Lewiston mother of four takes a week’s vacation to cheer her kids on through 22 games in the Lions Hockey Tournament.

LEWISTON – She’s had other parents ask how she does it, if she’s wearing her superhero cape today.

Rhonda Tilley has four kids in this week’s Lions Hockey Tournament.

The Lewiston mom took the week off from work to sit through 22 games, plus playoffs, and to volunteer at the Androscoggin Bank Colisee door. Her schedule for the week is color-coded, and tight. Up at 4 a.m., home around 7 p.m. Two loads of laundry per night.

Plenty of cheering.

“Being here so (much), I catch myself yelling, ‘You’ve got to skate!’ ‘Come on, give it to the boards!'” Tilley said while 7-year-old Mathew was on the ice Wednesday.

Tilley and her husband, Reggie, have been married a year. The kids are a mix of biological and step. Mathew Tilley is the youngest. Oldest on the ice is Ashley Chase, 14. In the middle, 10-year-old Nick Doherty and 13-year-old Dustin Tilley.

Dustin started playing first, then Mathew and Nick. Ashley only started last year. She’s on the championship Lewiston High School team. All four play in the Lewiston Jr. Maineiacs League.

Tilley, who works at Central Maine Medical Center’s inpatient and insurance records, said the league was kind enough to work out a deal. It costs $655 per child to play, plus equipment, travel and tourney expenses. Their third child is half-off; the fourth, free.

Most nights in the Tilley house, there’s at least one practice to get to. Sometimes it’s as many as five. After the Lions tourney closing ceremonies on Friday, the kids will play five games this weekend. That’s about average.

“We’ve had six in one day,” Rhonda said. “There’s nothing more that I enjoy than watching these guys.”

The kids are good about staying organized and keeping their equipment together, she said. There are basement shelves for storage, but often the car works for storage, too.

“We’re here a lot. It’s our basically second home,” said Ashley, in the Colisee stands behind her mom. “It’s very busy. We can help each other. Actually, Dustin taught me how to take a wrist shot.”

Reggie couldn’t get the time off this week, so Tilley has kept him updated on scores with phone calls from the rink. Her older children, Jordan, 17, and Tara, 15, joined her in the cheering and volunteering.

Things will slow down only slightly come spring, she said. Four of their six children are involved in the year-round U.S. Army Cadet Corps. Two play lacrosse; two play baseball and two, softball.

“For us, it’s just a way of life,” Rhonda said. “We try to support anything they want to do. Within reason.”