Last week was tough for the Boy: a loss after winning the first two games is tough, but a 4-0 loss stings just a little more. It feels like you didn’t just lose but got crushed. The Boy took it in stride, but he was obviously thinking about it all week for as we got his shin guards and shoes on this morning, he confided that it angered him and that he was determined to do better this week.

We arrived for the half-hour practice that precedes every game, and everything was going as it always does: the Boy did everything the coach said, and I chatted with another parent. I still hadn’t gotten the camera out when the game started and the opposing team began. A quick kick into our half of the field, and in a flash, the Boy had possession of the ball, charged through the defense, found himself completely unopposed, and streaked down the field to score.

In the third quarter — at this age, they divide the halves in two — he struck again.

This time I was ready.