This is a very short video clip of Davis catching his first football during a game!
A while back I overheard my oldest son, Davis, say that he “would never be a sports person”. I’ll be honest, I gasped and it made me really upset. What really bothered me was that at 10 years old he had already decided something so profound about himself.
Naturally, I took that boy aside and we had a chat. You see, I have raised Davis with the drive to allow him to experience the world so that when he gets older, he’ll have all the facts to decide for himself what kind of person he does or does not want to be. I feel so passionately about this and have sought out specific experiences to try and make them well-rounded individuals.
I’m not fully explaining myself the way I’d like to. But raising a child with high-functioning autism – I decided when he was toddling around that he would live in OUR world and I would not allow him to slip away and live inside his own reality.
The time try out flag football was now upon us. It’s the one sport that I’ve been dreading to make Davis try. All of his close friends at church and Scouts play on a football team. Davis says he is scared to play football. {{um, I am scared for him to play too!}}
I’m at the YMCA signing Davis up for football and wondering how on earth I’m going to be able to spin this in a way he’ll accept. {{cuz it’s all about the way you present it}} Later that day I saw a Cowboy’s Jersey his size and I bought it! Then when he was in a great mood, I took him aside and told him that now that he’s approaching Young Mens he’ll need to have another life experience that will help turn him into a man. Then I presented him with the football jersey and told him that I signed him p for flag football with his best friend.
{{the boy was in shock!}}
Davis is always good for a dramatic reaction and this time was no different. HA! He dropped his jaw and stood there a bit of a panic. Jason explained a few rules of flag football and gave him the confidence that he’ll do a great job.
The flag football season is now over and Davis LOVES football. He had an excellent coach that took great care to make Davis feel important in the game. Davis was the center and got to hike the ball at every play. Because Davis held the ball every single time he was out on the field – he felt completely connected to his team and really tried his best.
Davis team was 6:2 and he ended up catching the ball twice! This was more than we could hope for. After every game Davis and I talked about how important it is to try new things and do the best we can every time. He is no longer afraid to play football with the boys at Scouts and since this experience was so encouraging – he even wants to play next season.
{{whew!}}
I am so proud of this young man and the courage that he has to overcome the challenges that he faces. Who knew that playing something as simple as flag football could completely change a young man’s outlook on life and now allow him to see himself as “a sports person”. {{giggle}}