As a psychologist and Director of Children and Youth Services at Weems Community Mental Health Center, most of Dr. Lee Lee Marlow’s time during the day is spent tending to the well-being of children other than her own.

But when she returns home from the workday, she quickly dons another hat as she focuses her attention to her four children: Alec, Hunter, Rileigh and Tyson.

With three of the four being members of Southeast Lauderdale High School athletic teams, spare time isn’t a luxury frequently afforded. She and her husband, Steve, however, still find ways to make it work.

“Grandparents help a lot,” she said with a laugh. “Both of them are in town. We’ve made family come first over jobs.”

Even with summer on the horizon, there’s no respite for Dr. Marlow as travel ball will once again consume much of her family’s time. But she wouldn’t have it any other way, as a mother’s love is joyful sacrifice. Her sacrifices, she said, pale in comparison when put against the opportunity to support and play an active role in each of her children’s lives.

Alec Marlow, her eldest, recently concluded his high school athletic career as a member of the Tigers’ baseball team, and he will graduate as his class’ valedictorian. He said for as long as he can remember, sports has been a part of his life — as has his mother’s involvement in his athletic and academic development.

“Just having her there means a lot,” he said. “A lot of people don’t have the opportunity to have their parents at games. She thinks I’m the best even when I don’t do well. She’s taught me to keep on going. She’s just always been on the sidelines taking pictures, and letting us do our thing.”

Rileigh Marlow, the second youngest of the Marlow children, echoed her brother’s sentiments.

“It’s nice to have her there to cheer me on,” Rileigh Marlow said. “It makes me feel good.”

Dr. Marlow said watching her oldest prepare to enter the next chapter in his life causes a bit of natural anxiety, but she’s also excited to see what the future holds for him.

“I think scary is a good word, but it’s fun to see what’s next,” she explained. “Like Steve said the other night, ‘Some things have to end in order for other things to begin.’ As much as we hate to see it end, it certainly opens up a lot more time and possibilities, because he’s a great person. Now, some of the time he spent with baseball will be spent doing something else. And it’s going to be fun to see what that’s going to be.”

With Alec headed to college in the fall, Hunter will represent the Marlow family on Southeast Lauderdale’s baseball diamond next season. The rising senior said his mother’s sacrifices over the years haven’t gone unnoticed.

“She goes beyond what we probably deserve, and there’s no way we could ever repay her for what she does,” he said.

In addition to cheering on Alec, Hunter and Rileigh — a rising ninth grader and member of the Lady Tigers’ softball team — at Southeast Lauderdale’s athletic events, you can also find Dr. Marlow staffing the Tigers’ concession stand. On top of that, she’s also the booster club’s treasurer.

Dr. Marlow said she’s used to the hectic schedule. She did the same, albeit not with the identical demands, for her husband when he played football, basketball and baseball in high school. The two have been married since 1992, and she still has the scrapbook that contains all of his preps sports clippings. Steve Marlow said he and his children are blessed to have such a strong maternal influence.

“I hope all four of them look back and realize what they’ve had, and that they’ve had her support in anything and everything from academics, athletics, to socially,” Steve Marlow said. “When things are good, and when things are bad, she’s been very supportive.”

When asked what Dr. Marlow’s sacrifices over the years mean to him, 11-year-old Tyson Marlow said, “It means everything to me, because when I’m mad at something, she helps me not be mad.”

LINDA BOATNER

She may not have a biological son on the team, but Linda Boatner is practically a mother to every member of the West Lauderdale High School baseball team.

Wife of head coach Jerry Boatner for eight years, Linda Boatner makes a point to attend West Lauderdale baseball games at home and on the road. Her duties as a concession stand worker may be her most visible involvement to Knights fans, but Jerry Boatner said it goes beyond simply serving food.

“She’s hands-on,” Jerry Boatner explained. “She works her tail off in the concession stands getting it ready and helps me in so many ways. She’ll text things out and check stuff I write or say, or if I get onto the kids really hard during a game, she’ll come back with something encouraging.”

No stranger to sports, Linda Boatner grew up in a sporting family. Her brother, Pat Watson, played at Meridian High School and Mississippi State and later coached college football, and Linda Boatner played tennis in high school. When she married Jerry Boatner eight years ago, she said she knew what she was getting into marrying a man so involved with the team he coaches. That’s why she wanted to be around the team as much as possible.

“I didn’t know a whole lot of people here (back then),” Linda Boatner said. “When you marry at that age, you tend to want to be together, so I’d be here at least three times a week. I’d watch practice a lot and started doing the concession stands, then I started doing a work day a few years ago.”

Over time, she began to develop a rapport with the players. Now, she knows the name of every player on the varsity and B teams, as well as most of the eighth-grade baseball players. 

“I made it a point to get to know them,” Linda Boatner said. “We have a lot of good young men.

Junior pitcher/outfielder Gunner Applebee said the most prominent thing about Linda Boatner is her encouraging attitude.

“She’s at every single game,” Applebee said. “When the team is getting kind of down, and we’re not playing well, she’s always in the dugout helping us. I’d say she’s more involved than some of the players, to be honest.”

Applebee said she can definitely see Linda Boatner as a mother of sorts to the players.

“I’d say she’s like the mother hen of the whole team,” Applebee said. “She’s really personal with us and tries to get one on one with us. She really does a lot of behind-the-scenes stuff that not many people see.”

Junior third baseman Tyler Lantz said it’s nice having someone like Linda Boatner around cheering them on and keeping their spirits up.

“She wants the energy up all the time, and she loves every one of us,” Lantz said.

Jerry Boatner also sees that motherly quality in his wife when it comes to interacting with his players.

“She talks to them after the game and is always in the dugout hugging them and encouraging them, telling them how proud she is of them,” Jerry Boatner said. “You just don’t see that in very many people. My wife is very encouraging and has the prettiest smile I’ve ever seen. She’s just a people person.”

Linda Boatner said she loves interacting with the players because it keeps her younger.

“It helps me not miss my children — I have two girls, and Coach has two girls, and we have a dozen grandchildren,” Linda Boatner said. “We try to go to as many of (our grandchildrens’) games as we can.”

When she steps back an examines her role to the team, Linda Boatner said she can see why people might consider her a mother of sorts.

“I do feel like a mother (to them),” she said. “I have a really good relationship with them. They call me Miss Linda. They’re fun; they all have a lot of energy, and they love this program. They know the tradition (of West Lauderdale), and I think they work really hard to continue that tradition. 

“They get us excited, and some days, we have to get them excited,” Linda Boatner added with a chuckle.

Lantz said the amount of time Miss Linda puts into the team speaks volumes to him and the other players.

“She cares about the team more than I think she cares about a lot of things,” Lantz said. “I think that’s what’s great about it.”