April Kigeya is a soccer mom. And a football mom. And a basketball, dance, volleyball and T-ball mom. And she wouldn’t have it any other way.
With four incredibly active kids taking the family to games from the west side of Madison to neighboring states, she’s learned a thing or two about staying organized — and keeping perspective — on the go.
April and her husband Dan are parents to Demitrius, who’s seventeen and plays soccer at a private school in Minnesota, fourteen-year-old Kenya, seven-year-old Jazmin and five-year-old Tyson. We asked (begged, really) her for details on how they make it work.
You’ve surely spent a good amount of time shuttling kids to practices and games. How do you handle that?
That’s where being a team with my husband comes in. There were times when Demitrius had a football game at the same time as Kenya’s soccer game. Dan would take Kenya to soccer and I would take D to football. There were also times when D had a football game and soccer game in the same day — I remember him playing in a football game at La Follette High School, and then we drove to Illinois for his soccer game and stayed overnight, as he had another soccer game the following day. There was another time when D had a football game in the morning and Kenya had a dance performance in the Dells that afternoon. Needless to say, I have many examples of the crazy overlapping of schedules.
Any tips on keeping organized and enthused as parents enter the fall sports season?
I use the calendar on my iPhone religiously to create events and send them to my husband so they show up on his calendar. I also have a monthly calendar on the refrigerator where I list school events (having kids at three different schools makes this very necessary), practices and games. This fall, Kenya, Tyson and D all have games weekly, so it’s nice to have a visual in addition to having it in my phone.
As far as staying enthusiastic, I feel like adrenaline just kicks in when you are double-checking soccer bags, backpacks, et cetera. There have been many times when cleats and jerseys were forgotten at home. When you finally get your kid to the game successfully and they have all of their stuff, that’s when deep breaths come in.
How do you keep a good perspective when life gets really busy?
My kids. They are my driving force for everything. I had Demitrius during my sophomore year at UW-Madison, and up until that point, I wasn’t the greatest student. When Demitrius was born, that all changed. My focus changed. It wasn’t just about getting a degree, it was about being a role model and being able to give Demitrius the best life possible. I graduated in four years, and that was after having Kenya my senior year. That’s thanks in part to Dan taking a few semesters off to stay home after Demitrius and Kenya were born.
What’s been a highlight of watching your kids play sports?
The joy on their faces. The excitement leading up to game day. Tyson, for example, played in his first soccer game recently and was so excited. We traveled to Minnesota after Tyson’s game to watch D play on Sunday, and after D’s game, Tyson said to me, “Me and D didn’t score in our games, but our teams still won.” It was the cutest thing. Tyson has looked up to D since he could walk and is so proud to be playing the same sport as him It just melts my heart.
What else does your family do for fun?
We travel quite a bit back and forth to Minnesota, but during our “free” weekends, we like to go to the golf range. Dan and I were surprised at how into golf Jazmin and Tyson are (the older two are not impressed in the least bit). We also like to go down to the Edgewater in the summer when they play music and just sit outside. And sometimes it’s nice just to be at home and watch a movie.