Thelen

MEMORANDUM ***

Plaintiff Tod Thelen appeals the district court’s affirmance of the decision of the Administrative Law Judge’s (“ALJ”) denial of Social Security Disability Benefits and Supplemental Income. We have jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. § 1291 , and we vacate and remand for reconsideration.

We review de novo the district court’s grant of summary judgment. Burch v. Barnhart, 400 F.3d 676, 679 (9th Cir.2005). The denial of benefits by the ALJ may be set aside only if it is based on legal error or is not supported by substantial evidence. Id. Absent affirmative evidence of malingering, an ALJ’s adverse credibility finding must be supported by clear and convincing reasons. Vertigan v. Halter, 260 F.3d 1044, 1049 (9th Cir.2001).

In discrediting Thelen’s testimony, the ALJ repeatedly emphasized that Thelen “coaches children’s baseball.” Although Thelen himself used the word coaching, the transcript of his testimony makes it clear that his only involvement as a coach was to count pitches. There is no evidence in the record that Thelen did anything more than that. The label in the ALJ’s decision of this passive and sedentary activity as “coaching” without any further…