Parenting is a huge time commitment, with dinner, soccer practice, dentist appointments and everything in between making it a balancing act between work, social engagements and at-home responsibilities.
The same is true for those involved with pro sports teams and their families, who are dealing with long hours of training, games across the country and the possibility of moving to a new team with every season.
Managing time is something these pros learn, and their careers have unique upsides, from letting their kids experience new people and places to imparting examples of great sportsmanship.
With Father’s Day on the horizon, two dads who are part of the Old Glory DC rugby team caught up with Washington Family to talk about their experiences as fathers in professional sports.
Making Moves
For Jason Emery, this is his first year with Old Glory DC, and he has been a professional rugby player for 12 years.
Emery grew up in New Zealand before coming to the United States to join Major League Rugby in 2022 with his wife and their three girls, Aria (7), Maddie (5) and Riley (3).
Emery says that the girls have lived more time overseas than back in New Zealand, including three and a half years in Japan as he pursued his career, which has been a positive challenge for them.
“As they get older, and coming over to America, they have had to leave their friends back home, and they’ve had to find a new friend group, which is challenging for them, but I think at the same time it’s good for them to go through that kind of adversity, try and learn on the go,” he says.
Emery also spoke about how becoming a parent changed things for him as an already established athlete several years into his career.
One of the largest adjustments has been learning how to prioritize time and compartmentalize the experience on the rugby pitch with the responsibility of being a dad.
“I had to prioritize, ‘When I’m at rugby, I’m at rugby, and when I’m at home, I’m a father,’ which has probably been the biggest thing, because the pressure and the frustration that comes with rugby, you can’t really take that home,” Emery says.
Focus on Family
Life in professional sports is also a unique experience for the coaches, and their families, who work on the same schedule as the athletes and work to create a community with the team.
Old Glory’s head coach, Simon Cross, is in his second year with the team after moving to the U.S. from England with his wife, Sara, and their two sons, Saxon and Senna.
Cross says that one of the things they’re focusing on at Old Glory DC is making the experience family-centric, with wives, girlfriends and kids being able to come and watch training sessions and feel a part of the team’s process.
And along with the kids getting to interact with some of the other team and staff members’ children, the focus on family helps give some of these players who are thousands of miles from home something to be a part of while in D.C.
Lessons From Fatherhood
With the attention shifting towards the upcoming celebration of Father’s Day, the two men reflected on the influence of their own fathers in their lives and rugby careers, along with what they want to leave behind for their children.
“Dad was a huge influence on me growing up. And the thing I loved about him was just that he never put any pressure on me to be a rugby player. He introduced me to the game,” Cross says. “He supported me through school and through the club system, even when it became an opportunity for me to be a professional. He never, ever put any pressure on me.”
Cross says that following the example of his father is how he wants to raise his boys, so that they know he’ll support them in whatever they want to do, rugby or not.
He adds that the unyielding support helped him in his career and is one of the things he takes with him now as a coach and role model for his players and children.
Emery says that he wants his girls to see him and the preparation he takes in practices, in games, as a hard work ethic—something he took from his parents growing up.
His two main philosophies, he explains, are showing the girls the value of hard work and the gift of enjoying what you do every day.
Emery also spoke about the importance of Father’s Day to him and to all the other dads out there.
“I think it’s important that while you have a father figure in your life that you celebrate [that], not only on Father’s Day,” he says.
