writing101.net | msmcguire.com

Aidan has recently been expressing an interest in sports. Paging through the park district catalog one day he decided he wanted to try tennis, baseball, and soccer this year. So that’s what we’re going to do. He started tennis a little more than a week ago on June 16 and says he really enjoys it. Although, you wouldn’t quite know it to look at him in the class. I guess given our parenting style and pursuit of home education, Aidan hasn’t really learned to “follow the leader” very well. There are many line exercises and drills in the class (all in good fun), but Aidan doesn’t quite get the stand-in-line thing. I mean he’s not rude or anything; he just kind of meanders around and watches what everybody is doing. The coaches regularly are asking him to step here or go there, and he always seems rather surprised when they address him directly.

[View with PicLens]

I think in class today, two of the three coaches (working with about 25 kids) spent the first 10 minutes of the class just trying to get Aidan to take a tennis ball out of the coach’s hand. He just didn’t want to take the ball. When the other kids are practicing running up and down the court, Aidan stands right in the middle of the court and watches everyone run around him–smiling the whole time. He participates on his terms. Occasionally, he’ll step forward and take his turn at a volley, swinging his racquet with carefree abandon at the little green ball. He laughs a little, turns to smile and give us a big wave as we sit in the bleachers; then, he sticks his racquet between his legs, pretending it’s a horse and rides it at a casual pace to and fro around the court–going wherever his whimsy leads him. That’s a typical day on the court so far. I’m not sure if his method will take him to Wimbledon, but he is sure to have fun on his terms all along the way.

Tags:   photos · play · sports119No Commentshttp%3A%2F%2Fwriting101.net%2F2008%2F06%2F25%2Fwhoever-said-tennis-was-a-team-sport%2Fwhoever+said+tennis+was+a+team+sport%3F2008-06-26+03%3A43%3A19Michaelhttp%3A%2F%2Fwriting101.net%2F%3Fp%3D119