Soccer Shootout

by Jake Maddox

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  Chapter 1

  Saving the Day

  Chapter 2

  Another Player?

  Chapter 3

  Meet the New Kid

  Chapter 4

  Tryouts

  Chapter 5

  New Position?

  Chapter 6

  Let the Games Begin

  Chapter 7

  A Little Help

  Chapter 8

  Helping Out

  Chapter 9

  Plan in Action

  Chapter 1

  SAVING THE DAY

  Berk stood along the goal line. His heart was pounding in his chest so loudly that Berk wondered if the other players could actually hear it.

  All around him, his teammates screamed for him. “Come on, Berk!” they yelled. “You can do it!”

  Parents and friends stood on the sidelines of the soccer field. They, too, were yelling and cheering.

  Berk danced back and forth on his feet, trying to stay calm. He wiggled his fingers a little to keep them loose.

  The penalty kick he was about to face would decide the state championship. Berk always loved playing goalkeeper, but he never realized that the outcome of an entire season might be in his hands.

  Berk’s team had played a strong game. Peter Stanton, Berk’s best friend, had scored the only goal for Berk’s team, the Titans. It was a beautiful, curving shot from just outside the penalty area. But then, Peter always had a great shot.

  That’s partly how Berk got to be such a great keeper. Practicing with Peter and learning how to stop his shots had helped Berk improve his game.

  Peter’s goal had given the Titans a 1–0 lead early in the second half. With about ten minutes left in the game, the Cosmos had tied the score.

  The Cosmos had a corner kick, and the player dropped the ball perfectly in front of the net. One of the Titans’ defenders missed a chance to clear it, and a Cosmos player got a direct shot on goal.

  Berk dove and stopped it, but the rebound went right to another player, who put it in the goal. Berk felt horrible, but the goal wasn’t really his fault.

  The rest of the game was close, but neither team had a great chance to score.

  When the game ended in a tie, 1–1, it meant that a shootout would decide the winner.

  Each team selected five players to hit penalty kicks against the other team’s goalkeeper. Whichever team made the most goals would win the game.

  Berk stopped the first two shots he faced, but the next two shots got past him. The first two Titans missed their shots, but the last three shooters all scored. Peter took the final shot and blasted it into the upper-right corner of the goal.

  Now the Titans were leading the shootout, 3–2, and the Cosmos had only one shot remaining. If Berk stopped it, the Titans were state champions. If not, each team would have another shooter.

  The referee approached Berk and reminded him of the rules. “Remember, you can’t move forward until the ball is kicked,” he said. Berk nodded.

  Then, the ref turned to the shooter. “You can go on my whistle,” he said. The boy nodded.

  The Cosmos shooter was one of their best forwards. He was the boy who had scored their only goal of the game. He had tried two shots against Berk earlier in the game. Both times, he had tried to bend the ball toward the right side of the net. Would he do it again?

  Berk bent at the knees. He put his hands up in the way his coach had taught him. All around him, people screamed. The noise didn’t bother Berk. In fact, he was so focused on the play that he barely noticed.

  The shooter placed the ball on the penalty-kick dot. He backed away from it, lining up his shot.

  Berk felt a bead of sweat roll down his cheek. The other boy eyed the net.

  As the two boys moved into place, the crowd fell silent. Finally, the referee’s whistle broke the silence.

  It was time.

  Both players gathered themselves for a moment.

  As the Cosmos shooter prepared to take his kick, Berk felt a surge of confidence rise up in his chest. This was it. The state title was on the line. He was ready.

  The Cosmos shooter strode toward the ball. Berk had only an instant to try to determine which way he would shoot the ball.

  Would he go right again, as he had before?

  Berk started to lean that way. Then, as the boy’s leg pulled back to take the shot, Berk could see what was happening. It looked like the boy was going to play the ball with the outside of his foot, pushing it toward Berk’s left.

  Berk timed his dive to the moment the boy made contact with the ball. Just as Berk expected, the boy pushed the ball toward Berk’s left. Berk took a quick step that way and dove low, directly toward the spot the ball was headed.

  It was a near-perfect shot. It was low and hard, heading for just inside the left goalpost.

  But Berk’s dive was right out of the goalkeeping textbook. His gloved left hand met the ball near the corner, pushing it out past the post.

  No goal!

  The Titans players leaped into the air and screamed. They rushed to the goal as Berk got back on his feet.

  Berk had made the save!

  All the players piled on him to celebrate their first state championship.

  Chapter 2

  ANOTHER PLAYER?

  Summer turned to fall, and fall turned to winter. Berk and Peter played football in the fall. Berk played basketball in the winter, and Peter played hockey. But for both boys, these other sports were just to keep in shape. Soccer was their favorite sport.

  When spring finally came and the snow began to melt, the boys began to start thinking even more about soccer.

  Springtime meant tryouts and the start of another season.

  It would be a chance for the boys to defend their state championship with the Titans.

  Berk and Peter practiced indoors as much as they could. They would go to the gym after school, and Peter would practice shooting against Berk.

  Berk couldn’t dive to make stops on the hard gym floor, but he could work on his footwork and other skills.

