One Season Down...

Ah, Blastball season. I can't believe that it is already over...I remember starting practice in March and thinking that June sounded so far away. There are really no words to express how proud I am of Colin and his whole first team experience. In April, Colin was officially diagnosed with an anxiety disorder (which I will finally post about soon), so being on this team was a huge deal for him. Things started out amazingly well...in fact, it blew my mind! I realized quickly that I had mentally prepared myself for the worst and never actually entertained the option that he would like playing! He listened carefully to instructions, participated in every aspect of the game and really had fun doing it. I was also shocked to find out that he is an excellent hitter! He really excelled at that part! We want Colin to experience everything and decide on his own what he likes to do...I would never force him to participate in something, but I also don't want to shelter him too much. There are many times that my assumptions on what he will tolerate are wrong and I never want to limit him. We try to work through his anxiety and face it head on. Blastball has been an excellent example of how strong Colin truly is. A few weeks in, he started having serious panic attacks before practice and wouldn't get out of the car. It came close to derailing the whole thing, but the panic had something to do with the practice field (who knows what exactly) and not the game itself. Our awesome friends unanimously decided that Colin didn't need to attend practice to play the game, so we worked through that part and kept going. He loved the games from day one and was always racing out the door ahead of me to get there. There were a couple of games that had rough patches where he got nervous about something and couldn't play, but so did all the other boys! There were also several moments when he got truly upset about something and still managed to recover himself and go back out there. Colin's whole world can be so overwhelming and the fact that he worked through his fears in order to be on this team is just amazing. He really wanted to play...he wanted to wear his uniform and be with his friends. He wanted to learn and succeed and managed to do just that. Did I end up sitting in the dugout on more than one occasion...yep. Was it worth it? YES!

We had an end of season party on that last Saturday after the game and we had a blast. The party was at Barb and Dave's house and after lots of swimming we had a big feast of hot dogs and hamburgers with all the fixings. Coach Nate handed out the trophies and Colin was BESIDE HIMSELF. It was so beautiful to see the joy and pride etched across his face when Nathan handed him that trophy. I could tell that he got it - he totally understood that he worked hard to hang in there for that prize. He fell asleep with it in the car on the way home that night and it is proudly sitting on his dresser now beside his team picture. What a wonderful experience for all of us!!! I think we are going to try soccer in the fall! :-)

Colin and Hayden standing in line for trophies together...I love how close Colin stood to him! Hayden is one of his favorite people in the world.


One of my favorite pictures in the world...Nate handing Colin his trophy. Nate congratulated him on being one of his best hitters and you can see how proud Colin is. I also love that we have people in our lives that adore Colin so much. You can really tell how much he loves his coach!

Atta boy!

Showing off his first trophy!!

The whole adorable team! From left, Hayden, Jack, Hayden P., Colin, Anders, Greyson, Keegan and Gavin. There will never be anything better than having a team comprised entirely of your best friends. :-)