Lakeland moms hit court to support students

Last Friday night, the moms of many Lakeland High School students went a step further than most moms think of going when supporting their kids in school.

Decked out in school colors, they participated in the first annual Battle of the Moms, stepping out of their usual supporting roles and into the spotlight in an effort to raise school spirit and a few funds for the Lakeland Booster Club. After weeks of practice, the ladies lined oxygen tanks on the sidelines, ignored screaming muscles and plowed up and down the court showing off their feather boas, mismatched socks, hand-drawn tattoos and dedicated school spirit.

The Battle of the Moms pitted three teams of moms in a round-robin basketball contest. Mothers of the wrestling team were matched against mothers of the boys basketball team, who were then pitted against the mothers of the girls basketball team. Mothers of the cheerleaders kept the crowd charged with their energetic cheers while mothers of band members added the usual ta-da-boom as crowds filled the stands to watch the action.

Following the National Anthem, the introduction of what Chrisdee Imthurn, president of the Lakeland Booster Club, called “high-octane teams,” kicked the event off with lots of action and lots of laughs.

There was no mistaking the mothers of the wrestling team. Dressed in green shirts, all sported wrestling headgear and many added a cotton ball stuffed up one of their nostrils for effect. They entered the gym running, engaged in some wrestling warm-ups and then hi-fived one another up and down their line. The crowd roared their approval for mom’s with nicknames like, “Sumo,” “Chicken Wing” and “Whizzer.”

In a ploy to throw off high expectations, the mothers of the boys basketball team entered the gym using walkers, canes or being pushed in wheelchairs by their sons. Their boys wore T-shirts reading “My mom is better than your mom!” or “My mom is No. 1”. The mothers of the girls team, dressed in red shirts, pulled oxygen tanks to the sidelines and then threw candy to the screaming fans in their own attempt to gain crowd favor.

The cheerleading moms, dressed in hot pink shirts and sweats with “Lakeland Hawks” emblazoned across their behinds, had practiced hard for the event. Their playful and energetic antics kept crowd excitement high while their daughters yelled their approval. The moms even joined their girls in a few cheers throughout the evening that included lifts and a whole lot of “shakin’ their stuff.”

Not to be outdone, band mothers, in blue shirts, tooted horns and beat drums in support of their kids. When asked, the mother playing drums admitted her sons taught her how to play the drums some time ago, but said she had learned new songs just for the Battle of the Moms. Their energetic renditions of age-old fight songs added to the excitement and occasionally helped drown out sounds of squeaky tennis shoes and the labored breathing of some of the mothers as they pushed their bodies way past their normal limits as they raced (or at least fast-walked) up and down the court.

In the end, it didn’t matter that the basketball moms annihilated the wrestling moms on the court. By popular vote (a yelling contest) the wrestling moms were named the winners of the first Battle of the Mom’s for their spirit and determination.

According to Chrisdee Imthurn, president of the Lakeland Boosters, “Although the wrestling moms lost both games, all that mattered was their spirit – and they made it great fun.” Imthurn said the event netted $1,900 for the Lakeland Boosters and, “Best of all, the event raised awareness of the boosters and let people know we are a fun group.”

The Lakeland Booster Club supports many activities for children in the Lakeland School District throughout the year. At a recent meeting the group voted to support the DC Kids in their trip to the nation’s capital in June, sponsor an educational trip to Seattle for student’s from the Resort Academy, and to sponsor a Lakeland student to the American Legion Girls State program. Their next meeting will be April 9, 7 p.m. at Lakeland High School.