Athletes Make The Best Moms

Hey there. I want to share a bit about my journey, which started in middle school when I stood several inches taller than everyone around me. A local coach noticed it before I did. He saw potential, insisted on reaching my mother at home and work, and pushed for me to get into sports. Because of him, I jumped into volleyball, basketball, and gymnastics while dreaming of becoming a sports journalist.

Life redirected that plan. Becoming a young mom forced new priorities. Raising my son became the anchor, and I took part-time work in a laundromat and a drug and alcohol clinic to keep us steady. Sports and journalism had to wait. The shift into adulthood happened fast, and the next eighteen years placed me in administrative and clerical roles across New York’s healthcare system.

Looking back, I now see something many former young athletes, especially women, often miss. Women’s sports barely had recognition at the time. That lack of visibility made girls underestimate their value within sports and beyond it. Moms are not simply sources of money for teams, rides to games, cheers from the bleachers, volunteer labor for tournaments, or emotional support for every new sports idea their kids attempt. Moms shape the character, work ethic, stability, and ambition of the athletes people admire locally and professionally. We influence families, businesses, communities, and the future of the sports world itself.

Today I am a proud mom of three sons between the ages of fourteen and twenty-five. Each has a different relationship with sports, and I travel and volunteer alongside other parents doing everything we can to help our kids and their friends chase their goals. Together we navigate school, family, stress, ambition, and all the pressures that shape young athletes and young adults. Many of us were never shown the full spectrum of career paths in or around sports, and our lack of guidance shaped the choices we made.

Through unexpected turns, faith, and steady support from friends and family, I now live the dream I first imagined as a teenager. I work in sports and journalism and help athletes of all ages and backgrounds build careers and lives that extend far beyond competition.

At the end of the day we are not former athletes. We are athletes. Our experiences continue to define us and the people we help grow.

Thank you for being part of this journey.

Welcome to Athletes Make The Best.

Tenicka Chaney, Senior Director
Sports Power Infrastructure and Athletes Make The Best