Todd Goes for the Goal

by Stuart A. P. Murray

  About this Book

  “Coach Wants Me on Varsity?”

  Todd can’t believe it when he gets a chance to play for the Highfield High varsity soccer team. As a freshman, he will have to prove to the older players that he deserves his spot. But he hates how the bullies on the team cheat to win games. When Todd’s family moves to a new town, he must confront these bullies on the field. Even worse, he must score against his best friend, Will, the best goalie in the state. Can Todd lead his new team to victory?

  About the Author

  Stuart A.P. Murray, a native of Scotland but raised in New Jersey, has written more than forty books, including a soccer instructional for young players. He played college and semi-pro soccer and has coached youth, high school, and college teams.

  Contents

  Cover

  About this Book

  Title Page

  Chapter 1: “Dream on, Pelé”

  Chapter 2: The Rookie

  Chapter 3: Ready for Varsity?

  Chapter 4: The Enemy

  Chapter 5: Leaving Highfield

  Chapter 6: Melanie

  Chapter 7: The Rockets

  Chapter 8: “The Ball Is Your Friend”

  Chapter 9: A Best Friend in Goal

  Chapter 10: Shoot-out

  Note to Our Readers

  About the Author

  Copyright

  More Books from Enslow

  Chapter One

  “Dream on, Pelé”

  “Coach wants me on varsity?”

  Todd Benson couldn’t believe what his friend had just told him.

  “That’s right, dude,” said Will Weatherly as the two of them walked down Elm Street, each carrying a soccer ball. “Coach said to tell you, be at practice tomorrow.”

  Will grinned and punched Todd in the shoulder. Will was a hefty six-foot-two junior and Todd a five-ten skinny freshman. So Todd felt that punch. It didn’t matter, of course, because Will was his best friend. That was why Coach Jaynes had Will deliver the message to Todd. Will was also the team leader.

  Todd and Will both loved soccer and played whenever they could—like they were going to now, on a sunny Saturday afternoon in early October. Even though they were in the middle of their high school season, they were heading to the soccer field to kick the ball and work out on their own. For one thing, Will was trying to lose weight. He wanted to get in shape, and playing goalie didn’t give him much chance to run.

  As they walked, Will said Coach Jaynes had arranged for Todd to change teams, junior varsity to varsity. Todd had never expected that.

  “Why wouldn’t he want you on the squad?” Will asked. “We aren’t scoring enough, and you’re on fire! How many you got already?”

  Todd shrugged. He had nine goals on the jayvee team.

  “But,” Todd said, “it’s not exactly like playing striker on varsity.”

  “Gadzooks!” Will exclaimed—he liked using wacky phrases. “Look how you score against the varsity when we scrimmage you jayvees!”

  “Yeah, but—”

  “At least you score when I’m not in goal!” Will grinned, meaning Todd sometimes scored against the backup varsity goalie.

  “Yeah, well you’re just lucky is all.” Todd gave Will a shove and shouted, “Let’s go, slowpoke!” And he took off, running, leaving Will behind.

  “Hey,” Will called out, “who are you trying to impress?”

  Soon they were at the Highfield High School soccer field, next to the football stadium. Todd was so excited to move up to varsity that he started doing wind sprints. Will came alongside, puffing.

  “Ye gods! Slow down or you’ll pull a muscle.” Will started to stretch. “Gotta warm up first.”

  Will was right, as usual. Todd admired Will, who was almost three years older. He was not only a great athlete but also a top student, especially in English and literature. That was where he got those “gadzooks” and “forsooths,” another favorite of his.

  Todd would have to keep his cool going up to the varsity team. The training was a lot more serious than on jayvee. He’d have to be ready, and a pulled muscle now wouldn’t help.

  After stretching, the two of them trotted around the field, passing a ball back and forth. Will wanted to get in shape so that as a senior next year, he’d be at his very best. He hoped to impress college scouts and earn a scholarship. He had a single mom, and there wasn’t much money to pay for college. Even this year, Will hoped Highfield would do well at the state level so that he’d be noticed. Although he was only a junior, Todd was sure that Will would impress the scouts.

