I Will Miss Those Friday Night Lights...

High School football has come and gone for No. 1. I honestly can't believe it. I still remember his first youth game; he scored two touchdowns, one of which sent us into overtime. His first game on the Freshman team; he played quarterback, safety, and was the punter AND field goal kicker (we won 20-0!). And of course his first Varsity start, he threw for 375 yards and 6 touchdowns...in 30 something degree weather!

It's so very bittersweet.  

I will miss driving him and his teammates to and from practice; hearing them talk and laugh about what happened, rolling down all the windows trying not pass out from the smell of their pads.

I will miss waking up while it's still dark outside to take them breakfast to eat after 6am walk-thrus. The looks on peoples faces when they walk past me and the 75 bananas in my grocery cart. True story! I struggle to wake up for work, but somehow could always pull myself out of bed for the team. Hearing them whisper "we have the best team moms EVER" definitely helped!

I will miss feeding the team and coaches their pre-game meals. Man, can those boys put away some food! Them coming together to say "Thank you, Moms!" when finished. Luckily, I always recorded it so I can look back and reminisce whenever I feel like it.

I will miss spending time with my favorite football mama BFF's. Selling spirit wear together, our trips to Costco, our craft nights, coordinating our game day outfits. Cheering, laughing, and crying in those stands together. Loving each other's boys the way we love our own.

I will miss those Friday nights, under the lights. The band, the cheerleaders, the colored smoke as the boys run out of the big helmet. The student section chants, hearing Sweet Caroline being played on the loud speaker, and ringing my cowbell of course.

I read a quote online and I couldn't agree more; "Football is not a lifetime sport... but high school football IS a once in a lifetime experience".

Youth sports; The days are long, but the years are short. WAY TOO SHORT. 

Enjoy every moment, Mama. You'll be touring colleges before you know it.

Team Mama Idea: DIY Photo Cupcake Toppers + NEW Senior Night Ideas!

It happened, Mamas. Senior Night for No. 1 was this past Friday. And guess what? I actually made it through without crying! I know, I know. HOW?!? Well, for starters I was crying on and off all week long. I was also running around like a chicken with my head cut off making sure that everything was set and that everyone knew where to be, and what to do. And finally, I spent waaaay too long doing my makeup to cry and forever look a hot mess in pictures. #FORREALS

Senior Night actually began at 4pm for the team (3pm for us mamas). We arrived earlier than we normally do to set up for our pre-game meal. We wanted to make it extra special for our 16 Seniors, so we decided to set the table for them. We found a bunch of football themed supplies, as well as plates and a table cover in our team colors at our local party store.

We let the Seniors choose what they wanted to eat this week, and of course they chose Chick-fil-A. I mean, can you blame them?! We picked up assorted chips and fruit to go alongside the chicken sandwiches. 

And for dessert...

They had individual bundt cakes, with these super cute, photo toppers!

They were one of my favorite details of all! Sure, you can order them. But it's more fun (and cost effective!) to make them yourself! 

Here's how.

What you need:

• Wallet sized photos (2 for each player)
• Foam board
• Scissors
• X-Acto knife
• Glue
• Cake topper sticks

What you do:

• Cut your photos. I decided to round the edges a bit. If you have a pair of those scissors that cut decorative edges, they'd be perfect for this!

• Trace photos onto your foam board. You only need to trace one photo for each player as the toppers are double sided.

• Cut out the shapes you traced using an X-ACTO knife. Then glue them on to the foam board.

• Once you've glued your photos on both the front and back, stick one of the cake toppers into the bottom of the foam board- no glue needed!

That's it! So simple yet they were totally one of the stars of the show!

Here's a look at how the rest of the night went.

My football mama BFF ordered this amaaaaazing balloon display.

Did I exaggerate?!? It was a show stopper! So many people stopped to take photos in front of it. 

We decorated the fence at the bottom of the stands with banners and balloons.

Each Senior had a fathead (click HERE to learn how we made them) as well as a poster.

Us Senior Mamas got cowbells with our boys' numbers on them!

As well as an orange rose with a hand written thank you note from our player... sniff sniff.

We also wore our sons' jerseys. SO fun!

The night was absolutely perfect. The sky was the most beautiful it had been all season long!

I can't believe it's come and gone so quickly.

Once a Spartan, always a Spartan! WE LOVE YOU, SENIORS!!!

I hope you found this post helpful. For daily sports mama inspiration, be sure to join the Confessions of a Sports Mama Facebook Group!

*** Click here and here to read my previous Senior Night Ideas!

Team Mama Idea: High School Football Banquet Ideas

No. 1's first year of high school football officially ended yesterday. Even though they haven't been in pads for over a month, the season doesn't officially end until the banquet. I was so excited that I was asked to help coordinate décor. You Sports Mamas already know that I'm all about that #pinterestlife!


The banquet was held in our school's cafeteria. Here's how we decorated the tables.

Each table got three napkins (in our school colors!) which we opened up and placed strategically. On top of the napkins, we sprinkled football themed confetti as well as candy.

But the stars of the show were without a doubt the centerpieces!

They were easy to make (I made 45 of them with the help of two of my fellow football mamas!) AND cost efficient! So what's in the middle you ask? Why a cheap roll of toilet paper, of course! I mean dollar store cheap. Genius, huh?!?


