Gold Medal Parenting

At the age of seven, Michael Phelps refused to put his face in the water during swim lessons. His instructor allowed him to float around on his back instead and – not surprisingly – the first stroke he mastered in the pool was the backstroke.

Since then, he’s…uh…mastered a few others as well.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that Michael Phelps, the USA swimmer extraordinaire, has made history at the 2008 Summer Olympic Games in Beijing. He is now the winningest Olympic athlete ever, earning gold medals and beating existing world records each time he enters a race.

He’s an exceptional athlete and seemingly humble, genuine young man. And I think I know why. Have you heard about his mother, Debbie Phelps?

She is an animated, enthusiastic supporter ever present in the stands to cheer on her world-famous son. But she is not a typical stage mother – she views Michael’s swimming as his work and the pool as his office, and she stays out of it. She has said that she leaves the coaching to the coach and she relates to Michael solely as a parent. She can’t quote his times or world records – she’s just a proud, nervous mother like any other.

Debbie Phelps divorced Michael’s father many years ago and raised her kids by herself. She is an educator and currently serves as the principal of a middle school in Baltimore. Her bio on the school’s website makes no mention of her famous son, just saying “she is a proud mother of three children.” However, it does coyly include a line about her enjoyment of “all types of sports – especially swimming.” Sneaky!

Call me sentimental…or just plain OLD…but as I watch these young athletes compete in the Olympics and realize their lifelong dreams and goals, I can’t help but think about their parents. The sacrifices they made: shuttling kids back and forth to the gym or pool, dealing with the financial strains this kind of commitment might put on the family and, in some cases, even sending children away to get Olympic-caliber training in a distant city.

But when the national flag raises during the medal ceremonies and the athletes stand there with bouquets of roses and gold, silver or bronze around their necks, it is such a powerful moment…and I’m sure that kind of gratification makes all the hard work worth it – to both the athletes and their parents.

As a mother, I hope I can do the kind of job Debbie Phelps did with her kids – supporting their dreams and talents without pushing my own agenda – but mostly raising kind, gracious children who truly realize their full potential in whatever they choose to pursue. Our kids may never swim for Team USA (although our oldest, now nearly seven years old, also has an aversion to putting her face in the water…which MUST mean she’s on the same track as Michael Phelps, right?!?), but you don’t have to win gold medals to give back and make a difference in this world.

We can all be champions in our own way.