Last night we celebrated a milestone with Lyla’s softball team. They had their 50th win of the season! I mean, 50 games??! This team is tough as nails and put in work all winter to prepare for this season. The girls’ bond is like family and is truly something special – Mark (my husband) and Steve, my father-in-law, get the pleasure of coaching them. Last night I was watching them rally back with 2 outs to win the game and was just reflecting on, as a mom, what have I prioritized to help Lyla be successful. 
- Chiropractic care has been the staple of her health care. As an athlete, she gets tossed around, hit by pitches, slid into, run over, and that is just the physical aspect of softball. Mentally, she is a pitcher… and for those of you familiar with the sport, that is a ton of pressure! She also likes perfection (she hit her 200th strikeout this season last month) so dealing with stress is a lofty task. My ability to care for her with chiropractic gives her the highest ability to heal from microtraumas. This is possible due to the science that a chiropractic adjustment makes the body MORE adaptable, boosts her immune system to improve healing – allowing her the best opportunity to adapt to the high demand and emotional stress. She really is my mini-me and I am not saying that as a positive! As a young athlete I can’t begin to tell you how hard I was on myself emotionally, so anything that can help her handle stress better is key.
- Food is fuel. We follow Dr. Tommy John’s Minimize Injury, Maximize Performance guidelines and do our best to to think of the food they eat as the healing components of the body. Most kids are overfed, undernourished and improperly hydrated in epic numbers. We try for magnesium rich leafy salads regularly and ungodly amounts of fresh fruit and veggies to help properly hydrate. Trust me, you will always find me with a giant fruit bowl forcing kids to eat between games! My kids take a regular Omega 3 supplement, Vitamin D and probiotic. We eat clean, grass fed meats and try to incorporate good healthy fats like avocados, grass fed butter and coconut oil. I could go on and on so please reach out with questions on this topic!
- Finally and most importantly, her success in sports is the ability to be a team player and contributor to society as an adult. We are trying to raise a good human that knows how to be selfless, a team player and a hard worker. Whether she wins or loses games as a kid is irrelevant, but the memories she makes on the field will last a lifetime. I always tell her how proud I am of her, regardless of her performance. I know that sounds like a duh to some, but man, there is so much pressure on young athletes these days. Only thing I ask is to work hard and have a good attitude. We have taught her over the years things don’t get handed to you and the hardest worker wins. So, work hard and always have fun. And as Mark always says… “Want to keep playing as you get older? Keep loving the game. That’s it.”
