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Authors: Theo Walcott
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these.’ He opened the second holdall and took out a bundle of waterproof jackets. He held one up. On the back it said:
ORCHARDS GARDEN CENTRE
.
‘You can thank our new Parents and Friends Association for organizing these,’ Mr Burrows said. ‘It was their idea to look for a sponsor for the team. And the Garden Centre helped us fix our pitch so they were very keen.’
‘Awesome,’ said Tulsi. ‘This is even better than my Sunday League team’s kit.’
‘It’s great,’ said Mr Wood, ‘but a nice kit isn’t going to win football matches. Are you all here now? I hope you’ve got the right shoes . You’ve remembered we’re playing on Astroturf?’
He called out their names. It was seven-a-side again, so there were ten of them in the squad: Jamie in goal, Tommy, Ariyan and Leila as defenders, Rafi, Rodrigo – who was their captain for today – and Cameron in midfield, and TJ, Tulsi and Jay up front. As they climbed into the minibus, the cheerleaders were singing ‘We Are the Champions.’
‘I don’t like it,’ TJ said to Jamie, who was sitting next to him. ‘They all seem to think we’ve already won. We’ve only played two proper matches ever. We’re just as likely to lose every game.’
The car park at the tournament was full of coaches and cars and teams and supporters. TJ could see that everyone in the Parkview squad was feeling nervous. Then he saw Leroy, the Wasps captain. ‘What’s he doing here?’ he asked.
‘He plays for Meadow Green School,’ Rob said. ‘Almost all the Wasps team go to Meadow Green School. They won their schools league last season, just like Hillside won ours.’
‘There’s Hillside over there,’ Rafi said. ‘They’ll be looking for revenge. They really hated it when we beat them.’
Out on the pitches, corner flags fluttered in the chilly breeze. ‘There’s Marshall,’ said Rob, pointing. ‘He’s come to support us.’
Sure enough, Marshall was walking towards them, with his beanie pulled low over his eyes and an outsize hoodie pulled over the top of that.
‘He’s in disguise again,’ laughed Tommy. ‘I don’t know why he bothers. Someone’s bound to recognize him.’
But, for the moment, no one had. ‘It’s Saturday,’ TJ said to Marshall. ‘Haven’t you got a game today?’
‘Not this week,’ Marshall replied, after saying hello to everyone.
‘But you played for Wanderers last week,’ said TJ. ‘So why . . .?’
‘I’m not fully fit yet,’ Marshall said. ‘I was subbed at half time last week. It takes a long time to get back to full fitness after an injury like mine. But it’s a great chance for me to watch some football today. I love the kit. You look terrific.’
‘We don’t feel that great,’ Tulsi said, speaking for all of them. ‘All these people have come to watch us, and they all think we’re going to win easily.’
‘Hey, how do you think I feel every week?’ Marshall said. ‘Everyone gets nervous. You just have to think how lucky you are to be playing football at all.’
Parkview were playing on Pitch Seven, right at the far end. The Parkview supporters made a big camp by the fence, as Mr Wood, Marshall and Miss Berry took the squad away to warm up.
‘We play three matches in this part of the tournament,’ Mr Wood told them, when they were ready. ‘And between the first two games we only have a ten-minute break, so I’ll be using the whole squad. Ariyan, Jay, Cameron – you’re the subs for the first match. The team we’re playing are called Swinburne School. I don’t know anything about them, but we don’t need to worry about who we play. We’re as good as anyone here. Even the mighty Wasps couldn’t beat us. Off you go. The ref’s waiting.’
They ran onto the pitch and Rodrigo won the toss. The Parkview fans were making a huge amount of noise on the touchline, as Tulsi stroked the ball to TJ and he played it back to Rafi. Straight away, a Swinburne player tackled Rafi and the ball
ORCHARDS GARDEN CENTRE
.
‘You can thank our new Parents and Friends Association for organizing these,’ Mr Burrows said. ‘It was their idea to look for a sponsor for the team. And the Garden Centre helped us fix our pitch so they were very keen.’
‘Awesome,’ said Tulsi. ‘This is even better than my Sunday League team’s kit.’
‘It’s great,’ said Mr Wood, ‘but a nice kit isn’t going to win football matches. Are you all here now? I hope you’ve got the right shoes . You’ve remembered we’re playing on Astroturf?’
He called out their names. It was seven-a-side again, so there were ten of them in the squad: Jamie in goal, Tommy, Ariyan and Leila as defenders, Rafi, Rodrigo – who was their captain for today – and Cameron in midfield, and TJ, Tulsi and Jay up front. As they climbed into the minibus, the cheerleaders were singing ‘We Are the Champions.’
‘I don’t like it,’ TJ said to Jamie, who was sitting next to him. ‘They all seem to think we’ve already won. We’ve only played two proper matches ever. We’re just as likely to lose every game.’
The car park at the tournament was full of coaches and cars and teams and supporters. TJ could see that everyone in the Parkview squad was feeling nervous. Then he saw Leroy, the Wasps captain. ‘What’s he doing here?’ he asked.
‘He plays for Meadow Green School,’ Rob said. ‘Almost all the Wasps team go to Meadow Green School. They won their schools league last season, just like Hillside won ours.’
‘There’s Hillside over there,’ Rafi said. ‘They’ll be looking for revenge. They really hated it when we beat them.’
Out on the pitches, corner flags fluttered in the chilly breeze. ‘There’s Marshall,’ said Rob, pointing. ‘He’s come to support us.’
Sure enough, Marshall was walking towards them, with his beanie pulled low over his eyes and an outsize hoodie pulled over the top of that.
‘He’s in disguise again,’ laughed Tommy. ‘I don’t know why he bothers. Someone’s bound to recognize him.’
But, for the moment, no one had. ‘It’s Saturday,’ TJ said to Marshall. ‘Haven’t you got a game today?’
‘Not this week,’ Marshall replied, after saying hello to everyone.
‘But you played for Wanderers last week,’ said TJ. ‘So why . . .?’
‘I’m not fully fit yet,’ Marshall said. ‘I was subbed at half time last week. It takes a long time to get back to full fitness after an injury like mine. But it’s a great chance for me to watch some football today. I love the kit. You look terrific.’
‘We don’t feel that great,’ Tulsi said, speaking for all of them. ‘All these people have come to watch us, and they all think we’re going to win easily.’
‘Hey, how do you think I feel every week?’ Marshall said. ‘Everyone gets nervous. You just have to think how lucky you are to be playing football at all.’
Parkview were playing on Pitch Seven, right at the far end. The Parkview supporters made a big camp by the fence, as Mr Wood, Marshall and Miss Berry took the squad away to warm up.
‘We play three matches in this part of the tournament,’ Mr Wood told them, when they were ready. ‘And between the first two games we only have a ten-minute break, so I’ll be using the whole squad. Ariyan, Jay, Cameron – you’re the subs for the first match. The team we’re playing are called Swinburne School. I don’t know anything about them, but we don’t need to worry about who we play. We’re as good as anyone here. Even the mighty Wasps couldn’t beat us. Off you go. The ref’s waiting.’
They ran onto the pitch and Rodrigo won the toss. The Parkview fans were making a huge amount of noise on the touchline, as Tulsi stroked the ball to TJ and he played it back to Rafi. Straight away, a Swinburne player tackled Rafi and the ball
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