All you need to make them yourself is tissue paper, ribbon, pipe cleaners, pictures, and the TP. You begin by simply wrapping the roll in tissue paper and securing the top with the ribbon. The ribbon can be curled using a pair of scissors. You then stick a pipe cleaner in the middle and attach a photo to the top of it. I found that bending the top of the pipe cleaner helped tremendously with stability. That's it! And the best part of all is that the players can take them home afterwards!


We also made each team (Freshman, JV, and Varsity) a 20X30 photo collage poster.

The players weren't the only ones who had their faces put on posters...

The coaches did too! And not just any photos either... photos of them playing football ... in high school! Seriously, how cool is that?! It was definitely the highlight of the night! Players, parents, and even the coaches themselves took turns trying to figure out who was who. SO fun!


For dinner, we catered a simple, yet delicious barbeque menu. There was pulled pork, pulled chicken, baked beans, macaroni and cheese, and coleslaw. Yum! And what would a banquet be without cake, or cakes!

We decorated both ends of the dessert table with balloons using helmets as weights. I absolutely love how they looked!

For coaches gifts, I ordered each one a personalized t-shirt. It had the team picture on the front and their name on the back. Coach Hubby also made them all a DVD of our season highlights!

And we couldn't forget about our awesome managers! I found these beautiful orange roses at my local grocery store and it was love at first site.

I made a cute little bouquet for both of them with the leftover tissue paper and ribbon, and added a gift card and team photo to go along with it.

A great time was had by all.

My boy receiving the Coaches Award wasn't too bad either!

Until next season.


GO SPARTANS!!!






*** Check out these takes on the centerpieces made by some of the awesome mamas in our Confessions of a Sports Mama Facebook Group!

Photo shared by Mindy G.

Photo shared by Ashley K.

Sports Mama Tip: 10 Ways to Volunteer as a High School Football Mom

Just because your football player has moved on from youth to high school ball doesn't mean your days of volunteering have to be over. Here are TEN ways that you can help out as a high school football mom:

1. Booster Club. Booster Clubs support and raise funds for the entire program. They are 100% volunteer ran, so parent participation is crucial to their success!
2. Fundraisers. They are vital to high school programs! Funds raised go towards purchasing quality equipment, uniforms, camps and training sessions, as well as other important areas. (Click HERE for my list of top 10 fundraising ideas!).
3. Pre-game meals. Most high schools feed their teams on game day. Feeding a football team aka small army is no easy task! (Click HERE for my tips for feeding a large team!) Volunteer a few hours of your time to help set up and serve the players.
4. Ticket Taker/Sales. Just what it sounds like. You work the ticket booth, usually for the game before or after your player's.
5. Chain Crew. The best seat spot in the house! You literally get to be on the field. It doesn't get much better than that!
6. Concessions. Help sell those famous game day burgers and hot dogs! (Click HERE for my tips on running a successful concession stand + a list of the top ten best sellers!).
7. Sell spirit wear. Who doesn't want to rock their school colors?! Sign up to work the spirit wear table!
8. Team Videographer. At the high school level, film study is a must! One of the biggest ways you can help your team (and coach!) is by filming the games. For the best view, be sure to sit in the press box, or as high up on the bleachers as you can go!
9. Team Photographer. Have a passion for photography? Put it to use by taking game photos and sharing them with the team. You will even be allowed down on the sidelines!
10. Parent Liaison aka Team Mom. Yep, they even have them in high school, Mamas! I'm the Freshman Team Mom this year. Woot woot! My main responsibility is to act as the point of contact between our parents and Coaches. (Click HERE for tips on being a great Team Mom!).

"Volunteers do not necessarily have the time; they just have the heart."- Elizabeth Andrew

7 Things I've Learned In My First Two Weeks As A High School Football Mom

I've been a high school football mama for about two and a half weeks now. Although we haven't even played our first game yet, I've learned a lot, and thought I'd share it with you all.

1. If you're not 15 minutes early, you're late. Practice may be scheduled to start at 3pm, but if you're not on that field, with your helmet and pads on by 2:45pm, you're late. And coach will call you out on it!
2. They will be tired. The only time No. 1 has napped since he was a toddler, is when he had the flu last Winter. I can't tell you how many times I've witnessed him fall asleep, with the lights on!
3. They will eat you out of house and home. A gallon of milk ain't got nothing on my boy! His typical post-practice meal consists of two bowls of cereal, two peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, and a protein shake. Oh, and then he eats dinner...
4. They will stink. High school sweat is in a league all of it's own! (Click HERE for my tips on cleaning equipment.)
5. They wash their own uniforms. Yes mama, you read right! I learned this at our parent meeting last week. Game uniforms do not come home, so they will take turns washing them after each game. That's one less funky thing for them to bring into your house! #WINNING
6. It takes a village. Before school starts, they practice six days a week, almost always during the work day. Unless your child lives within walking distance or you work from home, you will definitely need to get with your fellow football mamas asap to set up a carpool. I don't know what I'd do without my tribe!
7. Coaches still need our help. When I dropped No. 1 off for picture day, I happened to bump into one of his coaches and decided to ask him if they could use any help. His response, "Yes, please! We can always use help!". Even the head varsity coach echoed what he said. From passing out jerseys, to serving pre-game meals, to filming games, to taking tickets, to fundraising...they still need AND WANT us, mamas! (Click HERE for 10 ways you can volunteer to help!).

While high school football is definitely a big change from youth, I'm excited (and a bit nervous, I won't even lie!) for the season to begin.


Wishing you all a happy and healthy football season.


GO TEAM!!!




*** Click HERE to read 7 things I learned in my first season as a high school basketball mama!