As the youngest of three boys in a sports-loving—watching and playing—family, Declan has spent many an afternoon, evening, and weekend cheering on Brayden and Camden as they compete on the court, field, track, and more.

The four-year-old finally got a chance to shine on the other side of the stands when Megan signed him up for youth soccer, his first time on a team.

Declan’s brothers as well as Mom and Dad showed up to cheer on the newbie in his first game a week or so ago. When I talked to Megan afterward and requested she text some videos from the game to me, she prefaced the sharing by mentioning how she and Preston—avid fans of athletics of all sorts and coaches themselves, Megan of cross country and Preston of basketball—have long discussed how awesome it would be for one of their boys to be an all-around natural athlete. A kiddo who could fairly effortlessly just do it, whatever it may be.

Upon witnessing Declan’s first performance on the soccer field, Megan professed, all of her and Preston’s hopes and dreams for such have been… well… dashed. To put it mildly.

Megan meted out the assessment with grins and giggles. This highlight reel I created from the videos she sent me reveals why.

Okay, so Declan may not be a natural athlete. At least not yet.

But his naturally affable attitude and the all-around abounding joy he projects regardless of earnest action around him and objective on the soccer field places my favorite four-year-old smack-dab in superstar status in my eyes, in my heart. Now and always.