers. "Yes, we've had our share of bad times but honestly, the good times outweighed the bad. This is one part of my coaching career I would never change. The hardest part of coaching my daughter was making sure there was no favoritism shown and avoided all possibility of bringing it home. Keeping my career of coaching and being a mom made it difficult to separate the two. This also sometimes led to making her work harder than the rest of the team."

Rogers continues. "The unfortunate part of coaching is I have to wait until games were over before I could celebrate her successes. On the other hand, watching her be successful and then beaming with pride is all worth it. All-in-all, having coached my daughter is a special bond that not very many moms have the privilege of doing. And we made memories together that will last a lifetime.

"One story that comes to mind is one game when the team and Nina played so bad and I was so frustrated with them," said Rogers. "In the car ride home, she knew not to say anything to me and I couldn't even say anything to her. I pulled in the driveway and told her to get out. She looked at me and knew this would not be a good night as I stayed in the car and drove away. I don't think she'd ever seen me that frustrated before. As I left, her expression was one of relief, in not having to hear me tell her how poorly she played that night."

bowling coach Karyn Mazei coached her senior daughter to the state championship title and agrees with Rogers that the position is difficult, but a great experience.

"I did have the pleasure this year of coaching my daughter," said Mazei.  "We had some adventures, both good and bad. It was a great feeling to experience the with her. I'm sure I was harder and pushed her more than the other teammates. I hope that made her a stronger person.

"Jericka was one of my starters and had earned that position fairly. You always hear comments and remarks from players and parents, but you know your team and will do what is best for them. If there was a bad day, that's when I needed to put the coaching position away and the mom role stepped up. It is hard at times, but I feel that it has brought us closer. I will miss her on the roster next year. It is a difficult job, but with patience, it is a great experience."

Happy Mother's Day Coaches and Moms!

Stay tuned for the Father's Day version of this story, as we're gathering thoughts and experiences from eight dads that serve as a varsity coach to their kids in our local Patch communities.