  They stopped at one of the goals, where Todd began crossing the ball, and Will jumped to catch it. Then Todd took shots. Will rolled the ball out to him, and Todd hit it first time. Very little got past Will, though—at least on the ground.

  Being a bit overweight, Will sometimes had trouble getting up to high balls. But his skill and strength made up for his poor jumping ability. He could throw and drop-kick the ball more than half field, and there was nobody braver when it came to diving into a crowd to get the ball.

  Todd had good skills of his own. He could put the ball wherever he wanted to on goal. Normal shots didn’t get by Will. But when Todd lofted it far into the opposite corner, Will couldn’t always jump up to save it. When Will did get that high ball, it was always a great play.

  Then Todd would tease him with, “Not next time, Lucky.”

  “Dream on, Pelé,” Will would answer.

  Todd noticed a few girls carrying tennis rackets passing by the field. He recognized Melanie Weatherly, her blond ponytail bobbing, and that beautiful smile—a smile surprisingly aimed at him just then! She even waved.

  Todd’s heart leaped. He started to wave back, but then the ball thumped him in the stomach, and he gasped.

  “Pay attention, Pelé!” Will laughed.

  Todd ripped back a shot, harder than he’d ever hit a ball before. Will took it full on his chest, falling backward as the ball bounced over him and into the goal.

  “Odds bodkins!” Will groaned.

  “Oh!” Todd gasped. “Sorry, man, you okay?”

  Will sat up, half grinning, half scowling. The girls were clapping and laughing, but Todd was too shy to look that way now. Melanie was Will’s cousin, a freshman like Todd, and the best-looking girl in school.

  “Aha!” Will said, waving to them from where he sat. “Now I see who you’re trying to impress—cousin Melanie.”

  “Come on, let’s run.” Todd was blushing as Will chuckled and got to his feet.

  “Hey, hotshot,” someone called out, “trying to get this rookie ready for the big show?”

  Just then, two of Highfield’s popular guys, juniors Rudy Swart and Gates Cooper, ran over to the field. That was Rudy with the wisecrack. Both of them were starters on the varsity. Rudy was a muscular defender, built like a tank, stocky and powerful. He had close-cropped dark hair, and his shorts hung below his knees. Gates was tall, blond, and good-looking, hair combed perfectly. He was slick, always with a smirk on his face, as if he could make fun of somebody just by looking at him.

  “Greetings, bunglers,” Will answered. “My man Todd’s all ready to go. Better hold on to your starting spot, Gates, or you’ll be riding the pine.”

  Gates sneered at that comment, but Todd thought there was something else in his look. Maybe he wasn’t so sure of his starting spot with Todd moving up to varsity.

  “Hey,” Will called out, “let’s go two on two.”

  Rudy stopped, but Gates called across the field to the girls, who were almost gone.

  “Hey, Mel! Wait up!” Then to Rudy, “Come on, time’s a waistin’.”

  They trotted off. Todd watched as th
ey confidently joked and laughed with Melanie and her friends while they all walked away. He wished he could be that confident, especially with Melanie. But it was tough to outdo a good-looking junior like Gates when you were just a freshman.

  Thump! The ball hit him on the shoulder.

  “They’re chumps,” Will said. “Don’t worry. Mel will never go for Gates. And, hey, you’re on varsity now—got newfound status.”

  On varsity. Right. Highfield High varsity boys soccer. Wow. One of the best teams in the state. Todd took a deep breath. He saw Gates put an arm around Melanie, who shook it off.

  That was good to see.

  Todd was flying high when he got home. He was eager to tell his parents that Coach Jaynes was giving him a tryout on varsity. He hurried up the walk to the kitchen door. The Benson house was like a lot of others in Highfield. It was a one-family, built in the 1950s, with a nice lawn and flower gardens.

  Todd’s parents were experts with flowers because his mother’s family owned greenhouses down in Ross Corners, a town about twenty miles away. There, they grew flowers to sell to florists all across the country. Todd’s grandparents were retiring from the business, and his parents had taken it over.

