Coach Brooks, are you reading this?

You know those kids that can hit a tennis ball over the net or have a textbook golf swing at 2 years old and the parents swear they aren't forcing their kids to do this, that they just pick up the racquet or club and love doing it. I've always rolled my eyes and thought...suuuuuure...but I'm starting to believe them.

Henry has seemed to develop this very natural and very amazing ability to kick and punt. Ed started holding a little football up for him to kick while we were tailgating this fall and then that is all he wanted to do. After awhile when we weren't available to be his holder every time he invented his own, first with one of the blocks from a set of stacking blocks upside down and placing the ball in it and more recently he took the putting "hole" from a toy golf set, which, amazingly looks a lot like an actual football kicking tee. He places it carefully and then very deliberately takes several steps back, keeping his gaze locked on the ball, then starts his approach and WHAM, the ball goes flying! Even more recently he has taught himself to drop kick, or punt the ball. Now when I say that he kicks the ball I mean he kicks is hard and straight and with a lot of loft...and left footed.

We'd never be the kind of parents that force him into anything, but if he ends up wanting to play football and keeps up this little skill of his, by all means we'd be thrilled. And I'm sure every mother would agree with me that the kicker is the choice position on the football field (little to no contact!)...plus he looks so darn cute doing it!