By Engagement Insider

May is the month for Mother’s Day, making it the perfect time to shine the spotlight on the mothers of high school football players who participated in our first-ever Prep 100 Series Presented by Under Armour.

The four weekend events staged this year from January through April in New Orleans, Miami, Houston and Baltimore, were well received by one of our most valued audiences – the moms of the 400 student-athletes.

Andrea Bodden, whose son attended in Miami, said,

“As parents, you’re always telling your kids ‘you should do this, you should do that, be careful what you post and how you act.’ So to have someone who actually walked the walk that they want to do telling them it’s important, it’s awesome.”

Her comments were right on topic for the messages made by our Prep staff of former NFL players and coaches, who stressed goal-setting, decision-making, proper social media protocol, and social etiquette.

Ms. Brown, whose son was in New Orleans, observed,

“When you have someone else telling you the same thing the parents have been preaching all your life, it weighs a little heavier and comes back home.”

This reinforcement of parental teachings was a winning formula with the teenagers, who also learned life and leadership skills in both academics and athletics.

For Dana Baker in Houston, the weekend was doubly productive since she had two sons participating.

“This is an awesome experience since they are being exposed to the perspective of people who have been there,” said Baker. “As a mother, I am hoping to get the inside information that I can’t provide for my sons from the people who have been there.”

Additionally, she stated, “It’s easy for them to get caught up in the glamour, but I want them to hear about the inside struggle of how you get to the final destination. I tell them constantly that they need to realize that football is a means to an end, which is what are you going to do after football is over, and they really addressed that in today’s life skills section. So it provided them with what I wanted them to hear, which is the reality of football, not just the glamour of football.”

Precisely the purpose of our Prep 100 Series, where education is the priority.

“It was much more than I anticipated, and I am very pleased with the information they provided to the players,” said Lakisha Lockhart, whose son also was in Houston. “I am glad they were stressing education, and correctly teaching the boys that although it is great to aspire to the NFL, the most important thing is to focus on education, which is reinforcing and strengthening what I am teaching them at home.”

Mission accomplished with the mothers, since what happens at home typically translates to success in the classroom and on the field.

Check out the Prep 100 Series Media Gallery