Title: Lessons from the Sidelines
Author: Karen R. Blake, MBA
Publisher: Christian Faith Publishing, Inc
ISBN: 979-8-88616-743-6
Pages: 44
Genre: Parenting/Sports/ Self-Help
Reviewed by: Ella Vincent

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Author Karen R. Blake, MBA has written a book that shows how parents of kids in afterschool sports can be a winner on the sidelines. Lessons from the Sidelines is a book which will resonate with readers.

Lessons from the Sidelines details Blake’s experience as a sports mom when her sons were in soccer, lacrosse, wrestling, and tennis camps. She writes about how it’s important for parents to be just as prepared for the kids’ practice as their children are. Blake advocates being early for practice so that you and your child are prepared for practice and dedicated to the game. Lessons from the Sidelines also advocates that your children get mentoring advice from other student athletes in their sports so they become better athletes.  She also wants parents to invest in buying sports equipment so your children can get extra practice in and improve their games.

In addition to practical advice, Blake offers emotional advice which goes beyond sports. She writes about how important it is to support your children off the field. One chapter details how parents should encourage their children to do their best no matter the outcome of the game. Blake also writes about encouraging other parents to volunteer their services with any gifts they have to help the student athletes play their best on their teams. She writes about the importance of sportsmanship when a player is injured, that their safety is paramount. Blake says that players and their parents should “take a knee,” stop play, and make sure that the injured player is all right before resuming play.

Blake writes so well about the balance between professionalism and vulnerability in student sports. Lessons from the Sidelines provides valuable lessons to student athletes about how to improve their performance in sports and how to ask for help to become better athletes. The book is unique in that it offers lessons to parents about how to support their children and how to be better sports-parents.

Lessons from the Sidelines would be best for sports parents who are balancing their own busy work schedules with their kids’ weekend sports calendars. Her organizational advice will be invaluable to many parents. The book can also be shared with student athletes to help them become better athletes and more importantly, better people that learn about teamwork and sportsmanship. Blake’s book would be an invaluable resource for parents and children that want to learn about how to do well on and off the field.