Touched Beyond Belief

When Timothy started playing football, I had no idea how the other players and coaches would react to him.   I had concerns that he would not be accepted by his teammates and that his coaches would easily become frustrated with his lack of experience combined with his autism issues.

I never imagined I would see the understanding, acceptance, and kindness that I have seen from these boys and coaches.   They have all taken Timothy under their wings, and because of that, he is learning to fly.

When he gets knocked down or gets hurt, one of his teammates is always there to help him.  His teammates spend time with him on the sidelines giving him a little extra instruction.    His coaches work extra hard with him making sure he understands exactly what he needs to do and how to do it.

Because of their acceptance, he has persevered and given it 100% at every game and every practice.  He  never gives up.  One of the most touching things his teammates do is something that I can't photograph.  It happens at the end of practice when it's dark.

He is a much slower runner than his teammates.  When they rush "gashers", he always ends up being a lap behind.  Every night, the rest of the team is finished before him, but rather than catching their breath, they all voluntarily choose to run one more lap alongside Timothy just so they can cheer him on.  I've seen it probably 7 or 8 times now, and it still brings me to tears every time.


Timothy's life will forever be changed from this experience.  He has found a place where he is accepted, and he is thriving beyond our wildest expectations.  Thank you Van Reed JV Midget Bulldogs!!!

Victory Again!!

Van Reed defeated Fleetwood 40-6.  That may sound like an easy win, but it was definitely a hard fought win for the Bulldogs.  The start of the game was delayed, and by game time, it was extremely hot, and the boys were already hot and tired.

Fleetwood started out with a "hurry-up offense", and our defense was scrambling to keep up.  Fortunately for us, Fleetwood couldn't keep up the pace, and our defense was able to get it figured out.

 Timothy took some really hard hits this time.  During some plays, he had 3 offense lineman on him at the same time.  He didn't stand a chance.  He handled it well though and didn't give up.  He fought back with all that he had.

Van Reed is now 5-0 and have outscored their opponents 147 - 13.  They are on the path to go undefeated this season.   I am so proud of this team!

HE GOT THE BALL!!

Tonight was another first for Timothy.  He actually got the ball!  Wednesday nights are typically special teams practice.  Timothy is on the kick-off return team.  He's been instructed to fall on the ball if it ever came near him, and tonight it finally happened.  The ball landed right next to him.  He did great - falling on just as he had been taught to do.  His teammates and coaches cheered for him, and he was so proud of himself!  ;)   At the end of practice, his teammates, once again, ran an extra sprint with him so he wouldn't have to run alone.  Those kids are great!!

V-I-C-T-O-R-Y!!

Today was another victory for the Van Reed JV Midget Bulldogs!  They defeated Daniel Boone 26-0.  They are now 4-0, and have outscored their opponents 107-7 this season.  These boys are incredibly talented!!


Timothy took a few hits today.  He was up against some pretty big boys at times and double-teamed at other times.  He handled it like a champ every single time.



He was chosen to be one of the team captains for today's game.  He got to go to the center of the field for the coin toss.  He got to shake hands with the refs, other team's coaches, and the other team's captains.

Timothy's favorite coach, Coach Eisenhower, wasn't there today.  He makes sure that Timothy is where he needs to be during the game.  Today, Timothy missed the first play of the game.  He didn't realize he was supposed to be out there.  Oops!  It turned out okay though, and then, for the rest of the game, the other coaches made sure Timothy got out there when he was supposed to.



This team is absolutely amazing.  They are so talented, but more importantly than that, they have a great sense of teamwork.  They make a great team!!

Cheerleader-phobia

Timothy, like some boys his age, still thinks girls have cooties -- especially cheerleaders.  He was mortified after one of their games when the whole team had to go over and tell all the cheerleaders thank you for cheering for them.

The cheerleaders do not practice where the football players practice.  He only sees the cheerleaders at the games.  However, last night was cheerleader picture night - on the football practice fields! There must have been some kind of communication breakdown because there wasn't room for everyone.

They eventually got it figured out and moved everyone around, but it just made me giggle wondering what Timothy was thinking the entire practice as the cheerleaders were there to watch their whole practice.  -- lol!

Tomorrow (Wednesday) night the focus of their practice will be on special teams.  Thursday night will be a joint practice and scrimmage with another local team.  That'll be exciting for them.

Team Picture Night

Team Picture Night -- what an experience!  It was what I would describe as "organized chaos."  Kids in football uniforms EVERYWHERE.  Timothy was pretty uncertain and nervous until he got through his individual picture.  Then, once he got through that and found his team to hang out with while waiting for their team picture, he calmed down and I was able to leave him.

When we were on our way home, I got a text from Rob that said, "Timothy is really popular".  I found out he had spent some time with Timothy while he was waiting with his teammates for their team picture.  He said the boys were all laughing and joking with Timothy and really seem to like him.  That was nice to hear.  :)

Rain Game

 Wow - What a game!!  It was a gray, dreary day.  The rain held off until midway through the first quarter - and then the skies opened.  There were a few moments of reprieve, but for the most part, it was a steady rain throughout the rest of the game.

Timothy handled it great.  Anytime there is a new, unfamiliar situation, there's always some concern about how he will handle it, but he did just fine.