  Mrs. Benson was the one who knew about plants, while Mr. Benson ran the business side of the operation. His father’s real specialty was soccer—at least until he hurt his knee badly in a semipro game a few years ago. He’d taught Todd how to play, especially how to dribble and shoot. Mr. Benson was excited to hear the news.

  “Well, son, just don’t let it go to your head,” Mr. Benson said, as they made their way to the dinner table. “And remember, some of those guys are much bigger than you, so you have to play smarter than them.”

  The talk at the table was of soccer, as it often was in the Benson house. Even his ten-year-old sister, Betsy, had advice for Todd. But it wasn’t about soccer. It was something about how to impress the girls, especially Melanie. Todd didn’t listen to her.

  Chapter Two

  The Rookie

  Todd and Will headed for the varsity soccer field on Monday afternoon. They both lived in town, near the high school. It was a beautiful fall day. Todd couldn’t have felt better as they walked along under maple trees that shaded the sidewalk. The leaves were already turning gold and orange.

  They passed the tennis courts, where the girls’ team was working out. There was Melanie, hitting against the wall. She was strong, ripping the ball backhand and forehand. Her hair twisted in a tight braid flapped against her back every time she swung. She was as good an athlete as she was pretty.

  “Greetings, cuz!” Will called out to his cousin, and she turned to wave.

  “Congrats, Todd,” she said, clenching the racket above her head. “Heard you’re on varsity!”

  Todd wasn’t ready with an answer. He just grinned sheepishly.

  “Gonna try to stay on the team.”

  His voice broke a bit, and he waved—forgetting he held his soccer shoes. One clunked him on the nose.

  Melanie still smiled as they went past.

  Will said, “The damsel gazes upon you fondly, my man.”

  Todd didn’t answer, but he hoped Will was right. Now he started feeling nervous about his first varsity practice. Was he good enough?

  Todd and Will got to the field early, before practice began. They wanted to do their regular routine: Todd shooting and Will saving just about everything.

  “Yo, Cooper, let’s show the rookie a few things.”

  That was Rudy, striding over, with Gates tagging along. Gates, the ladies man, had that stupid grin on his face, as usual.

  “What you gonna show him, chump?” Will said to Gates, tossing the ball back to Todd. “How to score? He knows that already.”

  “Just some survival moves goalies don’t have to worry about,” Rudy grinned, glancing at Gates.

  “Hey, rookie,” Gates said to Todd, “you know how to go down to get a free kick?”

  “Go down?” Todd asked, surprised. “I try to stay on my feet.”

  First, Gates pushed the ball ahead. Rudy took a defensive stance, and Gates started to dribble past him. Rudy stuck a foot in and got the ball. It was clean, but Gates went down, as if he had been tripped.

  “Ref! Ref!” Gates laughed from where he lay on the ground. He raised one hand to an imaginary referee. “Foul! Red card!”

  “Pretty slick,” Will said, as Rudy and Gates laughed. “You dudes are slick cheaters.”

  “Whoa, man,” Gates objected. “It’s survival. They do it, so we gotta do it.”

  “Yeah,” Rudy added angrily. “Remember the Brazil game, when they got that free kick ’cause a guy took a dive?”

  Todd remembered a U.S. men’s national team game against Brazil in an important tournament. A Brazilian player went down just the same way. At first, it looked like he’d been tripped. But the replay showed he had actually tripped himself on purpose.

  “Show the rookie again, Cooper,” Rudy said, stepping back as Gates got up.

  Gates then showed how he did it. As he dribbled, he brought his back foot forward to hit the heel of his front foot. If a defender was close, it would look like a foul.

  Will said, “It’s cheating.”

  “Call it what you want,” Rudy said. “But that free kick resulted in a goal against the U.S.”

  “How do you learn that stuff?” Todd asked.

  “Practice,” Will answered for them. “They watch the pro games on TV and study the flopper replays.”

  Gates booted the ball away and turned to Todd.

  “Rookie, you want to be on varsity, you best get with the program,” Gates said. “Coach Jaynes wants us to know how to survive against the enemy.”

