Blastball

It's soccer for tots :) We signed Jayden up and his first practice was this evening. My husband had been working with Jayden to kick the ball, so he was ready for action. And he looked darn cute in his shin protectors and soccer socks!

We got out there and all of the kids (there are 7 on the team) were kicking their balls about. Jayden took his ball on the field and joined in. Then the coach had the kids to line up on one end of the field and have a parent on the other end, and the kid was to kick the ball to their parent. Jayden had a hard time waiting for the signal to start, but he made due. After that, the coach had the kids to put their balls aside and they were to only use 1 ball. The kids had to line up and wait their individual turn to kick the ball. We knew Jayden wouldn't be able to do this. It would mean that he HAD to interact with the other kids and he no longer had control over the ball. He didn't like that and any attempt to make him wait in line started a tantrum. We have him out there to have fun, so we didn't force him in the line. He wandered to the field next to us and just sat there and watched the other kids play =( It was tough for me to see the other kids having fun and hear their parents cheering for them and then look over at my son who has distanced himself from the team. We gave the coach a head's up on Jayden's condition and he did his best to not make Jayden feel left out, but with a team of 7 players that's tough. When they simulated a real game, it had to be 3 against 3, so one child would always be left waiting their turn and of course it was always Jayden b/c he didn't want to interact with the other kids. We know he will get better and we know that this is good for him so we won't take him out. I just hope that it gets easier for me to watch...