Hudsonville athletic director Kevin Wolma had it all planned out.
He named his son Jordan Isaiah, and he was going to be a basketball star.
“When he was born in 2001, I was the varsity basketball coach at Hudsonville,” Wolma said. “Basketball was my life, and I can’t believe my wife let me call our son Jordan Isaiah. For two guys that absolutely hated each other, they were my two favorites – Michael Jordan and Isiah Thomas. I loved their toughness, and I loved to watch them both play.”
But a funny thing happened on the way to Jordan Isaiah Wolma’s basketball career. He decided track and tennis were the sports for him.
“Naming him Jordan Isaiah already put this pressure that he was supposed to be something that he was not,” Wolma said. “He played basketball and baseball and he did those things at a really early age, but he didn’t graduate playing those sports. He graduated running track and playing tennis.
“He had an incredible experience in both of those avenues, and we enjoyed seeing him evolve. Sometimes, where you see your kids are going to be doesn’t always materialize that way, and that’s OK.”
Wolma has used his experiences as a father, athletic director and coach, and the time he spent at home during the coronavirus pandemic writing a book – 30 Second Timeout. He wanted to share with parents and student-athletes his perspectives from all three roles that he has held.
The Wolmas have three children. Kayla is Jordan Isaiah’s twin sister, and they both graduated this spring. They also have a daughter Kelsey, who is a Hudsonville freshman.
The book is 10 years in the making. Wolma has been writing an article for Hudsonville’s district newsletter for the past decade, including one that he submitted during the stay-at-home order titled ‘It’s Over.’ That got Wolma to thinking - how many newsletter articles has he written during the past 10 years. ‘It’s Over’ was his 30th. He pulled out his previous articles, polished them up so they were more general and less Hudsonville specific and wove together a 30 chapter book.
“It was almost therapeutic to write these articles once I started,” Wolma said. “When I first started writing, my twins were eight years old. It really chronicles the 10 years of being a youth sport parent myself and the mistakes that I’ve made, and on top of it, the things that things I have been able to observe as an administrator and as a former coach.
“I was struggling with, ‘Where do my kids fit in this sports world? I was struggling with what my kids’ identities were, which is crazy to think about at this point. But where do they sit, and if they aren’t good in sports, is it a reflection on me? I am somebody who has been involved in sports all of my life and I have coached at a high level and I’m an athletic director. You think your kids are going to be good because you are around it. It was a huge learning experience for me as a dad just going through it for those 10 years. That is really where it has all evolved from.”
Each of the 30 chapters ranges in length from two-to-four pages, and Wolma has questions for the readers to ask themselves at the conclusion of each chapter. He also hopes that each reader can answer one basic question after reading the book.
“The first thing I want to ask parents is what do you want out of this sports experience for your kids?” Wolma said. “Once you can answer that question honestly, then it’s how do you get there and what is the perspective piece and what can you control. I’m hoping this book can maneuver through a lot of those things.”
The book is available on Amazon.com. Please click here for more information.
“The one thing with the book is that each chapter is its own unique story. You can start anywhere in the book,” he said. "You can start on Chapter 20 and go back to Chapter 5.
“Maybe you are struggling with your son or daughter who just had an injury and they don’t know how they are going to recover from it. I have a couple of chapters in here how to deal with the unexpected and adversity. Maybe your child is getting to the end of their career and you are starting to get to get a little anxious about that. I have some chapters talking about the end and what does it look like and what it means for you.”
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