Soccer Hero

by Stephanie Peters

  Joey and Benji ran forward to stop the drive. Benji got there first, but he muffed the play. Now Joey was a step behind the Shark forward and losing ground.

  Ming was ready, however. He lunged in front of the Shark and slowed him down. Ming couldn't get his foot on the ball, though, for the Shark had passed to his center forward. That player deftly kicked to his right forward, who had rushed to a hole between Rob and Brendan.

  Boom! The Shark delivered an instep kick that had Bryan sailing, hands outstretched, through the air in an attempt to stop it.

  “Oof!” Bryan landed hard on his chest, having missed making the save by inches.

  The Sharks whooped, delighted to have drawn first blood.

  “Where were you, Lasher?” Dmitri growled. “Busy giving another interview somewhere, or doing something heroic again?”

  “Lay off, Dmitri,” Benji interjected. “That Shark came out of nowhere — this time, anyway. Rob, keep an eye on him so he can't fool you again!”

  “Okay,” Rob said.

  Dmitri set up at the center circle again. Once more, he sent the ball toward Scott.

  Big surprise, Rob thought as he trotted down the field.

  Scott dribbled quickly and was met by two Sharks. He tried to maneuver around them but couldn't. Dmitri was covered, too, so Scott sent the ball back to Benji.

  Benji moved fast toward the center of the field. He faked a pass to Joey but instead booted the ball to Raul. Raul, a surprised look on his face, almost didn't make the pickup. But after a bit of a foot fumble, he gained control and streaked down the open field with Rob close behind.

  “Dmitri, give him a hand!” Benji cried.

  Dmitri hesitated for a moment. Then he dodged around his defender and got open.

  “Raul, find him!” Benji shouted.

  Raul grimaced but kicked a solid pass to Dmitri. Dmitri trapped it and, with a twist of his body, blasted the ball into the outside corner of the net.

  “Yes!” Benji yelled. “That's the way we do it!”

  Normally, Raul and Dmitri would have exchanged high fives and bumped fists after such a success. But this year, they merely glanced at each other and then returned to their positions.

  That's how it went for much of the game. Benji would call out suggestions for plays that required feuding teammates to work together. Sometimes the players listened. Sometimes they didn't. But Benji didn't give up. He just kept trying to get his teammates to play as a team.

  In the end, however, nothing Benji or any of the other Pirates did helped. They lost to the Sharks by a dismal eight goals to one.

  “Too bad, team, better luck next time,” was all Coach Benoit said. Then he turned back to the man he'd been talking to and said, “So you think your car needs a new battery? Well, come on down to my shop and I'll set you up, no problem!”

  “I sometimes wonder why that guy wanted to coach our team,” Sam commented in a low voice.

  Arnold snorted. “To drum up business for his shop, if you ask me. Because it sure isn't to win games!”

  “Aw, come on, guys, don't be like that,” Benji said. “I'm sure the guy's heart is in the right place — even if he doesn't know much about soccer!”

  Rob shook his head. “Benji, you amaze me. We just got eaten alive by those Sharks, but you're still in a good mood. Why?”

  “I guess it's because I know the Pirates have the potential to be better than we are right now,” Benji shrugged. “I believe that we'll pull it together again, Rob. Simple as that.”

  And in that moment, Rob suddenly realized who the captain of the team should be. It wasn't him, that was for sure. And it wasn't Dmitri, either, although Dmitri was the best player.

  No, the captain of the team should be someone who was willing to rise above all the bickering they'd been doing. Someone who wanted to see the team working as a unit again, like they had the year before. Someone who had worked hard right from the start to keep the team together.

  That someone, Rob knew, was Benji. He made up his mind, right then and there, to do what he could to make his friend's belief come true.

  That night, when Rob got home from the game, he found the telephone directory and looked up two numbers. He took a deep breath and dialed the first number.

  “Don't hang up, just listen to what I have to say,” he said when the person he was trying to reach answered.

  When he finished that conversation, he hung up and dialed the second number. That call lasted much longer and was much more exhausting but just as satisfying as the first had been.

  There, he thought as he put the phone back in the cradle. Now let's see what happens next!

  10

  Rob could hardly wait for soccer practice the next afternoon. But when the time came for him to do what he wanted to do, he became very nervous.

  What if this doesn't work? he thought.

  Then he caught the eye of one of his teammates. The boy smiled at him and gave him the thumbs-up. It was just the encouragement he needed.

  As usual, Coach Stan had Rob lead the team in three laps around the field and then had them do jumping jacks, push-ups, and leg lifts. When they were through, he called for Rob to set up a passing drill.

