Red vs Blue

by James Tedesco

  We’re playing the Moss Vale Dragons. We haven’t had time to recruit extra players, so Dad has already called their coach and asked if we can borrow some of their reserves to make a full team. Unlike Coach Sharpe from Camden Red, the Moss Vale coach is very kind and agrees to lend us five players, which gives us a full team with no reserves.

  It’s five minutes before kick-off and we are getting ready in the visitors’ dressing shed. The sight of the boys in new colours takes a bit of getting used to. We’ve gone from the yellow and blue of the Meerkats to the red, white and blue of the Rams. Now I’m not the only Meerkat who’s turned into a Ram.

  ‘Tawera, you good to go at centre?’ asks Dad. Tawera is in the zone. He gives Dad a serious nod and goes back to taping his boots. ‘Patty, I need you moving fast – keep the Dragons on their toes.’

  ‘No problem, Coach,’ he replies, putting product in his hair and checking himself out in the mirror.

  ‘To our players from the Dragons, thanks for helping out,’ says Dad. It’s a bit weird having players from another club in our team, but with only eight team members, we’ll take what we can get. They mumble something about not having a choice and look about as excited as ice cubes on a rocket to the sun.

  The boys and I line up near the door of the shed, our plastic studs click-clacking on the tiles, ready to run out. We’ve all got our mouthguards in and we’re dead quiet, concentrating on Dad’s individual instructions earlier on. Patty’s still at the mirror.

  ‘One more thing,’ says Dad from the back of the shed, his voice echoing off the walls. We all turn to face him. ‘Remember to have fun.’ He smiles. ‘You’ve got this.’

  The referee blows his whistle and we run to the centre of the field and shake hands with the opposition players. The Dragons players on loan to us laugh as they shake their usual teammates’ hands. This might be funny to them, but the rest of us are taking this game very seriously. When the referee flips the coin, I call heads and win the toss. Dragons will kick to us.

  ‘You ready?’ I say to my team as we all take position.

  ‘Let’s do this!’ yells Gerard.

  screams Ben.

  The ball is sent deep downfield from the kick-off and falls into the hands of Dexter at wing. He runs it up bravely, the first time in months that he’s had the opposition closing in on him. He looks to pass it.

  ‘Hold it!’ I tell him, and he does.

  Two Dragons players tackle him but he loses the ball as he falls to the ground. Another Dragons player, close behind, scoops up the loose ball and runs unmarked all the way to the tryline and scores.

  ‘Don’t worry, mate,’ I say to Dexter, running over to him. Dexter has his head down. He’s obviously disappointed with his mistake.

  ‘Sorry, boys,’ he says, but the others have their heads down as well. This isn’t the start any of us wanted. The Dragons’ kicker misses the conversion and after two minutes, we’re already trailing 4–0. As we walk back to kick off to them, I pull Gerard, our kicker, over to the side.

  ‘We need to lift the team,’ I say. ‘Let’s put on a bit of a show – you and me.’

  ‘Short ball?’ He smiles. ‘Like the good old days?’ He makes it sound like we’re a couple of grandpas.

  ‘Short ball.’ I smile back through my mouthguard. ‘Good old days.’

  Gerard gives me a wink and takes five steps backwards, indicating that this will be a long kick, but I know better. As he runs towards the ball, he slows his last two steps and kicks the ball short instead. The Dragons players up front are caught off guard as I chase the ball and watch it carefully sail towards the 40-metre line. When the ball starts to fall and is within reach, I launch myself into the air and catch it on the full. Instantaneously, my Spidey senses kick in and I can see the game of join-the-dots play out in my head. It’s time to do my thing.

  - Step left and draw in their second rower / Step right.

  Dot joined.

  - Keep running and dummy to Patty on the left / Pass to Gerard supporting on the right instead.

  Dot joined.

  - Call for the ball and wrap Gerard / Catch it safely and draw in their centre.

  Dot joined.

  - Make sure Gerard is running at the gap their centre has created / Fire the ball back to Gerard.

  Dot joined.

  - Gerard veers left from the defenders coming across from the right / He scores under the post.

  Mission accomplished!

  Gerard’s first try of the season! The team runs in to congratulate us. Parents watching from inside their cars honk their horns. Even the crowd supporting the Dragons applauds our quick try.