  One day, Berk arrived at school a little late. He strolled into his first class just before the bell rang.

  He took his seat in the row nearest the door. As always, he glanced across the room at Peter and gave him a nod.

  Peter had a strange look on his face. He seemed to want to tell Berk something. Berk furrowed his brow, then gave Peter a look that said, “What’s up?” Peter tried to whisper something, but the teacher interrupted.

  “Boys?” the teacher said. “Is there a problem?”

  “Ah, no,” Peter said. “Sorry.”

  For the rest of the period, the boys concentrated on their work.

  When the bell rang to end the class, Berk waited for Peter by the door.

  “What is it?” Berk asked. “What’s going on?”

  Peter turned to face his friend. “There’s a new kid,” Peter said.

  “What? A new kid in school?” Berk replied.

  “Yeah,” Peter said. “And I guess he’s a really good soccer player.”

  Berk thought about the comment for a minute. He wasn’t sure what to say.

  “Somebody said he was from down South, where they play all year round,”

  Berk’s face lit up. “Cool!” he said. “If he’s really good, we’ll win state again this year for sure!”

  Peter didn’t seem as happy. “Berk,” he said. “You don’t understand.”

  Berk stopped and looked back at Peter. He could tell something was wrong. Then, Berk figured it out. The new boy must be a forward.

  Since Peter was a forward, too, he was probably worried about his playing time, Berk thought.

  “Look, Pete,” Berk said. “If h
e’s a forward, there’s no way he’s as good as you are.”

  Peter shook his head. “No, Berk,” he said. “That’s not it.”

  “Then what?” Berk asked. “What can be so bad about a new kid who can play soccer?”

  “Berk,” Peter said. “The new kid is a goalkeeper.”

  Chapter 3

  MEET THE NEW KID

  Berk shrugged.

  “So what?” he said. “I’m not worried. After all, I helped us win the state championship last year. It’s not like Coach is going to replace me just because some new kid showed up.”

  Peter nodded. “Yeah, you’re right,” he said.

  Berk wasn’t nearly as confident as he was letting on.

  Deep down, he was worried about the new boy.

  All day long, other boys from his team were talking about the new kid.

  “I heard he’s six feet tall,” one boy said.

  “I heard he can boot the ball into the other team’s goal,” another said.

  Berk knew the stories were ridiculous, but they were starting to bother him.

  Finally, in sixth period, Berk got to meet the new boy.

  Berk sat down in math class.

  Just before the bell rang, the new boy walked into the room. He talked quietly with the teacher for a moment. Then he took a seat near the front of the room.

  Berk was sitting two rows back.

  The new guy was tall, yes, but he wasn’t that tall. He seemed like he was probably a pretty good athlete, though.

  When math class ended, Berk decided he should introduce himself. Berk approached the boy from behind and tapped him on the shoulder.

  “Hey, I’m Berk,” Berk said. “I hear you play soccer.”

  “Darn right,” the boy said. “I’m Ryan. I hear you guys are good.”

  Berk chuckled. “Well, we won the state title last year,” he said. “So yeah, we’re pretty good.”

  Ryan shrugged his shoulders and rolled his eyes. “We won our championship, too,” Ryan said. “And we play in a state where we take our soccer seriously.”

  Berk tried not to let the boy’s comment get to him. “I think you might be surprised at how well we can play,” he said. He let out a little laugh to try to ease any tension.

  “I guess I’ll find out at tryouts,” Ryan said. “We’ll see if any of you guys can score on me.”

  Berk paused. “Oh, so you’re a keeper?” he said, pretending to act surprised. Ryan nodded. Berk paused for a moment, then said, “Me too.”

  Ryan looked him up and down. “Hmm,” he said. “So I guess it’s you against me at tryouts. Well, it’s nice to know who the competition is.”

  “Yeah, it is,” Berk replied. Now he was trying to act tough. But deep down, the other guy’s confidence was getting to him.

  Chapter 4

  TRYOUTS

  Berk used the few weeks remaining before tryouts to practice harder than he ever had. It was early spring and the snow was nearly gone. Berk convinced Peter to go out to the soccer fields behind school to practice with him.

  They practiced close-in shots and long, curving shots. They practiced defending against corner kicks. They practiced penalty kicks and breakaways.

  Berk practiced his punting, too. He wanted to make sure he was ready.

  Finally, on the first day of tryouts, Coach Davis pulled Berk aside.

  “Hey, Berk,” the coach said. “How are you feeling about tryouts?”

  “I’m ready,” Berk said. “No worries.”

  Coach Davis smiled. “I’m sure you’ve met the new kid,” he said. “Ryan looks like a good player. But I don’t want you to worry.”

  Berk felt a huge sense of relief. The coach was telling him the job was his. But before Berk could relax too much, Coach Davis gave him a surprise. “I’m going to make sure the competition is as fair as possible,” the coach said. “May the best player win.”

  The coach patted Berk on the back and trotted away.

  “What?” Berk thought to himself. “Competition?”

  Then Berk knew the game was on. He would have to play at his best in order to keep his job as the Titans’ goalkeeper.