  “Yeah, it’s a hard world out there,” Will grumbled and scoffed.

  “You got game, man?” Rudy said to Todd. “If not, you don’t belong on the Highfield varsity.”

  “Maybe I do, or—” Todd glanced at Will, who stretched his legs and turned away from them.

  “Coach Jaynes,” Gates said, “don’t take maybe for an answer.”

  Todd knew what he meant. Highfield High was the best. It was expected to challenge for the state championship again this year. Jaynes had won it three times in the past ten years.

  By now, most of the team was on the field, warming up or kicking balls around.

  “Coach wants only great results on the field,” Rudy said.

  “You got that right!” Will cut in. “That’s why Benson’s on the squad. Coach wants somebody who can score goals.”

  Gates flushed at that comment. Gates was the Highfield starting striker. He was supposed to score. He was the star, the pretty-boy junior all the girls admired. Maybe even Melanie.

  “Come on, man,” Rudy said to Todd. “Give it a try.”

  “I don’t dive,” Todd said, sorry he had to have trouble with these guys before the first practice. “I obey the rules—”

  “Obey!” Gates laughed. “Okay, so you’re Mr. Obedient! Obeey Obedient.”

  Todd could have said it was cheating to fake a foul. The ref could give a player a warning—a yellow card—if the player dived. Two warnings would earn a red card, and the player would be kicked out of the game. But Todd didn’t say anything. They knew the rules well enough.

  “Okay, Obeey,” Rudy kicked a ball to Todd and set up like a defender. “Show me what you got.”

  “Leave him in the dust, Todd,” Will said.

  “Get by me, Obeey.” Rudy crouched low, ready to stop Todd’s dribble.

  Rudy was big, wide, and strong. His muscular legs looked like tree trunks, and his broad shoulders filled out his T-shirt. Todd took a breath and then pulled the ball back to get some dribbling room.

  “Give him a lesson,” Gates said.

  Todd left the ball between them, tempting Rudy.

  Will said, “Go get it from him, chump.”

  As Todd expected, Rudy stepped forward, big steps—right foot first, left foot, right foot …r />
  Todd faked toward Rudy’s left. Rudy’s left foot came out. Todd faked again, this time to Rudy’s right. Rudy thought this was the move. Now all his weight was on his left foot as he threw his right foot out to block the ball.

  Instead, the ball was already past him, skipping over his left foot, which was planted and couldn’t move. In the same instant, Todd neatly jumped over that foot and past him.

  Will hooted. Rudy was frustrated and turned for another challenge. Todd faked him out again, and Rudy was caught flat-footed. The third time, Todd nutmegged him—played the ball between his legs, making Rudy look helpless. Just then, the coach blew the whistle for the start of practice. Todd realized the whole team and the coach had seen him beat Rudy. And Rudy was the varsity’s best defender.

  “Try and get away with that in the scrimmage, Obeey,” Gates said, glancing at Rudy, who looked annoyed.

  Jaynes called them all in. Todd’s first varsity practice was starting. Could he keep up?

  Chapter Three

  Ready for Varsity?

  “Okay, team,” Coach Jaynes called out as the varsity players trotted over and sat down in front of him. “Benson here’s gonna get his chance, and we’ll see if he’s good enough.”

  “Hey, Obeey,” Rudy called over. “Ain’t jayvee no more.”

  Todd looked at Jaynes, with his black mustache and heavy eyebrows. Short and thickset, he wore a baseball hat and a jet-black training suit with white stripes up the side. The coach grinned at Rudy’s comment.

  “That’s right, Benson.” He didn’t bother to look at Todd. “Got to up your game here. Now, five laps with sprints! Rudy, take them around.”

  The players jumped to their feet and formed two single-file lines behind Rudy and Gates. They ran around the field at a good pace. Will was next to Todd, near the end of the lines.

  “So that’s it?” Todd asked him quietly.

  “Forsooth, dude,” Will said. He knew what Todd meant. “That’s all the welcome you’ll get from Coach. Least till you prove yourself.”