OPEN ARMS

I think most people like to be welcomed with open arms.  It's not a pleasant experience to be in a new situation and feel like either no one wants you there or doesn't even notice you.

Jonah started youth football this August, playing for the 5-8th grade team.

Jonah, and us as parents, could not be experiencing a more warm welcome to the team!

The coaches are doing everything they can to make Jonah feel part of the team.  They are being totally understanding of what might not work for the little guy, in terms of ability and attention span.  They are super excited and patient to make this work!

Jonah's teammates, who are also his typical classmates at school, are so encouraging and including of Jonah.  They are always offering a fist bump, high five, or "Good Job" to our guy.  It warms my heart to see kids be accepting of kids with differing abilities.  Great job kids (and parents/teachers/coaches for fostering this mindset)!!!!

We are not sure if Jonah will participate in every practice/every game or even the whole season.  We are letting him take the lead on this one because this is not the type of experience where we feel as parents we can push him to stay committed.  The physical and cognitive effort it takes Jonah to participate in regular/non adapted football is HUGE.  We are not going to push him if he doesn't feel comfortable with this.  But so far, he puts in 30-60 minutes of practice where he really tries to do what every other kid is doing and then he tells me "All done"  We are taking this experience day by day, but it's nice knowing Jonah has a bunch of coaches and teammates who want him to keep coming back!

That is pretty special!

Some cute things so far in Jonah's experience on the team:

1. Since we weren't sure if this would work for Jonah to play football, we first suggested to Jonah maybe he would want to be the team manager/water boy.  He emphatically said, "No, PLAY"

2. After his first practice, he told me "Good news, Mom- Green Bay Packers!"  He thought his next move was to that team!

3. Jonah noticed team photos from other years hanging in the equipment shed.  The background on the photos is a rocket blasting off.  For his team picture day today, even though I have tried to explain no, he is quite sure there will be a real live rocket for the team to pose in front of.  This kids lives in the land of eternal hope!

4.  At his first scrimmage last night, because he is very unsure of what he is suppose to do (plus I think has very little peripheral vision with that big helmet on his little head-haha), when the rest of his team took the sidelines to have a break, Jonah just stayed in the middle of the field.  He ended up in the huddle of the next team up to scrimmage.  I don't think he ever noticed he wasn't with the right team until one of our coaches noticed him and got him back to the fold.