mattsmom27
Active Member
difficult child has always had a problem following through with things, especially sports. He loves sports but doesn't stick it through. He did hold onto his spot on the cross country running team for 2 straight years, he loved it. Then he just up and quit, no real reason that I'm aware of. Years ago he tried Beavers (beginner Scouts) and quit half way through first year. Went to RaptorBall (a beginner basketball program run by the Toronto Raptor NBA team through a special program). Lasted 2 sessions and quit. This was many many years ago. Then there was soccer, 3 practices, quit before first game.
Last year he joined basketball team and was sticking with it but was kicked off team for bad attitude, horrible effort at academics (despite maintaining allright grades)and multiple suspensions, eventually at year end he was expelled.
This year he is nearly easy child behaviour wise at school, but his grades are lowest of his life (he was failing as of moving back home in Oct/Nov. He has managed to slightly pull his grades up and he is trying, although nowhere near the effort he is capable of.
He made the basketball team and shows no intention/desire to quit. He is very excited. He has a g/f at school, she is the "popular girl" of the grade 8 students. Being a JK-8 school this makes him "cool" via his going out with the cool girl of the graduating class. But he has made zero friends outside of her. She has a huge group of friends. He will not stay for lunch break, he walks home even in -36 weather for lunch, a 15 minute walk both ways, leaving about 10 minutes to eat, warm up and go back. She hangs out with friends and he doesnt want to for some reason make ANY friends. I don't understand it. Teacher told me other kids are confused. difficult child is not rude to the other students, they go out of their way to befriend him, talk with him, etc but he just finds a way to walk off without rudeness. Won't engage.
He has made a friend now through the basketball team. His team is undefeated in our district so far. He made 14 points in his last game. He had a person from the provincial boys basketball team (equivelant of State teams in the US) approach him and 2 other boys on the team and ask them to try out for the team this summer. He was pretty psyched about it. This weekend is a big tournament. Unfortunatly another player on the team he played Thurs. p.m. shoved him backwards mid jump to make a shot and he would have fallen flat on his back so he braced himself with his hand/arm behind him. Hurt his wrist. So tonight he was to play in the first night of the tournament and he was unable. The coach called after the first game (from home to boot, in between games, guess he was home for dinner) and asked him to please come for second game at 9p.m. and he'd check out his wrist. difficult child went with my blessing, telling him I trust his coach to not play him if he couldn't risk the wrist, and that it would be nice to support his team anyhow. He ended up only playing one quarter due to the wrist being still a bit tender. They won again. He has 3 more games tomorrow and his wrist is much better. If he wins he will go to finals tomorrow evening and later in the evening championship game. The way the teams are in "pools" it is a pretty good guess his team will win their pool. I think they will make the championship game. He is very excited, couldn't sleep. Turns out the Provincial coach came to the tournament too and talked to difficult child and the other two boys on his team again. He has also been asked to go out for a team called CAN Stars (CAN=Canadian). He would get to play across the province as well as a few tournaments in NY State and possibly Pennsyvania.
Please keep your fingers crossed difficult child sticks with this. He is doing so well and like I said, has made friends with one boy. The boy's parents dropped him home after the game tonight and will bring him home from out of town games he plays (I have no car). He had his first non g/f phone call since moving home today!!!! I think this is going to really help difficult child's self esteem boost back up again, also this a new school due to expulsion so these kids don't know difficult child's history. He has a chance to have a new start. Also this is a new district for him, making it a different high school in Sept than if he'd been living in our old neighbourhood (and also grandmonsters neighbourhood). SO the kids he knew "then" who also saw him at his worst, will not be at this high school, it will be the kids in his current school who just see difficult child as the quiet kid who is dating the cool girl (haha).
I can't wait to go watch difficult child do well tomorrow, win or lose, at his tournament. Now i have to get him to sleep, it is after 1a.m.and he keeps turning his light on to read "just one more chapter". He is excited. He told me it is like the feeling on Christmas eve knowing tomorrow is Christmas (lol)
So all, fingers crossed for a difficult child who could really use something good and healthy in his life??????
Melissa
Last year he joined basketball team and was sticking with it but was kicked off team for bad attitude, horrible effort at academics (despite maintaining allright grades)and multiple suspensions, eventually at year end he was expelled.
This year he is nearly easy child behaviour wise at school, but his grades are lowest of his life (he was failing as of moving back home in Oct/Nov. He has managed to slightly pull his grades up and he is trying, although nowhere near the effort he is capable of.
He made the basketball team and shows no intention/desire to quit. He is very excited. He has a g/f at school, she is the "popular girl" of the grade 8 students. Being a JK-8 school this makes him "cool" via his going out with the cool girl of the graduating class. But he has made zero friends outside of her. She has a huge group of friends. He will not stay for lunch break, he walks home even in -36 weather for lunch, a 15 minute walk both ways, leaving about 10 minutes to eat, warm up and go back. She hangs out with friends and he doesnt want to for some reason make ANY friends. I don't understand it. Teacher told me other kids are confused. difficult child is not rude to the other students, they go out of their way to befriend him, talk with him, etc but he just finds a way to walk off without rudeness. Won't engage.
He has made a friend now through the basketball team. His team is undefeated in our district so far. He made 14 points in his last game. He had a person from the provincial boys basketball team (equivelant of State teams in the US) approach him and 2 other boys on the team and ask them to try out for the team this summer. He was pretty psyched about it. This weekend is a big tournament. Unfortunatly another player on the team he played Thurs. p.m. shoved him backwards mid jump to make a shot and he would have fallen flat on his back so he braced himself with his hand/arm behind him. Hurt his wrist. So tonight he was to play in the first night of the tournament and he was unable. The coach called after the first game (from home to boot, in between games, guess he was home for dinner) and asked him to please come for second game at 9p.m. and he'd check out his wrist. difficult child went with my blessing, telling him I trust his coach to not play him if he couldn't risk the wrist, and that it would be nice to support his team anyhow. He ended up only playing one quarter due to the wrist being still a bit tender. They won again. He has 3 more games tomorrow and his wrist is much better. If he wins he will go to finals tomorrow evening and later in the evening championship game. The way the teams are in "pools" it is a pretty good guess his team will win their pool. I think they will make the championship game. He is very excited, couldn't sleep. Turns out the Provincial coach came to the tournament too and talked to difficult child and the other two boys on his team again. He has also been asked to go out for a team called CAN Stars (CAN=Canadian). He would get to play across the province as well as a few tournaments in NY State and possibly Pennsyvania.
Please keep your fingers crossed difficult child sticks with this. He is doing so well and like I said, has made friends with one boy. The boy's parents dropped him home after the game tonight and will bring him home from out of town games he plays (I have no car). He had his first non g/f phone call since moving home today!!!! I think this is going to really help difficult child's self esteem boost back up again, also this a new school due to expulsion so these kids don't know difficult child's history. He has a chance to have a new start. Also this is a new district for him, making it a different high school in Sept than if he'd been living in our old neighbourhood (and also grandmonsters neighbourhood). SO the kids he knew "then" who also saw him at his worst, will not be at this high school, it will be the kids in his current school who just see difficult child as the quiet kid who is dating the cool girl (haha).
I can't wait to go watch difficult child do well tomorrow, win or lose, at his tournament. Now i have to get him to sleep, it is after 1a.m.and he keeps turning his light on to read "just one more chapter". He is excited. He told me it is like the feeling on Christmas eve knowing tomorrow is Christmas (lol)
So all, fingers crossed for a difficult child who could really use something good and healthy in his life??????
Melissa