  ‘That was pretty amazing,’ says one of the Dragons players on loan to us. From the sideline, Dad is dancing in his tracksuit and gumboots to the ‘Macarena’ – without any music.

  ‘You want to kick?’ I ask Gerard. He was always our usual kicker for the Meerkats, but my conversions have been pretty good this year.

  ‘Too rusty,’ he replies. ‘You do it.’

  I line up the ball, and it’s an easy kick. We now have a 6–4 lead.

  Unfortunately, it’s the only time in the game when we are in front. From that point, the Dragons mark Gerard and me heavily, making it hard to run. By halftime, our players are dead on their feet, but they push through bravely. In the end, our defence has more holes in it than a box of cinnamon donuts. We are flogged 58 points to six.

  ‘Don’t worry about it, boys,’ says Dad as we walk from the field. ‘It was always going to be hard starting later in the season.’

  I know Dad is just trying to be encouraging but I hate getting our butt kicked.

  ‘They beat us by 52 points, Dad!’ I say, exasperated. ‘It was a cricket score!’

  Dad doesn’t answer. Instead, he stands quietly next to the washing basket he’s brought from home to collect the dirty jerseys in.

  ‘Sorry, Coach. Sorry, Teddy,’ mumble some of the boys as they walk past dejectedly, each tossing their shirt on the pile. The excitement of starting a new season with the Rams has already rubbed off after our huge loss.

  ‘Once we improve our fitness, the rest will fall into place,’ Dad says to me in his soft voice. This usually comes out when he’s been thinking seriously about something.

  ‘There’s something else our team needs,’ I say.

  ‘What is it?’ he asks.

  ‘Players,’ I say. ‘We need to go on a player hunt.’

  Kick-offs

  Pick your kicking target. Keep your head down and kick through the ball. Don’t rush. Have a signal for the other players in your team to make sure they stay onside.

  CHAPTER 4

  DO YOU EVEN HAVE PANTS ON?

  There’s a rule in our house after school – business before pleasure. That means homework and chores need to be finished before we can watch TV, play on devices, go outside or go to footy training.

  This afternoon is no different. I smash through my Maths and then put the finishing touches on my Design and Technology assignment. Lewis and I have teamed up to create a new stud design for a pair of footy boots.

  I’ve just finished the sketches on my iPad so I can show Lewis tomorrow. If our design is good enough, Miss Warren will let us enter it into the 3D design software and print it on the 3D printer.

  As I’m closing down the sketch app and opening up another program, I allow myself to daydream and pretend that Nike will love the design so much, they’ll decide to start making our boots.

  All the superstars in the NRL will be wearing them and will tell everyone during the fulltime interviews how fast they make them run. Nike will give Lewis and me unlimited shoes for life and –

  ‘Is there a reason you have Skype open?’ asks Mum, walking into my bedroom. Her voice startles me.

  ‘Yes, Mum, the boys are about to log on.’

  ‘Which boys?’

  ‘Camden Blue,’ I explain. ‘We’re coming up with a plan to recruit more players. Don’t worry, I’ve f
inished my homework.’

  Mum smiles, ruffles my hair, freshly cut by Julie’s Hair and Beauty. ‘You and your footy,’ she says, smiling. ‘You must have been born with a football in your hands.’

  I think about that for a minute and realise she’s joking. That would be kind of weird – a crying and slimy baby with a footy under its arm.

  A ringing noise comes from the iPad. A little Skype window opens and Gerard appears. ‘Teddy!’ he says. His voice is echoing like he’s in a hallway or something.

  ‘Where are you?’ I say. All I can see behind him is white and a spray can of something. It’s certainly not his bedroom. If it was, the wall would be covered in BMX posters.

  ‘I’m in the bathroom,’ he says. ‘The wi-fi is good in here.’

  Now I realise he must be sitting on the toilet. ‘Dude! Gross!’ I say. ‘Do you even have pants on?’ But before he can answer, Ben logs on. Then Dexter. Then Tobias. Then Luke. After a couple of minutes, all eight members of Camden Blue are on the Skype call.

