Weekly Activity Update

Shane's had a rough week with activities. He's been disrespectful when coaches/instructors have been trying to talk. He'll spin around make noises or otherwise draw kids off task. He's not the only one (we are talking about kids), but he's the one I'm responsible for. He ended up not getting any electronics Monday or Tuesday and only a little bit on Wednesday.

Basketball-wise, Shane's working on dribbling, court sense, and catching passes. The dribbling is coming along.

As for the others, not as much. Shane seems to shy away from passes and rebounds. He also runs in sweeping circles around the court, covers his face with his hands, and makes sound effects. Then he wonders why the other kids on his team don't pass him the ball. I think he did understand when I told him not to cover his man when his team was on offense.

Tuesday, Ryan's dad dropped him off at the wrestling room. I took Ryan to pick up Shane from school and go to CWC. Meanwhile, Ryan's dad took Ryan's older brother, Andrew, to a JV match (Andrew is on my team).

We arrived early, so I let the boys try to figure everything out for themselves (Gotta train for independence!).

Shane found one of his shoes more difficult than the other.

I only stepped in when Shane asked for help. I stepped back once the shoes was on and the boys figured out the laces bit on their own.

They were still done early enough they got to play around before practice.

During the warm-up, Shane didn't follow directions and started to try and pull Ryan off task. While I was resisting the temptation to march out there, Carrie snuck in behind me. She stole my spot!

I was appalled by Shane's level of disrespect at the start of practice and I let him know during the first water break. He somewhat shaped up after that. I was thrilled to see him trying a few of the things I'd shown him Sunday and Monday after his match (tight waist-ankle breakdown, defending the half, stance). 

I was less thrilled how he always seemed to look over whenever I wanted to take a picture. He's learned to look for the camera. At least he looked more like a wrestler at times.

This was not one of those times.

Wednesday was TKD. I tried to video Shane's new form.

It was difficult.

The instructor gave me a schedule and invited Shane to try coming to some of the classes for older kids. It's something I've wanted to happen to have more positive role models around Shane. The down side is that the times are too early for me coaching. I told the master instructor Shane couldn't start at any of the new times until March.

The new times should give more options and help spread out when Shane's activities are. Right now, it's 1-2-3, M-Tu-W. I'd rather have it spaced out with a quiet day buffer.

Monopoly Crazy

Shane has been unhappy to see me this week. Each time I arrived to pick him up from school he was trying to play Monopoly Jr. Shane is obsessed with Monopoly. He actually threw down a piece and was ready to pout/cry when I showed up Monday (He'd "just gotten the game out!"). 

Mind you, I'm not picking him up early. I have to pick him up by 5:30 PM and I've been walking in at 5:25 and 5:27 PM.

Shane will gladly tell you how much he loves Monopoly and how he loves the money. I refuse to play it with him, so I'm glad he can play with kids at school. I hope that the obsession with Monopoly and money doesn't continue on for too long.

Carrie's Favorite

From the Lelo's Pizza Facebook page:

"Back by request as our Weekly Special! House Made Black Bean Sauce, Sliced Avocado, Cilantro, Red Pepper & Feta."

Carrie had diced tomatoes added to her half and spicy chicken added to mine. Shane stuck with cheese.

Post-basketball pizza is a tradition that will have to evolve when basketball ends.

Shane's First Wrestling Match

He wasn't ready, but we went for it anyway. At the least, it gave us something to do on a rainy Sunday!

Shane enjoyed running and farting around beforehand.

A coach tried to get him to do some drill work.

With mixed results. Notice, he looked back at the camera?

My kid is desperate for attention. You'd think he doesn't get any. I'm going to have to be more careful with the camera.

There were a lot of kids. I saw the HS coach I work with and a MS wrestling coach for a team I've wrestled against, too.

Skill levels were all over the place. I saw one pair of kids wrestle and asked my HS coach, "Does he live in the city?" He didn't.

 Shane had trouble waiting his turn. He did fairly well for a while, but there was a lot of waiting.

Sitting up straight and staying in his own space isn't his specialty.