  It didn’t take long for the differences between Berk and Ryan to become clear during tryouts.

  As they worked on various drills, Berk was clearly better at many of the technical parts of the game.

  He made good decisions on when to come out of the goal to challenge a shooter or to pick up a loose ball. He always seemed to be in the right place at the right time.

  When shots were taken on him, Berk made solid saves and controlled the rebounds.

  Ryan was a little wilder in the goal. He took unnecessary chances, coming out of the net to challenge a player when it would have been smarter to stay back. He often found himself out of place.

  But Ryan was a better athlete than Berk. So he often covered for his own fundamental mistakes by making spectacular diving saves.

  Ryan could punt the ball much farther than Berk, but Berk’s kicks were more on target to a teammate.

  On the second-to-last day of tryouts, Coach Davis broke the Titans into two teams for a scrimmage.

  The teams were pretty evenly matched. Berk was in one goal, Ryan was in the other. Peter was on Berk’s team.

  Before the scrimmage, Peter ran up to Berk. “Don’t worry, buddy,” he said. “I’ll score on him and then you’ll have the keeper job.”

  At first, the scrimmage was going just as the drills had gone. Berk was always in the right place.

  When any shots were taken at him, Berk was ready, so the saves were pretty easy to make.

  Ryan was running all over the field. At one point, he charged a forward who had the ball in the corner. That left the whole goal wide open, so the forward lofted a pass toward Peter.

  Peter met the pass in the penalty area. He controlled the ball with his left foot, then blasted it with his right toward the open net. But Ryan’s quickness allowed him to get back to the net. He dove across to his right and deflected Peter’s pass toward the right post.

  Another forward pulled the rebound in on the right side of the net.

  Again Ryan charged, and the forward put the ball out front.

  This time Peter tried to redirect the ball toward the left post. He didn’t aim it perfectly, and Ryan dove back on top of the loose ball.

  Berk’s heart sank. He knew that if the same play had happened to him, neither of those shots would have been taken.

  He would have stopped the first pass, and the play would have been over. But Ryan’s wild style allowed him to make two spectacular-looking saves. Even Coach Davis was clapping and yelling.

  Neither team scored in the scrimmage. Afterward, Coach Davis called Berk over to the sideline. “Berk,” he said. “I have an idea.”

  Idea? Berk wasn’t sure what to say.

  Then the coach continued: “Have you ever thought about playing another position?”

  Chapter 5

  NEW POSITION?

  Berk decided to be honest with his coach.

  “Um, no, Coach,” he said. “I’ve always wanted to be a goalkeeper.”

  Coach Davis put his arm around Berk’s shoulder.

  “Well, you have such great footwork, and you’re always in the right place at the right time,” Coach Davis said. “I think you might make for a great sweeper.”

  The sweeper plays right in front of the keeper. He is often the keeper’s most trusted teammate.

  The sweeper helps protect the goalkeeper and clears away loose balls in front of the net.

  It was a very important position, Berk knew. And since Michael Swenson, the boy who played it last season, had moved, the position was open.

  Still, Berk wasn’t interested in it. “I’d rather play keeper,” he said.

  “I know,” Coach Davis said. “But I think I’m going to go with Ryan in goal.”

  Berk was shocked.

  It had been a long time since he’d cried about anything to do with spor
ts, but he felt like it now.

  “You’ll be the backup keeper,” Coach Davis continued. “And you’ll still play all the time, because you’ll be the sweeper.”

  Berk managed to mutter something that sounded like “Okay,” but he was still fighting back tears.

  As the players left the field, he ran off ahead of the group.

  He changed clothes quickly and got on his bike for the short ride home.

  One more day of tryouts remained, but Berk already knew where he stood.

  On the final day of tryouts, he didn’t even bring his goalkeeper gloves to the field. He practiced the entire time with the defenders.

  During a break, Peter ran up to Berk.

  “What the heck are you doing?” Peter asked. “Why aren’t you fighting for the keeper spot?”

  “Coach told me yesterday,” Berk said. He couldn’t bear to look at his friend. He kept his eyes fixed on the ground. “I’m going to be the sweeper.”

  “That stinks,” Peter said. “At least you’ll be on the field all the time with me.”

  Berk smiled a little. Just then, Ryan ran over for a drink of water. He walked right up to the boys. Berk cringed as he prepared for Ryan to gloat.

  “Hey, Berk,” Ryan said. “You’re a good keeper. I’m sorry tryouts didn’t turn out the way you wanted.”

  Berk was sure Ryan didn’t mean what he said. “Yeah,” Berk said. “Whatever.”

  “It was a good competition,” Ryan said. He held out his hand to Berk. “No hard feelings?”

  Berk shook Ryan’s hand for a quick second. “No hard feelings,” he forced out. Ryan trotted away.

  “What’s up with that kid?” Berk said to Peter. “He’s Mr. Cool one minute, then pretends to be nice the next.”

  Peter was sure he knew what was going on.

  “He’s just trying to butter you up,” Peter said, “because he knows that all season you’ll be protecting him.”

  Chapter 6

  LET THE GAMES BEGIN