  ‘Thanks for coming to the meeting, fellas,’ I say. They all go to say something but I can’t understand them. It sounds like a swarm of bees when everyone talks at once.

  ‘Put yourselves on mute, please,’ I say. ‘When it’s your turn to talk, then you can unmute.’ A little message pops up on my screen from Ben.

  it says.

  ‘You’re all here because we need more players. Our old Meerkats crew aren’t coming back, so we need some new blood.’

  Tobias signals that he wants to speak. He unmutes himself.

  ‘Don’t we need players? Why would we need blood?’ he asks.

  ‘We don’t really need blood – it’s just a figure of speech,’ I say.

  ‘A what?’ says Tobias.

  I decide to mute him myself.

  ‘Guys, we need ideas,’ I tell them.

  ‘Where can we get some new players?’

  I scan the screen and I can see that everyone is deep in thought. Some are scratching their heads, some are looking down at the ground, searching for answers. Finally, Luke unmutes himself.

  ‘We need to visit places where people have the skills we’re looking for,’ he says.

  ‘Like where?’ I ask.

  ‘Well, if we want fast players, we should go to the Little Athletics track on Friday night and see who’s running,’ he says. ‘Whoever wins the sprints is the person we want.’

  ‘Yes! Great idea, Luke,’ I say. ‘Any other ideas?’ I ask.

  ‘Some tall players would be good,’ says Ben. ‘We could visit the basketball courts too.’

  ‘Let’s do that!’ I say excitedly. I’m surprised at all the good ideas so far. The boys are getting excited as well.

  ‘We need some front rowers,’ says Tawera. ‘Really big ones!’ he adds.

  ‘Will you find them at the gym?’ I ask.

  ‘Nah – at KFC!’ he says. Everyone cracks up. But then we see from the look on his face that Tawera’s not joking.

  Once they’ve given me their ideas, we decide to divide the team into pairs and do a recruitment drive on the weekend. We have a bye this round, so there’s no game of footy anyway. The roster looks like this:

  Teddy and Luke:

  Camden Little Athletics

  Ben and Gerard:

  Camden Valley Basketball Club

  Tawera and Dexter:

  KFC Campbelltown

  Patty and Tobias:

  Narellan Vale Touch Football Club

  Dexter has offered to pick up a bundle of registration forms from the Camden Rams Rugby League Club. Tobias is writing a script for us to speak from. He’s going to email it out tomorrow. It’s important that we’re all saying the same thing, he reckons. I’m going to ask Julie’s Hair and Beauty for some sample bags to hand out. It’s better than nothing.

  The Skype meeting is nearly finished. Everyone knows their jobs and what type of players they’re looking for. The goal is to have a full run-on team by the following weekend.

  ‘Good luck, everyone,’ I say before we log off for the night. ‘Hopefully we’ll have some new players at training next Tuesday.’

  From out of nowhere, everyone erupts in laughter.

  I look at them in confusion. What did I say? Bringing new players to training isn’t that funny. In fact, it’s not funny at all. So why is Gerard laughing his head off, bouncing up and down on the toilet?

  That’s when I realise they’re not laughing at me – they’re cracking up at something in the background of my screen. I spin around and see my brother Matt wearing his big red headphones and a bath towel around his waist. He’s fresh out of the shower, dancing and singing into Mum’s hairbrush. He has no idea that I’m on a Skype call. He thinks he’s Justin Bieber singing to the girls. Some of the team mute themselves because they’re laughing so hard. Matt continues to shake his butt and thrust his hips down the hallway, totally unaware of the audience watching his cool moves. Suddenly, the sound of laughter is cut short by a loud

  Gerard has dropped his device, and for a split second, his window turns black before the bathroom reappears with the camera pointed up at the ceiling. And that’s when we see it. My question about whether Gerard has any pants on is answered.

  Stay positive

  You will always face obstacles. Challenging situations are opportunities to grow. Stay positive and calm and you’ll be okay.

  CHAPTER 5

  BOOTS AND ALL

  The gang at school are buzzing.

  Last night’s Skype call boosted everyone’s mood. The Camden Blue players who go to St Gregory’s are all talking about this week’s recruitment drive. The players who go to other schools are messaging us back and forth. Luke answers a text message from Tobias, puts his phone away and walks over to where I’m having lunch.