I made sure I told Shane I was proud of him and loved him before he went out for his first match. Then I crossed my fingers and waited to see what happened.

Shane's first voyage onto the mat lasted about 15 seconds. If you blink, you could miss it.

Shane got up and yelled, "Wait! I didn't get a chance!"

My reply was, "Yeah, you did and you got pinned." 

I saw this coming from a mile away. I've warned Shane in practice to stay off his back. I've told him what a pin is. He's laughed and continued to pull kids on top of him and roll around. 

I think I'm low-key and matter of fact with match breakdowns. I showed Shane the video and did my normal breakdown (1 thing done well, 1 thing to work on, and a next step). I told Shane I was so proud he was brave enough to go on the mat. Then I said "You need to work on your stance. You stood straight up. Also, practice rolling to your belly. If you're on your back you lose." Then I offered to help Shane practice before his match. I tried to stand him up in his stance and Shane refused to stand. He said, "You're making me feel bad and embarrassed." 

I replied, "No, I'm trying to help you level up."

That sort of worked....or maybe it was that I dragged him over and kept rolling him onto his back while he tried to wriggle away. When he started to punch through and belly out I started congratulating him. It assuaged his ego.

I saw the kid who wrestled Shane wrestle again. He was well trained.

Shane did much better against his second opponent.

He got his butt kicked, but he fought hard and lasted a lot longer. My bellying out practice helped. I made a big deal about how much better he did (and chewed him out for a slap and bucking at the end). This time I told him he did much better, we needed to work on half nelson defenses, and I reminded him what a half was. 

It was an inauspicious start, but I think Shane needed the kick in the butt to make it real and motivate him. Will it work? We'll see how he does in practice and if he'll let me coach him some at home.

It Started Well...

Sixty degree weather? How about some outside time with friends?

Shane and I went over to spend some time with Dylan and Eli.

It's been a little bit.

It went really well until it was time to go home.

Dylan wanted to lead the way through the woods. Shane is faster. Both boys wanted to be first.

Shane ran ahead while Dylan succumbed to anger. When they got back to the house, Dylan launched an attack. He hit and kicked Shane. Shane, in a state of shock, mainly yelled, "Stop it! Ow!" When I broke it up, Dylan was still lost in anger.

Obviously, we called it a night. We were about to anyway, but that ended it for sure. Dylan's parents sent him inside and apologized. Shane wasn't hurt, but he was shocked/upset. He hadn't expected the attack. Shane and I debriefed in the car. First, I wanted him to know it was not okay for a friend to hit another. Second, I wanted Shane to realize that running ahead constantly and calling back while Dylan yelled and was getting more upset played a part.

Anyway, the plan is not to visit again until Dylan's had time to think and make a meaningful apology. The boys both have things they can learn from what happened.

The Next Basketball Game

We had to show up an hour early for Saturday's game to take team pictures. One of the parents was playing Go Fish with some kids. Shane was interested. I was happy I'm not the only person who tries to play games with their kids.

The team picture we showed up an hour early for took all of five minutes.

Thankfully, there were kids and cards. Shane was introduced to Rummy.

It lasted until I went out to grab some games from our car and Shane noticed a kid with an iPad out. Suddenly, human beings faded into an electronic background.

A slightly older boy asked me to teach him how to play Labyrinth. I set it up, taught him and his dad and ended up in a three player game. We played while the kids warmed up and at half-time.

I'll post the videos of Shane's turns on the court at the end.

Three thoughts for now:

1 - Shane has a hard time sitting still.

2 - Cutest moment of the game was when a kid on the other team stopped to tie his defender's shoe.

3 - Funniest non-game moment was Shane pushing away his teammate's chair.

Here's the footage for anyone who wants to see Shane running laps.

Nibs is Closer

Carrie picked up Nibs from Sonya and Jeff's Wednesday. She trailered her up to her new home here.

Carrie said she was an absolute nervous wreck driving Nibs, but they made it alright. 

 

Nibs joins Captain as field mates. Carrie's been going out to check on them morning and night. Apparently, Captain is a little jealous.

Carrie sent me a video of Nibs in her new home. I noticed Nibs would run around and then return to where Carrie was. 

