Kathi Lafser, this week’s Team Mom, has been involved with her two boy’s Zach,10, and Jake’s,14, sports programs (in various cities across the country, mind you) over the past several years. Lafser and her husband Dan are a retired Navy family who finally found a permanent home in Woodstock, Georgia where she works full time for IBM, as a Senior Systems Engineer.
Not only is Kathi Lafser a Team Mom and businesswomen, she's also a participant in the American Cancer Society’s Relay for Life. A commitment she took on in memory of a fellow football and cheer family member. Her efforts, along with other South Cherokee Relay for Life team members, raised more than $2500 dollars.
One of her first experiences as a Team Mom was for her son Jake’s baseball team in Illinois. Presently she is the Team Mom for her younger son Zach’s team, the Great South Cherokee 120 Redskins located in Georgia. Lafser also runs the Team Mom program for her local park, where she is involved with network of nearly 20 other team moms.
Adding to her the family's sports involvement, her husband Dan Lafser is the head coach for the 120 Football Team. The 120 team is at the early stages of their season but Lafser and her husband are already impressed with the return rate, which is a steady 95%! Most importantly, the team is comfortable approaching Lafser with any issues they are having either on the field or off - communication is key for any team
But for our Team Mom, working with her son's sports team is all about making memories and lifelong experiences. Lafser wrote that one her most cherish moments as team mom have come from her 2009 football and cheer season. She was elected “Park Parent”, which she wrote means “focus was on not only working with my team, but helping other team moms do the same.”
As Park Parent she helped introduce various outlets for communication, for example, monthly park newsletters and fundraising ideas. On top of that, she worked to provide an environment that was inclusive of any parent who had desire to help. Helping other parents succeed in finding a greater voice as team parent is something that she will never forget.
In addition to her personal take aways as a team mom, Lafser’s son’s activities have given her a chance to be a part of a wonderful community where her family has made lifelong friends and supporters. Lafser informs us that she and her family feel that being involved with team sports “is more than just playing sports, it’s about learning to be part of a team and being sure they do their part; it’s about relating to the coaches and understanding how to excel based on guidance and instructions; and it’s about having fun, making friends, and enjoying the sport at had”.
Lasfser has three recommendations for prospective Team Moms.
Be a good communicator, Weplay has be the perfect resource for her teams! (Lafser is a member of 13 groups on Weplay, 5 which she created herself!)
Be willing to accept help, parents in a group working together is more fun then going it alone.
Work with the coaches, the coach’s work with the kids and the Team Mom works with the parents.
This weeks Team Mom loves working with families and finds helping to build contributing adults for her community to be one of the most fulfilling experiences she has ever had.
