The Sports Mom

Words by Justin Hunter | Photo by Blakeney Clouse

When Taleda Blair was a little girl growing up in Jasper during the 1980s, she spent weekends watching her mother and family members play in a softball league on the baseball diamonds in Coke Oven and at Memorial Park.

Taleda now works as an interventionist at Sumiton Elementary School to assist students struggling academically in the classroom. The Jasper native obtained her undergraduate degree in psychology from Alabama A&M in 1999. She furthered her education at Miles College, earning a B.S. in Child Development in 2009 and Elementary Education in 2010. Lastly, she obtained her master’s degree in special education from Grand Canyon University in 2016. 

 It was my love for children that got me into education,” said Blair. 

From an early age, sports provided the backing track for her life’s symphony. As a mother of two collegiate scholarship athletes, Kelsey Shelton and Kaden Shelton, and a very successful mutli-sport athlete, Tiffany Hackett, Blair infused her passion for all things sports-related into their upbringing. 

“My favorite part about being in Jasper was my ability to watch my children play ball,” Taleda says. “I put Kelsey and Kaden—the twins—in sports at three years old and Tiffany at five years old, so they have been playing ball their entire lives. I put them in everything. I mean, they played every sport Jasper Parks and Rec had to offer, all the way through grade school before beginning travel ball. I couldn’t wait for them to play for the high school.”

For two decades, Taleda’s household was an American sports orchestra. She was the conductor, her three multi-sport children the musicians, and a year-round sports calendar the metronome that kept them all in sync. Taleda placed thousands of loving and supportive miles on vehicles to be at practices, home games, away games, weekend tournaments throughout the Southeast, and Alabama High School State Championships. 

Then in March 2020, the coronavirus brought an abrupt and unresolved end to the final arrangement of Taleda’s mothering masterpiece. Walker County suspended sports as the world shut down. Kelsey and Kaden’s last dance as high school seniors was cut short. 

“I was heartbroken because, in a moment, it was all over,” Taleda says. “The virus put an end to so many of the senior games and trips for the twins. Right now, I’m still learning how to cope with the empty-nest syndrome, and I am actively searching for a new hobby.”

Taleda, like so many parents, is crafting a new normal for herself and is excited to see her children once again play in their college uniforms. Kaden is currently dawning the purple and white of Spring Hill College on a baseball scholarship. He’s pursing a degree in biology and pre-health. Kelsey just transferred from the University of North Alabama (UNA) to Wallace State Community College on a volleyball scholarship. She’s pursing her nursing degree. Tiffany hung up her cleats and her knee pads in high school and is now pursuing a degree in political science from UNA. 

Taleda’s nest maybe empty, but her heart is full of pride for her children. 78