I also noticed Nibs pooped. If you know the history, you'd know that made Carrie very happy.

Up the Mountain

Second to last match of the year. We drove west up the mountain. Shane and I gave a ride to a wrestler who didn't have one.

Two thoughts:

1 - My card game introduction took. The kids played Exploding Kittens. I'd forgotten to bring any others. I would have thought about it for an all day tournament, but during a match there's normally not that much downtime and I'd rather focus on the wrestling. My wrestlers kept Ryan and Shane entertained.

2 - Twice the kids somehow equates to over quadruple the work.

The boys did well, though. We're not all-stars, but a lot of learning has occurred in a short period of time. Shane, the wrestler, and I got Chic Fil A on the way home to celebrate. Shane and I dropped my wrestler off and got home a little after 10 PM to find Carrie already asleep on the couch.

More Shane Sports

Monday was TKD day camp and then basketball practice at night.

Shane really needs to work on his dribbling.

He's aware of it.

I wonder how much better he would be at some of these things if he wasn't in the afterschool program. If Shane came home at 3:00 PM instead of 5:30 PM would he be outside more in the circle? Would he be playing basketball with Raheem?

Or what if he was involved in less sports? Shane's wrestling practice was moved to Wednesday. Ryan was there.

Somehow Shane decided to pair up with a kid at least a couple of years older and 20 pounds heavier than him. The kid actually went with it. He was patient and helped Shane work on the moves.

Shane and Ryan ended up a pair eventually.

They were a good pairing today. Saw some actual wrestling attempts out of Shane.

Ryan's a shade bigger. His older brothers both wrestle and his dad coaches him at home, so there's a visible experience difference.

It's about time to find Shane a match. He doesn't cry when he gets roughed up anymore, but he's a big goof. There's no real urgency to anything he's learning or competitive drive to win and/or improve. A match may change that.

JV Meet

I gave my wrestlers Monday off, but Tuesday it was back to practice, back to action. We were hosting the regional JV Jamboree.

The original plan was to run my middle school practice as normal while the high school wrestlers set up.

I say the original plan, because it never happened. I arrived to clean the mats and found David and Chris (the coach and a parent) trying to move mats and patch a problem. I hopped in and the next thing I knew the wrestlers were showing up (which meant free labor!).

I tried to start a practice after my kids helped the high school kids set up (and got a water bottle stuck up on a basketball hoop we had to get down). The high schoolers came running in saying, "Tape squad!" and I threw up my hands and gave up.

We didn't practice any moves, but hopefully the kids had fun and learned how to set up for a tournament. All the kids were diving, tackling, and wrestling around like total goofballs near the end. I watched to make sure there wasn't anything crazy or dangerous and let them have their moment.

I stayed a little later to make sure things were set up and then rushed out to get Shane. The sun and Henry were still out when we got home around 5:40 PM! I had wanted to rush in, get food, and rush out, but we've seen Henry so rarely through the cold months. I think it's good for Shane and good for the neighborhood in general to be friendly, so I let Shane pull out one of his Christmas gifts: A pump rocket!

The box advertised that the rockets could go 400 feet. I decided to test their claim. From our driveway, I launched a dart all the way down the street and over the horse trailer!

Here's the view from the truck attached to the trailer as the boys ran the arrow back.

There was only about twenty minutes left of light. I let the boys have a little fun before herding Shane inside for a quick sandwhich and racing back out to the meet.

Everything was underway when we arrived. I had Shane bring a book (he picked Calvin and Hobbes), but he never read it.

He was too eager to run around and jump on wrestlers. It annoys me when he tries to jump on me when I'm coaching and I can get cross. "I am coaching! This is not about you right now. I need to be here for my wrestlers! Shoo!"

I think it's hilarious when Shane interacts with the kids, though. I'm happy for him to latch on to any of them.

Shane is our unofficial mascot. I think the wrestlers get a kick out of seeing him.

I do wish Shane showed a little more interest in the wrestling, but I'm happy he enjoys being around the wrestlers and the mats. He played on my phone while I got a workout helping put things away!