  ‘Teddy, I don’t want to sound like I’m sucking up, but you were a good leader yesterday. Just look at how pumped we are,’ he says, pointing at the crew.

  ‘Thanks.’ I smile, putting down the half-eaten slice of cold leftover pizza that Nonno made for dinner last night. It’s covered in ham, cheese, olives and his top-secret pizza sauce. ‘But remember, we’re all leaders,’ I say. ‘Doing what’s right for our team is leadership.’

  ‘Yeah, I guess you’re right.’ Luke smiles back, stuffing half a sausage and tomato sauce sandwich into his mouth. It looks pretty good, too. ‘I just hope that we can attract some gun players – I want to beat those big-noters from Camden Red.’ Little bits of bread and sausage spray out of his mouth like machine-gun bullets as he chews and speaks at the same time.

  ‘Me too,’ I say. ‘That would be the best.’

  The bell rings for the last session of the day. It’s the moment I’ve been waiting for all week. Lewis and I will finally find out if Miss Warren has chosen our Design and Technology assignment as the best in the class. If she has, we get to print our footy boots stud design on the 3D printer. As class goes in, we all sit with our project partners and watch Miss Warren hook up her laptop to display the rough sketches on the smartboard.

  ‘Congratulations, boys,’ she says to the class. ‘I was very impressed with your original and innovative ideas.’ Miss Warren is always very bright and encouraging. She can find the positive in anything.

  ‘We’ve got this, bro,’ whispers Lewis, leaning in and fist-bumping me. Lewis is big. His hands are twice the size of mine. He’s also the St Gregory’s Year 7 Maths and Science champion. I just wish he was allowed to play footy. I want to be as confident as Lewis, but as Miss Warren beams the designs up on the board, I’m not so sure ours will be her favourite.

  ‘Steven? Marley? I absolutely love this design. What did you say it was again?’ she asks Steven and Marley, who are sitting up the back.

  ‘We call it a poo claw, Miss,’ says Steven. ‘You put the dog poo bag on the plastic claw and then scoop up the poo. Your hands won’t even need to feel the warm poo through the plastic bag.’ The class giggles, but it’s actually a good idea. Miss W
arren nods appreciatively and clicks over to the next one.

  ‘Harrison and Bodie, this looks rather familiar. Can you explain how it works?’ This time the class turns to the front where Harrison and Bodie are sitting.

  ‘We call it a coathanger, Miss,’ replies Bodie. ‘You can put a shirt on it and hang it in your wardrobe.’

  Bodie turns and high-fives his partner, Harrison. They seem to be really happy with their design, even though it’s not the most original thing we’ve seen.

  ‘Indeed,’ says Miss Warren, raising her eyebrows. ‘And can you explain how it’s different from a normal coathanger?’

  ‘Good question, Miss,’ says Harrison. ‘The big difference is that ours is red, so it goes faster.’

  Miss Warren rolls her eyes, but she’s smiling. Then she moves on to the exciting part.

  ‘Well, I hope you’re all ready for our winner,’ she announces. ‘I have the design software ready for these two boys and I’ll even let them take the 3D printer home.’

  The class murmurs excitedly – no has ever been allowed to take the printer home!

  Once the class settles, Miss Warren displays the winning design. ‘Congratulations Lewis Leota and James Tedesco for your new football boot stud design!’

  ‘Whoa!’ says the class at once. Their mouths are open. They haven’t seen anything like this before. Lewis smiles proudly and puts an arm around me. He squeezes so hard I’m nearly suffocating.

  ‘What’s the name of your design?’ says Miss Warren. The class is silent, waiting for an answer. Lewis clears his throat.

  ‘We call it the Stealth Stud,’ he says matter-of-factly. Then he gets out of his chair and walks towards the smartboard. He points at the stud pattern and continues. ‘Teddy and I wanted to design studs for a footy boot that maximise speed and agility.’ The class whispers excitedly to each other. ‘The arrow-shaped blades are short enough to allow the boot to grip the grass, but won’t let the player slip over. Because the blades are shorter, it takes less time to control your step, meaning you can run faster and glide over the grass.’ Miss Warren is at the side of the classroom with her hands clasped together, smiling and bouncing from side to side.