perhaps I have a bad understanding but I think that the title don't match with the photo. the mace should be in front of the child and not behind. I don't like the composition and the black dog is distracting. It haven't any function in the photo but I think that it is the reason because the man lose the ball. also the dog on the background is distracting.
Super shot...Feels very much like you have captured an interesting moment in time. It could be argued that the focus could be sharper or there could be a deeper dof but my guess is that this just happened and you took the shot without being able to make any adjustments and as such I prefer it this way than sharp and a 'posed candid'
Good focus and stop action...but...I hate to say this...the focus should have been on the foreground subject as the child takes up so much of the image...especially with that coloured shirt on.
I realize this was not a set up shot, so the composition problems are understandable. Unfortunately the focus is soft and the 2 dogsare terribly distracting.