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<\/figure>\n\n\n\n\u201cI just didn\u2019t want them to miss out on those relationships and that drive that sports gives you, to do better and be better,\u201d Tana said. \u201cThey could quit baseball, that was fine, but we were starting high school, and they were going to have to do something other than just school.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Come August, they both joined the golf team. Ethan also started in robotics, and Drew joined the Future Business Leaders of America (FBLA). Tana and her husband, Ben, worked with the boys\u2019 stepmom to make sure they had someone in their corner at every event possible. She said it was incredibly expensive and hot. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThere was almost always at least one of us there at everything,\u201d Tana said. \u201cIf they were at a robotics competition, we were there cheering. If they were at a baseball game, we were there cheering. If they were at a golf match, we were in the golf cart being quiet but cheering.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ethan decided he wanted back on the baseball team the summer before his sophomore year. Unfortunately, many of his former teammates spent a year training and honing their baseball skills. Ethan had fallen behind and didn\u2019t make the team. It was hard for Tana to watch him struggle. And when they got into middle and high school, it was hard for her not to absorb their growing pains in general. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI tried not to be that person who texts the coach and says, \u2018Hey, why isn\u2019t my son playing?\u2019 or \u2018What do we need to do to fix this?\u2019\u201d Tana said. \u201cIt\u2019s hard watching them find their groove.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n She and Ben got Ethan a gym membership, and he took it upon himself to train morning, afternoon, and night until it was time for tryouts the next summer. His coach took him back onto the team as a pitcher \u2014 a triumph for the whole family. Drew continued on the golf team and continued with FBLA. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Knowing that academic scholarships are more common than athletic ones, Tana and her sons prioritized school through it all. Both in Advanced Placement classes, there were times when one of the twins would stay up late for a game or tournament, have homework to catch up on afterward, and still make it to a 6 a.m. workout or practice. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere\u2019s probably times I wish I could go back to when they were little and take some things back that I said about different games,\u201d Tana said. \u201cYou can\u2019t lose sight of what it\u2019s all about. Remember to have fun and enjoy it and not put too much pressure on them because they\u2019re putting enough pressure on themselves.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n Their work ethic was never something she worried about. They had always been good in school, involved in sports, and competitive with one another. They just had two goals: to graduate in the top 10 of their class and go to a Southeastern Conference (SEC) school. <\/p>\n\n\n\n They\u2019re both headed to the SEC\u2019s University of Tennessee Knoxville this fall on academic scholarships after graduating seventh and eighth in their class while wrapping up successful senior seasons. So, for parents with young athletes at home, take Tana\u2019s advice. She may know a thing or two. <\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cLeave the coaches alone; they know what they\u2019re doing,\u201d Tana said. \u201cAnd let them have fun. Be proud of whatever they do out there. If they\u2019re doing their best, that\u2019s all you can ask for.\u201d GN\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" AS THE sun rises over Tennessee baseball diamonds, golf courses, and public school parking lots, parents like Tana Adams make sure uniforms are freshly washed, the fridge is stocked, and the calendar is filled out. Adams is more than a spectator at her twin sons\u2019 games. She and her husband, Ben, are steadfast supporters, cheerleaders, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":20191,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-20185","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories"],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/goodnewsmags.com\/fayetteville\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2023\/08\/3-1024x683.png\")
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