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High school athletes give thanks to moms

Coeur d'Alene Press | UPDATED 7 years AGO
| May 13, 2018 1:00 AM

Moms run the gamut of emotions watching their kids play sports.

Emotions that run from anxiety to stress to joy, and everything in between.

In any event, their kids notice.

And they appreciate it.

“I’m just grateful that she’s here,” Coeur d’Alene High senior Adam Priebe said of his mom, Deanna. Adam plays boys doubles on the Coeur d’Alene High tennis team. “I know there’s a lot of people who don’t have mothers out there, and it’s just such a blessing to have her here,” he said. “She comes out to every match and supports me, and I just love having her there. She’s kind of the one that keeps my attitude good. When she’s not here, I tend to not be as happy.”

Kelsey Horn, a junior left fielder for the Post Falls High softball, team, said her mom, Laura, has been at her games “pretty much since I’ve been born.”

“It means a lot to me, having my mom there, knowing that she actually supports me,” Kelsey said. “It’s a huge deal for me knowing that my mom actually cares to come and watch, even if I don’t play. I’ve been on teams where I don’t play, and she still comes. And that means so much to me. It shows who she is as a person, and how much she cares for me.”

“When I’m getting frustrated I can look at her and she’ll like cheer me up or calm me down,” Lake City High senior Madison Morris said of her mom, Liz Motz. Morris plays mixed doubles on the Timberwolf tennis team.

Lexi Grant, a senior outfielder for the Post Falls High softball team, said her mom, Annette, has been there for her since way back in the T-ball days.

“She’s very supportive, very proud,” Lexi said of her mom. “Whenever I see her in the stands it makes me so happy, because I know someone’s there rooting me on.”

AND MOMS notice when kids notice.

“He always knows when I’m here; he looks over and does ‘the nod.’ — ‘Thanks, mom, I see you’re here,’” Deanna Priebe said. “You don’t get to have an 18-year-old and not appreciate that he still appreciates that mom is there. So as a mom, knowing that he cares that I’m there obviously makes it more fun for me to be here. I wouldn’t miss it either way, but ... It’s nice when he acknowledges that I am here.”

On this day, Deanna was watching her son and his boys doubles partner emerge victorious in a tense match that qualified the winner to state.

“It was heartpounding,” Deanna said of watching the match. “They worked for it a little bit. We felt like those on the sidelines had to work harder than they did on the court.

“We’re still recovering.”

Madison Morris took up tennis after discovering it on TV and thinking it might be fun.

It’s proven to be fun for her mom, too — to a degree.

“It’s fun, and it’s exciting, but I tend to not breathe in between points,” Liz Motz said. “It’s nice to have the ability to be here, and the flexibility with work.”

Adam Priebe says he looks at the crowd during matches, to “see what their faces are showing. Because if they’re excited, we know we’re doing good, but if they’re getting worried, we know we need to pick it up.”

When mom’s not there, “Defintely when she’s not there, it’s different,” Adam said. “When they’re (mom and dad) there, it gives me a lot more of an incentive to win.”

But that’s understandable, with Adam being the fifth of 10 — yes, 10 — children.

Two years ago, Seth Priebe was a senior, Adam a sophomore on the Viking tennis team. Seth played doubles, Adam singles.

“I loved seeing him out here with his brother,” Deanna said. “It was great to see those boys have that time together before Seth left.”

SO ON this Mother’s Day, even more than ever, these kids are grateful for their supportive moms.

“Both my parents, and especially my mom, are very supportive of what I do,” Lexi Grant said. “It’s really nice having parents, and a mom that will do anything for you, because most kids don’t have that.”

“If I could give my mom the world, I would give her the world,” Kelsey Horn said. “If she played a sport, I would be there all the time.”

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at mnelke@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter@CdAPressSports.

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