"What if I mess up?"
"You probably will."
His eyes widened.
I laughed. "Everyone makes mistakes. That is how sports work."
He looked at me for another second, then smiled for real.
"Thanks, Mom."
Before kickoff, he ran toward the field, then turned and gave me a little wave.
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I waved back with both hands.
The game was close from the beginning.
The other team scored first.
Mason tied it before halftime.
In the second half, Tyler scored after a good pass from another player.
For a while, the Red Hawks led two to one.
Leo was playing better than usual.
He blocked one pass, cleared another, and even managed to take the ball away from a faster player.
Every time he did something well, I clapped.
So did Coach Leonardo.
A few parents said nothing.
The other team tied the score with about 10 minutes left.
In the remaining time, a ball came rolling toward Leo near the penalty area.
It should have been an easy clearance.
I could see what he meant to do.
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He planted one foot, pulled the other back, and tried to kick the ball toward the sideline.
But his foot caught the grass.
He missed.
The ball rolled past him to a player from the other team, who shot before our goalkeeper could react.
The ball hit the net.
The whistle blew almost immediately after the restart.
The game was over.
For one second, the field was silent.
Leo stood where he had missed the ball.
His shoulders were stiff, and his face had gone pale.
Then Greg started clapping.
A slow, sarcastic clapping.
"Great job," he called. "Really great job."
Tanya threw both hands into the air.
"How do you miss that?" she shouted. "It was right in front of you."
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Renee stood up from her chair.
"That cost the whole team the game."
I looked toward Coach Leonardo. He was speaking to the referee and had not heard the first comments.
Leo had.
He turned toward the sideline.
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