Meet the moms who sacrificed to make their pro-athlete kids into stars

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This feature was produced in collaboration between Vox Creative and Lifetime. Vox Media editorial staff was not involved in the creation or production of this content.

Behind some of the world's most talented professional athletes are their moms, who mothered on a professional level, too — they struggled and endured to encourage their kids' careers. Before Mother's Day, here are some of the moms who made modern pro sports happen.

Wanda Pratt, aka 'Mama Durant'

"I decided early on that my desires and wants and even needs came second to what they needed and wanted."

Kevin Durant is the first to admit he owes much of his NBA success to his mother, Wanda Pratt. When Durant accepted his MVP award in 2014, he called her "the real MVP," tearfully thanking her for working so hard through his childhood to support him and his older brother, Anthony. Now known to many as "Mama Durant," Pratt raised the boys as a single mom in the Washington, D.C. area. She and her husband split shortly after Kevin was born, and to make ends meet she clocked long hours, mainly as a postal worker, to make sure her sons came first. "I decided early on that my desires and wants and even needs came second to what they needed and wanted," she has explained. "That was my mindset." And with great sacrifice comes great reward.

Pratt pushed Durant to realize his potential. You could count on her cheering in the stands at his games, urging him to practice between tip-offs, and pushing him to never give up. "My goal wasn't to get my son to the NBA; my goal was to push my son toward his dream," she has said. But that's exactly what Durant's dream was, and Pratt's compromises paved the way for his ascendance from high school phenom to AP College Player of the Year to NBA superstar.

Joenethia White, BABYSITTER

Atlanta Falcons wide receiver Roddy White credits his mother, Joenethia White, with keeping him grounded when his early career threatened to fall apart. During his first two seasons in the NFL, many football pundits were ready to call the 2005 first-round draft pick a bust. His problem? He partied way more than he studied the playbook. Enter Joenethia to scare him straight. "Well, then," she said. "I need to pack up and move down there and take care of you like you're a baby again." That threat — and a few coaches who hadn't given up on him —€” was enough motivation to get his career back on track. Since then he solidified himself as one the league's top receivers, with four Pro-Bowl selections and most touchdowns in the Falcons' history, 63.

As a single mother in South Carolina, Joenethia raised Roddy to never stop competing. Even after a long day at work, she would accept his challenges to footraces. "My mother wasn't one of those parents that would just let you win," Roddy White has said. "She would run as fast as she could, so if you beat her, you earned it." As a kid, that fueled his competitive spirit. And he was able to draw on those life lessons when it counted most.

AnaMaria De Mars, original judo champion

MMA fighter Ronda Rousey is a stone-cold badass, and her mother is no joke, either. AnaMaria De Mars laid the blueprint for her daughter's success in the cage. In 1984, De Mars was the first American to win gold at the World Judo Championship in Vienna. Rousey took up her mother's sport at age 11, and she endured punishing training sessions. De Mars taught Rousey the now-signature armbar technique she uses to pin an opponent to the mat. Rousey wouldn't be a star athlete and role model without her mom's inspiration.

"It wasn't long before she was stopping by and telling me that I can't hide my whole life."

Consistent doses of tough love are part of their unique bond. After Rousey's historic UFC loss to Holly Holm last year, De Mars urged her not to wallow in self-pity. "It wasn't long before she was stopping by and telling me that I can't hide my whole life," Rousey told EPSN. De Mars tried to remind her daughter that she had the persevering-through-adversity gene of a true champion. But she has also conceded her maternal instincts kick in around every fight. "I do still worry that Ronda is going to get hurt," De Mars told the Daily Mail. "Of course I do! She's always going to be my baby."

ESther fekete howard, soccer mom

Tim Howard, goalkeeper on the USA soccer team, keeps his biggest inspiration close to his heart. Tattooed on the middle of his chest is "Fekete," his Hungarian mother's maiden name. After Howard's parents divorced when he was three, his mother, Esther, raised him and his brother, Chris, in a modest apartment in New Jersey. She worked multiple jobs to keep the family afloat and shuttled Howard to regular soccer practices and tournaments. "It was a one-bedroom apartment she made into a three-bedroom apartment," Howard told USA Today. "I don't know how she did it."

Esther signed Howard up for soccer at age 6 — a pivotal moment that has allowed him to realize his dreams of playing at the highest levels of the sport. He'd overcome a diagnosis of Tourette's syndrome in sixth grade to eventually excel as a shot-stopper for the New York/New Jersey MetroStars (now the New York RedBulls), Manchester United, and at the World Cup and other international tournaments as a veteran of the US men's national team. "The best part is seeing my son achieve his dream," Esther told ESPN. This year, as Howard prepares for a late-career return to MLS with the Colorado Rapids, he should feel secure mom's still got his back.

Delisa Lynch, 'Momma' to 'Beast Mode'

NFL running back Marshawn Lynch and his mother, Delisa, share a close bond, but they are in some respects polar opposites. He's known as a man of few words, an all-action bulldozer of a player who's also agile enough to explode past defenders. Beast Mode is his apt nickname, while his infamous post-game interviews are a study in brevity. Meanwhile, "Momma Lynch" as she's often called, is outspoken and opinionated, quick to air out her son's coaches for a bad play call or dispel retirement rumors.

"I would give him a handful of Skittles and say, ‘Eat 'em up, baby. They're going to make you run fast and they're going to make you play good.'"

Lynch wouldn't be such a dominant player without his strong mother. She's claimed that two placentas fed him in the womb — an early sign of his mythic strength. Raising four boys as a single mom in Oakland, California, was no small feat. The kids' father, Maurice Sapp, struggled with a drug addiction and spent stints in prison, Delisa held the family together.

Football became a saving grace and drew them closer. When Lynch was 12 or 13, Delisa plied him with Skittles before Pop Warner football games, calling them "power pellets" to pump up his spirits. The ritual continued through his days at University of California at Berkeley and in the pros with the Buffalo Bills and recently the Seattle Seahawks. "I would give him a handful of Skittles and say, ‘Eat 'em up, baby. They're going to make you run fast and they're going to make you play good,'" she said. You can't argue with mom.

Tune in to watch The Real MVP: The Wanda Durant Story, on Saturday, May 7, at 8/7c on Lifetime.

This feature was produced in collaboration between Vox Creative and Lifetime. Vox Media editorial staff was not involved in the creation or production of this content.