The number of reasons to celebrate Mother’s Day are as many as the number of mothers.

The number of stories about the relationships between mothers and their children is probably some factor of that. For a mother with more than one child, each relationship is unique, created by biology but shaped by the circumstances of life. Often, perhaps usually, the shape of those bonds goes unspoken, known only to the mother and child.

In the world of sports, the passion of mothers for their children can be displayed in a variety of ways, particularly in the heat of competition. But what you don’t see in the stands is almost always more interesting.

This Mother’s Day, we bring you the story of three Brevard County mothers. Each is connected to an issue or personality local sports fans know, but each of their stories hovers a little bit in the background.

Delatron Johnson is the mother of Chauncey Garder, former Cocoa High football star now at the University of Florida working to attain fame and success in a Gators jersey. Johnson’s own childhood didn’t attract television cameras. The fact that she is now the mom to three accomplished children despite suffering years of abuse, neglect and solitude is miraculous on its own.

The way her life turned through the touch of her firstborn is by itself a reason to celebrate Mother’s Day.

There’s no other way to sum up the life of mother and Astronaut High athletic director Cheryl Shivel: she changed her life for motherhood. Divorced with two young children, including one with special needs, Shivel left a thriving career to become a teacher. Almost two decades later, she oversees War Eagles sports, kept young not only by the Astronaut students and athletes around her but by what she described as “a happy heart.”

About the same time Shivel was changing careers, Linda Anderson took over as Satellite High athletic director. It was an unlikely career for someone who never knew the thrill of varsity sports as a girl growing up in Pennsylvania.

Anderson’s four children all experienced the joy and the down side of competition the way she never was able. The Satellite Beach resident continues today as a mom not only to her own children but to the many Scorpions who come and go to Satellite rosters.

If you absolutely must have a reason to celebrate Mother’s Day, Anderson’s description of the issues we all face in sports may offer the best overall explanation: “It’s all relationships.”