Oct 05 2008
Soccer Debut
image from clkr.com
Yesterday, after an hour break from getting flu shots, Gus started on his first sports team. We showed up early to meet the coach and get his Gus’s uniform. I felt so bad for him wearing shorts when it was only about 40 degrees outside. It warmed up quickly, thankfully. His uniform is red with black shorts - he looked adorable and it was very evident how good he felt about himself.
The way this special needs program works is that older kids in the soccer club volunteer a Saturday to work with the special needs group, which includes individuals of all ages. Each player gets a mentor to shadow him (or her) throughout the practice. This was a relief because I was worried about how they’d keep Gus on the right field.
Gus’s mentor was named T. who proved to be a very nice and patient kid. It was a sort of practice and game at the same time. The more experienced special needs players go to one field where they (with their mentors) play an actual game. The less experienced players go with the coach to learn specific skills interspersed with short game-like conditions.
The mentors were very impressive in their interactions with the team, and I saw a great deal of respect and patience at this practice from everyone involved, which really put me at ease. We’ve had experiences when someone said they could work with an autistic child and they really had no clue. But yesterday, even when one little boy kept taking his socks off (sensory defensiveness?) no one got ruffled. I think we’ve found a good environment for Gus. He wandered away from their field a few times and sat on the ball to rest a couple of times, but T. was great about gently getting him back on task.
Admittedly, I was a little skeptical about how Gus would do. His ball skills have always been very weak, but he’s also very good on his feet, so I thought he had a good shot at picking up the game. He did fantastic! He was able to dribble the ball almost from the beginning and I noticed that they were teaching him a little bit about passing when the other team is in your way. The coach taught him a little fake-out move and by the end of the practice, he was remembering half of it, more importantly, he was remembering to use it, even if it wasn’t mastered yet. I’m glad he got on the field and stayed there the whole time. It was a big success.
One thing that surprised me: he didn’t run as much as I expected. At home he is constantly zipping through the house, but he was sort of strolling along with the ball. He’s got a cold, so he may have just been feeling tired from that - we’ll have to wait and see. I was also pleasantly surprised to see him score a few goals when they practiced goal kicking.
His strategy was funny. There would be about 10 kids all trying to make goals past 3 goal keepers. So he would wait until there was a bit of a jam, casually stroll around to the side of the net and then sort of ease the ball in when the keepers were occupied. He’s always had that sneaky streak (he used to plot to run off as early as age 2) and I think it will serve him well here.
After the game, we went to buy cleats, a ball, and an extra pair of shin guards (of course I bought the wrong size, so I’ll be making a trip back next week). The team will play until around November and then break until the spring. So you can look forward to me being a soccer-mom at least until then!
I am so glad for you and Gus. I hope that it continues to be a great experience. Dakota, my son, is now deeply involed with horse therapy. In fact he rehabs horses. This is what got him talking. It is amazing what helps different children.
The horse rehab sounds awesome! And yes, it really takes the right combination of things and a little creativity to find what works for different kids. Thanks for commenting!
It’s great reading about Gus’s experience with Soccer. It good for you too as you were so interested in football during your early years. I’ll have to learn to rules of the game in order to follow Gus’s strategy. Keep up the good work.