In a recent New Jersey Nets basketball game, Stephon Marbury was injured, lying on the wooden floor. His mother ran out on the court and started to attend to her son's injury. He was embarrassed, but he hugged her and cried, "Mom, mom." She left and he resumed his well-paid job as point guard and the incident was over. It triggered a few memories from my past.

When I was a soccer coach for the Hicksville American Soccer Club, I requested that the parents of the 8-year-olds allow me to tend to the fallen players. "Let me be the first to reach them and help them," was my request.

Competitive athletics teaches stamina and fortitude. My players didn't want to be mortified in front of their pals. Usually, they weren't hurt, but just stunned, and needed a few moments on the grass to rest. When I reached the player, most times he was ready to resume playing. A few kind words was all he needed.

I remember running onto the field during one game to help a fallen player. He was my toughest kid, and he wasn't really hurt. From the sidelines at a breakneck pace came his grandmother. She reached him before I did and scooped him up. She headed back to the touchlines with the boy in her arms, showering him with kisses while crying, "My baby, my little boy."

It made his grandma feel better, but the player's face was crimson with humiliation. Yet, he knew unmistakenly, "My grandma loves me!"

During another game I witnessed this bit of play. One of my players had broken away down the sideline and was heading for the goal. His mother was running stride for stride with him off the field. They moved downfield in tandem, he on the field and she, just parallel to him on the other side of the line. It was a sight to behold. Mother and son together. He scored the goal and she jumped for joy about three feet into the air. I thought to myself, "That is togetherness."

For every Michael Jordan, John Elway or 8-year-old junior soccer star, there is a mother who deserves credit for her off-the-field participation.

When these athletic superstars affix their signatures to their huge signing bonuses, these moms should get some percentage for their work on the sidelines.