  “Um, Coach Stan? Before we begin there's something I need to do,” Rob said. He stood up in front of the rest of the team.

  “Yes, Lasher, what is it?” the coach prodded.

  “I need to resign as captain.”

  A ripple of surprise and confusion spread through the players. Coach Stan looked confused, too.

  “What's this all about, Lasher?” he demanded. “You're not quitting the team, are you?”

  “Oh, no sir!” Rob said hurriedly. “It's just that there's someone more qualified for the job.”

  “No kidding,” Rob heard Scott mutter. He also heard Dmitri shush his friend.

  Then Dmitri got to his feet. “I agree with Rob,” the dark-haired boy said. “There is someone who'd make a much better captain than him.”

  Scott gave a cheer. “And we know who that is, don't we, D-man?”

  Dmitri frowned. “Yeah, but it's not me, either, Scott.”

  “Wha —?”

  Rob wished he had a camera to capture the look on Scott's face. “The guy we're talking about,” he said, “is Benji.”

  Now it was Benji's turn to look surprised and confused. “Who, me? Why?”

  “Because you're the only kid on this team who bothered to do anything to keep us together,” Dmitri told him. “Signs, newspaper ads, calling the soccer league — you got the ball rolling that landed at Coach Stan's feet. He wouldn't be here if it wasn't for you, Benji. None of us would!”

  “Not only that,” Rob added, “but when we all started fighting and messing up as a team, you worked really hard to make us start working together again.” Rob looked from face to face. “I may have helped save the coach's life and gotten my picture in the paper” — he fixed his gaze on his friend again — “but Benji, you're the real hero on this team! You're the one who's got my vote for captain.”

  “I second that!” Dmitri said.

  “Third!” cried Kirk. And one by one, the other players added their voices. Benji was voted captain of the Pirates in a landslide.

  Coach Stan scratched his head. “Okay, well, now that that's settled, how about we play some soccer?”

  “Sure, coach,” Benji said, “but now that I'm captain I'd like to make a couple of suggestions.”

  The coach nodded for him to continue.

  “Right,” Benji said. “First, we need to do more drills that help us perfect our basic skills. Then we need to come up with some really solid plays. I've been going on an awesome website that has some cool stuff I know we can do! If you want, I can print them out for you to see. And if you like them, we can work on them during practices until we've got them down cold.”

  “Okay,” Coach Stan said. “Let's do it! Oh, and Benji, I'll take the address of that web-site. Maybe it'll help me make some sense of this game
!”

  “Hands in the middle, Pirates!” Benji cried, putting his arm out straight. The other players jumped to their feet and put their hands on top of his. Coach Stan put his in, too.

  “Go, Pirates, fight!” Benji shouted.

  “Just not with each other,” Rob added with a smile.

  The next week's practices were the best they'd had since Coach Brennan's heart attack. Benji showed them a few of the plays he'd found, and together they worked on them until they could do them in their sleep. When they suited up for their second game of the season, this time against the Black Hawks, they were all pumped and ready for action.

  As Rob jogged onto the field, he glanced over to the stands. His mother had said she'd videotape the game so she could send it to his father. He spotted her high in the bleachers, camera in hand, and waved.

  Then he saw someone else. His jaw dropped.

  “Benji! Look! It's Coach Brennan!”

  The boys swarmed around their old coach and peppered him with questions. At last, Coach Brennan laughed and shooed them onto the field. “You're going to miss the start of the game!” he said. His voice wasn't quite as booming as it had once been, but his grin was just as wide.

  “Come on, guys, let's win it for Coach Brennan!” Benji roared. “And for Coach Stan, too!”

  They hustled to their positions. Their side had won the toss so Dmitri readied the ball. As he waited for the referee's whistle, he caught Rob's eye and gave a slight nod. Then he did the same to Raul.

  Rob's heart started pounding. Those nods were the signal for them to do one of their new plays! He crouched low and prepared for what was coming.

  The whistle blasted. Raul charged toward Dmitri, looking for all the world as if he were to receive the kick-off pass.

  Rob, meanwhile, edged sideways until he was close to Joey at the center of midfield.

  “Here we go,” Joey murmured.

  Boom!

  Dmitri kicked the ball hard — not sideways toward Raul, however, but behind him, toward Joey and Rob!

  The Hawks defense was thrown off guard, just as the Pirates hoped they would be. While a few of them followed the ball, Raul cut back to the sideline. Joey, meanwhile, dribbled forward and dropped the ball, leaving it behind him for Rob to pick up.

