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Authors: Matt Christopher
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she?”
The girls heard the sound of a whistle. “Gather round, everyone!” called Danielle.
Once the team was together, the coach said, “Our first game, against the Rockets, is in two days, so let’s make good use of
our time. We’ll start with drills. Tina, Andrea, work with Pepper. Everyone else, stay here with me.”
While most of the team practiced passes, shooting,free kicks, corner kicks, and other skills, Tina and Andrea worked on goalkeeping. During the workout, Tina saw that her throwing
hadn’t improved, but at least it wasn’t any worse. Her hands, she thought, were too small to control the ball, but she could
kick it a long way. Andrea’s kicking was still not great, but her throwing was excellent. The girls spent time throwing and
kicking shots for the other to block or catch.
“I wish I could kick like you do,” Andrea said at one point. “That makes a big difference. “I’m not coordinated enough.”
Tina smiled. “I wish I could throw like
you
do. Sounds like we’re even.”
After drills, before the team split up for a scrimmage, Danielle said, “Here is the starting lineup against the Rockets. Now,
remember: Everyone will play. And I don’t mean just for a minute or two. Everyone will get a
lot
of playing time. That’s because you’ll all need rest and also because everyone is working hard and deserves to play. Any
questions?”
There were no questions, and the coach named the starters. Tina would be the keeper, Cindy wasleft wing, and Zoe was midfielder. Meg would come in off the bench. This was no surprise; Meg had expected it and wasn’t unhappy.
She knew she wasn’t a top player, and the coach had said everyone would play.
Once again, the team was divided into two squads of nine, with Pepper and Zoe’s mom as referees. This time, Meg was Tina’s
teammate, while Cindy and Zoe were on the other side. Danielle told Tina and Andrea that they’d get to play a position other
than keeper, for part of the time anyway, so that they’d stay in practice for other positions—just in case.
For the first ten minutes, nobody could score, as both Tina and Andrea stopped several shots. Cindy, whose mother did not
show up, threatened to get to a loose ball directly in front of Tina’s goal, but Tina sprinted out and scooped up the ball
before Cindy could reach it. Tina rolled it to Meg, who dribbled it away from the cage, out of danger.
A few minutes later, Zoe, from midfield, dribbled through two defenders and passed to Cindy on the wing. Cindy made a clever
side-step move to get past one defender, then passed to a teammate. She thenmoved within five yards of the goal and waited for a return pass. Trying to mark Cindy, Meg stepped directly in front of Tina,
so that Tina lost sight of the ball.
“Meg, out of the box!” Tina called.
Meg was startled, but stepped away just in time for Tina to see the ball headed straight for where Cindy could head it. Tina
rushed out to the edge of the penalty box and snatched the ball out of the air. If she’d left the box, she would have been
penalized for using her hands; a keeper can only touch the ball with his or her hands while in the penalty box. This time,
Tina kicked the ball long and hard, and one of her teammates managed to control it and send it toward the other goal.
“Sorry,” Meg called to Tina as she ran after the action. Tina wondered if she’d be able to yell at someone who wasn’t her
best friend. She hoped so. A little later, when Cindy led another rush on the goal, Tina called out to another defensive player,
signaling her to mark one of the forwards. The girl nodded and did what Tina wanted. But Cindy made a beautiful move to get
past her defender and put a shot through the goal, just under the crossbar whereit met the left upright. There was no way for Tina to stop it; the shot was perfectly placed.
Cindy’s squadmates came up to exchange high-and low-fives. “Nice shot,” Tina
The girls heard the sound of a whistle. “Gather round, everyone!” called Danielle.
Once the team was together, the coach said, “Our first game, against the Rockets, is in two days, so let’s make good use of
our time. We’ll start with drills. Tina, Andrea, work with Pepper. Everyone else, stay here with me.”
While most of the team practiced passes, shooting,free kicks, corner kicks, and other skills, Tina and Andrea worked on goalkeeping. During the workout, Tina saw that her throwing
hadn’t improved, but at least it wasn’t any worse. Her hands, she thought, were too small to control the ball, but she could
kick it a long way. Andrea’s kicking was still not great, but her throwing was excellent. The girls spent time throwing and
kicking shots for the other to block or catch.
“I wish I could kick like you do,” Andrea said at one point. “That makes a big difference. “I’m not coordinated enough.”
Tina smiled. “I wish I could throw like
you
do. Sounds like we’re even.”
After drills, before the team split up for a scrimmage, Danielle said, “Here is the starting lineup against the Rockets. Now,
remember: Everyone will play. And I don’t mean just for a minute or two. Everyone will get a
lot
of playing time. That’s because you’ll all need rest and also because everyone is working hard and deserves to play. Any
questions?”
There were no questions, and the coach named the starters. Tina would be the keeper, Cindy wasleft wing, and Zoe was midfielder. Meg would come in off the bench. This was no surprise; Meg had expected it and wasn’t unhappy.
She knew she wasn’t a top player, and the coach had said everyone would play.
Once again, the team was divided into two squads of nine, with Pepper and Zoe’s mom as referees. This time, Meg was Tina’s
teammate, while Cindy and Zoe were on the other side. Danielle told Tina and Andrea that they’d get to play a position other
than keeper, for part of the time anyway, so that they’d stay in practice for other positions—just in case.
For the first ten minutes, nobody could score, as both Tina and Andrea stopped several shots. Cindy, whose mother did not
show up, threatened to get to a loose ball directly in front of Tina’s goal, but Tina sprinted out and scooped up the ball
before Cindy could reach it. Tina rolled it to Meg, who dribbled it away from the cage, out of danger.
A few minutes later, Zoe, from midfield, dribbled through two defenders and passed to Cindy on the wing. Cindy made a clever
side-step move to get past one defender, then passed to a teammate. She thenmoved within five yards of the goal and waited for a return pass. Trying to mark Cindy, Meg stepped directly in front of Tina,
so that Tina lost sight of the ball.
“Meg, out of the box!” Tina called.
Meg was startled, but stepped away just in time for Tina to see the ball headed straight for where Cindy could head it. Tina
rushed out to the edge of the penalty box and snatched the ball out of the air. If she’d left the box, she would have been
penalized for using her hands; a keeper can only touch the ball with his or her hands while in the penalty box. This time,
Tina kicked the ball long and hard, and one of her teammates managed to control it and send it toward the other goal.
“Sorry,” Meg called to Tina as she ran after the action. Tina wondered if she’d be able to yell at someone who wasn’t her
best friend. She hoped so. A little later, when Cindy led another rush on the goal, Tina called out to another defensive player,
signaling her to mark one of the forwards. The girl nodded and did what Tina wanted. But Cindy made a beautiful move to get
past her defender and put a shot through the goal, just under the crossbar whereit met the left upright. There was no way for Tina to stop it; the shot was perfectly placed.
Cindy’s squadmates came up to exchange high-and low-fives. “Nice shot,” Tina
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