THE FRONT ROW with MARK NELKE: Moms, this day's for you

There couldn’t have been a “Big Dad” without a “Big Mom.”

Longtime residents remember fondly the influence Gary “Big Dad” Rasmussen had on area athletes, before his death in 2012.

Well, Lois Rasmussen, aka “Big Mom,” has been a pretty good influence on local youth as well, including her sons Bud and Rick.

On this day to honor moms, Bud shared a few thoughts on why Lois has been so special:

“I'm pretty certain that whenever "Big Mom or Big Momma" is mentioned in conversation there are many generations of Coeur d’Alene natives who think of my mom Lois and the many ways she has encouraged and supported kids, parents and coaches throughout the years — including the Stern and Schwenke grandkids today!” Bud said. “From mending uniforms to mentoring students to traveling to state tournaments to researching historical records on the

North Idaho Sports Hall of Fame, there's not much she hasn't done to help our family members and those in the community to become their best, and serves as a great example to always strive to bring out the best in others.”

On this Mother’s Day, we share a few other stories from those who appreciate what their moms mean to them — as well as a mom who has done all she could to help her sons have the best athletic experience they can.

THE WINGER family is well-known in these parts, with Jim and Mike playing at Coeur d’Alene High, Mike going on to play basketball at Gonzaga, and Jim in the midst of a long career as athletic director and boys basketball coach at Lake City High.

Here are a few thoughts Jim and Mike had regarding the influence their mom, Gay Winger, had on their athletic careers:

“From a very early age she provided us the equipment we needed to hone our skills,” they said. “We had a clothes basket set up in the living room so we could practice our jump shots. She had plastic cups set up in the kitchen so we could simulate bowling. We also had full football pads along with Green Bay Packers and Miami Dolphins helmets so we could play football in the back yard.

“Mom spent many hours teaching us how to shoot free throws. As a kid she told us she beat many of the neighborhood boys in 21 and 'HORSE' contests. It still bothers her today if my high school kids miss their free throws!

“Whether it was a T-ball, high school, or college game we were a part of, mom rarely missed a game. In fact, not only was she in the stands but she also was dressed from head to toe in our team's colors!

“She wore out several vehicles with the amount of miles she drove taking us and our teammates to practices and games.

“Mom has ‘decorated’ our basement with newspaper clippings and awards that we achieved throughout our different playing and coaching careers.

“We admire how strong she has been with the passing of her husband and our dad (James). She is one tough woman who is still going strong in all aspects of life!!

“We are partial, of course, but we could not think of a more supportive and loving mom,” Jim and Mike concluded. “We thank her for everything and wish her a Happy Mother’s Day!”

A CATCHER like Alyssa Krause of Post Falls, you would think, might be too busy directing the defense during an intense softball game to notice when her mom, Lorna, is at her games.

But she does.

“She’s definitely my No. 1 supporter, she’s one of my best support systems I have,” said Krause, a senior. “She’s always cheering me on; she’s always my biggest cheerleader.”

Not every kid has their parents show up to their games. What does that mean to Alyssa to have her folks there?

“It’s nice to know that I have a supportive family, and I always have somebody to lean on,” she said.

Ever notice when mom’s not at a game?

“Yeah,” Alyssa said with a laugh, “because I notice she’s not yelling in the crowd.”

MANY YEARS ago, while living in Salt Lake City, I played in a seventh/eighth-grade Catholic school basketball tournament at Judge Memorial High.

My parents were there to watch me, and my mom was helping out in the concession stand during my game (not sure why they made parents work the concession stand while their kids were playing, but anyway … ).

During the game, I noticed she’d stepped out of the concession stand and popped her head into the gym to watch me play for a few minutes — just in time to see me bury a 3-pointer from the corner, part of a 37-point night.

OK, two confessions. It wasn’t a 37-point night — it might not even have been a seven-point night. And it wasn’t a deep 3-pointer, because there was no 3-point line back in that day, at least in the seventh/eighth-grade Catholic school league. But it would have been a 3, had there been a line.

But one thing for sure was true about that night — I remember my mom watching me play.

THEN THERE’S the mom’s perspective.

Heidi Jump is in her first year president of the Timbers-Thorns North FC soccer club, based in Coeur d’Alene. But she’s been on the club’s board of directors for a decade, and before she took over as president, she was tournament director for a couple of years for the club’s popular Bill Eisenwinter Hot Shot Tournament, which concludes today and this year attracted 201 teams.

She has two sons — Walker, a senior, and Connor, a sophomore, both at Lake City High — who have grown up playing in the club.

And you can tell from her voice that she’s poured her heart and soul into the Timbers-Thorns (formerly Sting) club — not just for the benefit of her children, but all the boys and girls in the area.

So Heidi, president and mom, got a little choked up the other day, talking about the progress made on the club’s planned soccer complex on the corner of Prairie and Huetter — which already includes an indoor training facility, with plans to build three outdoor artificial turf fields, to increase the opportunities for local soccer kids to play and to train.

“For me, I have a senior this year, I get teary-eyed …" Heidi said. “My goal was to get the complex built before they (her sons) graduated, and maybe it’s going to happen with Connor, and that’s exciting …

“Nothing’s perfect for any club,” she continued, “but I think the club is wonderful for kids, and it’s been wonderful for my family and my boys — that’s why I have a passion for it. It keeps kids positive and healthy and focused, and it makes a great nucleus of friends, on and off the field, and in and out of the school. And the parents become your friends. I just think the soccer community and the club is such a wonderful thing for kids and families.

“That’s why I have such a passion for it; our kids have the opportunity to train and compete, and go to these events and tournaments,” Heidi said. “That’s what the kids want to do; they want to play, they want to compete, and to be able to offer our kids the opportunity … because my boys love the game and have a passion … it’s exciting, right?"

Especially on a day like today, who can’t appreciate a mom like that?

Mark Nelke is sports editor of The Press. He can be reached at 208-664-8176, Ext. 2019, or via email at mnelke@cdapress.com. Follow him on Twitter @CdAPressSports.