  Rob dragged the ball sideways with his left foot until he was closer to the right sideline.

  “Hey! That kid's got it! Who's covering him?” a Hawk screamed.

  At that same moment, Rob blasted a kick straight up to Raul. Raul caught it on the fly and tore up the field with the ball.

  Dmitri, Joey, and Scott raced downfield as well. It was a risky move, including Joey in the charge, because it left a hole in the defense.

  The risk paid off, however. Joey dodged through all but one defender and planted himself near the front of the goal. Then he turned toward Raul, who at the same time was lofting the ball high in the air.

  Rob held his breath. Was Raul's kick accurate?

  It was! Joey, the best header they had on the team, leaped. The ball met his forehead and ricocheted toward the net.

  The goalkeeper jumped, his arms outstretched.

  Clang!

  Rob and the rest of the Pirates groaned.

  The ball had struck the crossbar.

  Then suddenly — “YES!”

  Dmitri was there fielding the rebound! The goalkeeper couldn't recover in time! The ball bounced off Dmitri's chest and, amazingly, dribbled into the goal just as the goalie made a desperate dive to try to keep it out.

  “Whoo-hoo!” Benji cried. “It worked!” He pumped his fist and jabbed the air with a single finger.

  Dmitri, Joey, and Raul hugged one another and then, still smiling, hurried back to their positions.

  “We're going to win this one, big time,” Benji predicted.

  That prediction came true. By the end of the game, the Pirates had chalked up four goals. The Hawks had put in only one. Coach Stan was bubbling with the excitement, saying over and over how pleased he was to be part of such a terrific team.

  “And to think, I only volunteered for this position to drum up business for my shop! Who knew being a coach could be so rewarding?”

  After the game, Rob found Coach Brennan. “It sure was good of you to come,” he said.

  “I hope to make a few more,” the coach said. “Oh, by the way, my wife wondered if you'd sign something for her?” He reached into a bag at his side and pulled out a clipping of Rob's newspaper article. “She wants to put it in her scrapbook. Do you mind?”

  “Heck, no,” Rob responded. He took the pen Coach Brennan offered and signed his name in a corner. “That okay?”

  “Just right.” The coach tucked the article away and then said, “So, what did you think of Ms. Enid Carmichael? She's something, isn't she?”

  “You know her?”

  The coach chuckled. “She's family. My wife's sister, actually. When Mrs. Brennan told her what you had done —”

  “Hold on!” Rob interrupted, his eyes wide. “You mean the reporter heard about me through your wife? It all makes sense now!”

  Then Rob started laughing and added, “I guess I could have just called you to get her number instead of looking in the phone book.”

  “Her number? Why'd you need it?”

  Rob scanned the crowd and then pointed. “I thought she might like to have a follow-up story to the one she wrote about me!”

  The coach squinted. “Is that Enid? Who's that she talking to?”

  Rob grinned. “She's interviewing the real hero of the Pirates — Benji!”

  Coach Brennan gave a whistle. “I don't envy him. That woman can dig deeper than a treasure seeker after a golden statue!”

  “You don't have to tell me that, coach,” Rob said. “I've been there, remember?” He gazed at Benji and grinned again. “And if I have my way, I'll never be there again!”

  The coach tapped his chest and smiled, too. “Yeah, there's one thing I'd rather not do again either.” Then he gave Rob a gentle punch in the arm. “But if I ever do, I sure hope you or someone like you will be there to help. And in case I haven't said it before, Rob…”

  Rob looked at the coach then.

  “… thank you for being a hero that day.”

  The two looked at each other for a long moment. Then Rob gave a half shrug.

  “You're welcome, sir,” he said simply.

  THE #1 SPORTS SERIES FOR KIDS

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  SOCCER HERO

  Rob Lasher saves a life—but ruins his own!

  Rob Lasher is just an ordinary soccer player, good at the game, but not great. Then one afternoon, he saves his coach's life in front of all his teammates. Suddenly, he's the team's hero, and when the squad manages to find a replacement coach, he's back on the field with his teammates again. So why isn't Rob happy?

  This latest installment in Matt Christopher's bestselling series combines all the soccer action and mystery his fans crave.

  Matt Christopher is the name young readers turn to when they're looking for fast-paced, action-packed sports novels. For more exciting soccer novels, check out:

  For a listing of all the Matt Christopher titles, see the last pages of this book.

  * Previously published as Crackerjack Halfback

  ** Previously published as Pressure Play

  *** Previously published as Baseball Pals