This guy

I'm so proud of this guy. When the season started in August, he was having trouble paying attention to the coach or following directions. His best friend was on the same team and they just goofed off together. Many of the other kids had been playing year-round for years (this was Theo's second season) and they were just way ahead of him.

The coach called me after a week or two of practice telling me her concerns and giving me suggestions for helping Theo focus and improve. 

I can't say we helped that much, but Matt and I both sat down with him, laid it out, told him he needed to listen at practice and follow directions so that he could learn and get better, and what do you know...he stepped up. He practiced in the yard on his own or with Matt. He started listening at practices and games and even scored a goal. And he enjoyed it, and definitely noticed his own improvement as well. His coach told me several times how pleased she was with his progress.

He won't be at his last game because we'll be at Rhoda's birthday party (which was a no-brainer decision :) and I'm not sure if we'll do soccer again next year. Earlier in the season I would have said absolutely never again. Now I think I'll just have to see whether I'm up for the schedule next fall. 

But the experience was so satisfying for Theo, that either way, it doesn't really matter. He'll definitely continue with some kind of sport(s) for the next few years even if it's just swimming (which he also struggles with but still enjoys), so it was just a good lesson for all of us. As someone who struggles with a lot of things myself, including anything sports related--and who has celebrated personal athletic victories that seemed minor but were major for me--I love that Theo had this challenge, that he faced it and that he owns that success.