By John Tranchina

It’s a huge time commitment and a lot of work, but Tracey Chavez wouldn’t have it any other way. The mother of four, including a son who plays football and baseball at Westmoore High School, is very involved in all of her kids’ athletic endeavors and while it can make life a little hectic, it’s also very rewarding.

Chavez’s son Zane is a junior at Westmoore and her daughter Ana, an eighth grader at Moore West Junior High, plays volleyball and cheers, while two more kids in elementary school also participate in athletics.  Chavez served as the vice president of the Kickoff Club for the Westmoore football program in the fall, and is currently the booster secretary for the baseball team.  She’s also the president of the Moore West cheer booster club.  She has been so involved with the football and baseball teams that Zane has played on since he was little that she considers many of the kids his age as “hers.”

“I enjoy it, my kids are my passion,” said Chavez, who graduated from Westmoore herself in 1996 and played basketball and ran track.  “Obviously, it started with my boys in the Class of 2022, I’ve had a majority of them since they were in Little League and then I was able to step into the team mom role their seventh and eighth grade year, and then I just transitioned into the high school.  I love my football and baseball boys.”

As a former athlete, she has always believed it was important for her kids to play sports and absorb the lessons that only they can provide.

“Me and my husband said this from the very beginning when we first had kids, we were both athletic, we’re super-competitive and we like the structure that sports provides, the camaraderie,” Chavez said.  “And then also the life lessons, like not only on the field but off.  It teaches you that you’re not going to win every game, there’s some adversity, you’re not always going to get the right call and as a person, as a player, as a teammate, and as a leader, you have to be able to step into those leadership roles and say, ‘Hey, this is okay, we’re going to get the next one, this isn’t the end of the world. We’re going to move forward and we’re going to be successful and we’re going to be productive, regardless of what the score is.’  

“It’s always about learning, growing and stepping into, really, the person who God wants you to be with your given gifts.”

And yes, the schedule can get pretty crazy sometimes with so many kids in different activities at the same time.

“All of our kids are involved in sports and my kids are all over the place right now, soccer, baseball, cheerleading, volleyball, so we’re constantly on the move,” she said.  

One of her primary responsibilities has been arranging team meals before games by procuring donations from local food businesses, and then helping serve the food to the kids.  Her outgoing personality helps make her a natural fit for those roles. 

“I’m extremely social, I’m a twin, I was born with another person,” Chavez said. “We always laugh because my daddy was a salesman, so I just have this knack for community and just getting everybody together and just ‘the more the merrier’ and ‘if we’re going to do it, let’s go big.’  It’s a lot of fun for me.”