Arizona Parents Are Invited to a Unique Sports Playbook Open House
The Wish I Had Known Playbook, which provides invaluable information for parents, is available as a paperback: https://amzn.to/4k0NEnF or an e-book: https://amzn.to/3GuAgtr.
Denise Meridith is a popular business owner and author who has spent most of her life connecting youth with sports. She compiled her experiences and advice into WIHK I KNOWN: The Sports Parents Playbook to help parents navigate the increasingly complex world of sports.
The Wish I Had Known program (www.wishIhadknown.net) will ultimately be providing resources, references and referrals to athletes' parents nationwide.
A free open house in Tempe June 28 will promote the upcoming "Wish I Had Known Mastermind"to provide needed information to parents of children in sports.
We hope to be a reliable source of resources, references and referrals for hardworking parents who seek solutions to financial, health, social and emotional issues facing their children in sports.”
PHOENIX , AZ, UNITED STATES, June 23, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- "Wish I Had Known: The Sports Parents' Playbook for Reducing Time, Money and Stress (TMS)" was released as both an e-book and a paperback the end of April 2025. It was written by Denise Meridith, a well-known Arizona resident, who has been uniquely successful in government, academic, business and non-profit settings. "Wish I Had Known" is a simple, easy-to-follow playbook that provides advice to parents via stories of characters enduring situations that many of them would encounter in real life. On June 28, 2025, there will be a "Wish I Had Known Sports Playbook Open House" for parents of athletes at Hundred Mile Brewing in Tempe, Arizona, to learn about how Meridith plans "to bring the book to life" as a series of programs. — Denise Meridith
Parents of athletes do not have a positive image in the media. Whether it is the "Soccer Mom" taunting her daughter's competitors online or the "Basketball Dad" berating officials or players on the other team, the parent is often shown as a mean, overbearing person pushing their child to fulfill their own dreams. But the majority of them are hardworking, loving, protective parents trying to help make a shared dream come true for their children.
There is a booming number of them, too. There are now over 500,000 athletes in the NCAA system that governs college sports. That figure does not include all the children in community colleges or in K-12 public and private schools. The glamorous coverage of the lives of professionals in the five major professional sports-football, baseball, basketball, hockey and soccer has fed the drive of kids and their parents to "go pro." The legalization of payment to athletes for use of their Name, Image and Likeness (NIL) has increased the fervor to obtain instant wealth via a career in sports.
But the reality is 1) that only around 2% of college athletes will go onto pro careers, 2) that all professional athletes do not make as much as people imagine (e.g., in the US, the average salary of a professional soccer player is just over $400,000, and 3) professional careers can be very short (the average NFL career is less than four years).
"I believe sports are important and wonderful for children, families, communities and society," says Meridith. "But I do not think parents are prepared for the financial, social, mental and family-oriented challenges that are increasing for students these days." There is a need to help both athletes and their parents prepare for a "Plan B," a career in addition to or in place of or after sports.
Meridith and her business colleagues are creating a program based on her book. The Wish I Had Known Mastermind will provide a series of panel discussions, workshops and events that will allow parents to network with current and retired athletes, coaches, business people, finance/tax/realty/insurance/health and other service providers, to learn about and answer many of those questions that are keeping them up at night. Meridith is recruiting 10 parents or sets of parents in Arizona to participate in an in-person pilot series this summer. Wish I Had Known will be available online nationwide later this year. Readers can learn more about the program at https://www.wishihadknown.net
"With the help and support of businesses; sports teams, organizations and individuals; experienced parents; and educators," Meridith says, "We hope to be a reliable source of resources, references and referrals for hardworking parents who seek solutions to financial, health, social and emotional issues facing their children in sports."
Parents who want to attend the "Wish I Had Known Sports Playbook Open House," in Tempe on June 28, must register in advance at https://bit.ly/parentsopenhouse62825. They will learn more about the book from Meridith and hear from speakers like Charli Turner Thorne, the winningest coach in ASU Women's Basketball History Attendees will get to network with athletes, coaches, businesspeople and other people who will be speakers in the future Mastermind.
Athletes or parents who want more information about the program, and businesses interested in networking with and servicing athletes and their parents should contact info@wishIhadknown.net. Meridith's vision is to ultimately help athletes and their families create 1000 new businesses.
Denise Meridith
Denise Meridith Consultants Inc
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