Stuck in the Middle

My Matthew. In our family, he is smack in the middle. In his father's family, he was the baby for 7 years and was then displaced by a baby brother (and will be pushed to the "middle" spot there as well in March). Life isn't easy for him in the middle. The babies need more attention and at 8, he's fairly self-sufficient. Then, there is the shadow at the other end. He has an older brother and sister that seem to be able to master any new challenge with ease. Top of their class without having to study kinda stuff. Things don't come as easily for Matthew. There are certainly blessings that come from having to work hard to taste success, but for his ego's sake, I really wanted there to be something that came naturally to him.

I think we've found it! Matthew kicks butt at tackle football. Soccer was too much chaos. Baseball was too hard to stay focused. Flag was too many kids all running around like chickens. But tackle is like magic. Because of his size (he resembles a brick wall) and ability to plant himself when needed, he plays the line on both sides of the ball. This was his first season of tackle and, as I expected, he immediately took to the hitting aspect of the game. I thought that if he could just have his assignment - hit the guy in front of you and don't let him get away - that tackle would be something he could be good at. After the second game, one of the coaches came to me to tell me how happy they were with Matthew's abilities. Not only could he plow down his man, but he has a feel for the ball. For knowing where it is and where it is going. Combine the 2 and he is making sacks and multiple tackles consistantly.

This season, his team was 7 & 3 but more importantly, Matthew is proud of himself.

Jacob's tip of the day: Fraycheck will also prevent your hair from "fraying". If you put straight pins in your mouth, it will make your mom scream in a very scary way.