He has an obsessive fear of earthworms.  His biggest concern when he found out that it might rain was that he would see a worm, but once he was out there in football mode, he overcame that fear and didn't let it stop him.

The Van Reed Saturday Midget Bulldogs are now 3-0.  They've scored 81 points in their first three games and only allowed 7 points scored against them.  Those boys are great!!

Priceless Teamwork

Timothy's team demonstrated awesome teamwork tonight.  At the end of practice, the team all runs "gashes" which are sprints back and forth across the field.   It's grueling and leaves even the fasted runners panting and exhausted.

Tonight, Timothy was chugging along, never giving up, but way behind his teammates.  When the rest of his team was finished, he still had a lap to go.  One of his teammates noticed, quickly called his teammates together, and they all ran the entire distance AGAIN just so they could run it along side of Timothy and cheer him on.  It was priceless!  Those kids are a great team, and I am so thankful that Timothy has them as teammates.

Back to Practice

After having Sunday and Monday off, it was back to practice for Timothy tonight.    It was a very pleasant, almost-fall-feeling evening -- hoodie weather!  :)  Not much to report except that it was another successful practice with Timothy working hard and giving it his all.

Autism Awareness Walk and Eagles Couchgating!

This morning was the Autism Society of Berks County's Annual Walk for Autism Awareness Event.  This was the third year that we have been a part of the walk.  It's a lot of fun, plus a great way to promote autism awareness.   Timothy enjoyed visiting the resource table and getting freebies, and he won a goldfish at one of the games.  Fortunately, we didn't have to bring the goldfish home today.  We got a coupon to go to the fish/aquarium store to pick it up later this week.

This afternoon was a fun couchgating party!  We got BoJangles chicken to eat while we watched the Eagles game.  It looked as though the Eagles were going to lose miserably, but the came back in the second half pulled off an amazing win!  FLY EAGLES FLY!!!

Victory Again!!

Today, Van Reed played Wyomissing - the best team in the league.  After defeating Mifflin 40-7 last week, I had to prepare Timothy that he can't expect his team to win every week like that.

It was incredibly hot today.  At game time, it was 90* with a heat index of 100*.  I knew that was going to test every child's endurance - but particularly Timothy's.  He's never tolerated heat very well.  His team was great, and defeated Wyomissing 14-0!  They have started off their season 2-0.  :)

He amazed us again today.  He didn't seem to be phased by the heat, and he still gave 100%.  He has improved so much over the past couple of weeks.   He's been playing for 4 weeks now, and I still can't believe it.   There are some who would question putting an autistic child on a 6th-grade football team, but it has, by far, been the single best thing we have ever done for him.  He has grown tremendously socially, emotionally, and physically (becoming stronger) through this experience.

I Never Imagined I Would Ever See This

 This picture is worth a thousand words.  Timothy has never "hung out" with kids his age.  He's had pre-arranged play dates, but he's never voluntarily wanted to hang out with friends.

Last night was Youth Night at the Wilson game.  That meant that the Van Reed football players were recognized on the field before the game.

The players were supposed to meet at 6:30.  We got there about 6:15, and Timothy wanted to go to the meeting area by himself.  When he got there, there were a few kids already there who decided to go sit up in the stands and watch Wilson warm up before the game.  Timothy tagged along with them and sat with them in the stands.  I am so proud of him!!  Football has definitely given him a place to belong in life.  He feels like he fits in and has friends now.  :)

One Tough Bulldog!!

Timothy had his required 6th-grade immunizations on Wednesday.  He was fine afterwards, but did not sleep well at all Wednesday night.  He had chills and a low-grade fever as a side-effect of the shots.

When I was helping him get into his football uniform, I noticed this huge red, swollen mark on his arm where he had gotten his shots.  It warm to the touch and tender.

He didn't let it stop him from going to football practice.  He is one tough bulldog!!

Wednesday Night Practice

Wednesday night practices are a little different than Tuesdays and Thursdays.  The Midgets are the only age group that practices.  They don't do their usual drills.  Tonight, they started with special teams.  Timothy is on the kick-off return team.  The Saturday (6th grade) team was the receiving team.  The Sunday (7th grade) team was the kicking team.  The 6th graders always seem to be the ones to wear the pennies - even though most of them can't get them on by themselves.  It's actually kind of comical to watch the coaches help the boys or the boys helping each other getting them on.

Later in the evening, they did some scrimmaging.  Timothy was up against a pretty big 7th grader, but handled himself well.  He got knocked down a few times - sometimes pretty hard, but he hung in there and got right back up!   When he was coming off the field, Coach Dragonnette (the head coach) gave Timothy a high-5!

Tonight we found out that Friday night is youth night at the Wilson High School game.  That means Timothy and all his teammates get to wear their jerseys and go onto the field before the game starts.

It was a dark and stormy night.......

Football practice was short and sweet tonight.  The boy get there at 5:30  They are taught that on time is late.  Warm-ups start at 5:45, so they get there 15 minutes early.   At 5:35, the first flash of lightening was sighted off in the distance.  At 5:45, the crack of thunder and flash of lightening sent everyone scurrying for cover.  They waited out the storm that lasted for about 15 minutes.

When the storm passed, they got started with their regular practice.  However, the skies began to darken again.  An hour into practice, there was more thunder and lightening, so they ended practice for the night.