by Jake Maddox
Alex swooped in front of the girl, neatly stealing the ball. Then, as carefully as she could, dribbled forward and shot to Nadia. There. She breathed a tiny sigh of relief.
The whole team had seen her stay in position and shoot to the offense, just like she was supposed to.
But her teammates must not have noticed. Just before halftime, another forward, Marissa, had the ball on a corner kick. Alex positioned herself for the ball, but Marissa looked at her and looked away. She shot straight to Christie, who dribbled it up to Nadia.
Alex was sad and confused. She went through the motions of playing the game, but her mind was whirling.
Was her team ignoring her? How was she going to prove that she was a team player if they wouldn’t pass to her? Alex could feel sweat collecting on her forehead, and not just because of the heat of the day.
Tweeet! The ref blew his whistle. “That’s the half!” he shouted.
Alex headed for the sidelines with relief. Maybe everything would get cleared up during the break.
CHAPTER SEVEN
THE SILENT TREATMENT
“Okay, team. Nice work so far,” Coach Mike said, gathering the team into a huddle. “The defense is a little odd.”
Alex saw him glance at her with a puzzled look, but she looked away. The coach went on, “But we’re playing strong. Keep it up!”
“Strikers!” the players yelled as they broke huddle. They scattered to grab their water bottles before the break ended.
Alex looked around for Lin, only to see her friend disappearing into the bathroom. The rest of the players were gathered in little groups, chatting and resting.
No one was talking to Alex. Finally, she couldn’t stand the awkwardness one more second.
“Hey, that center is big, huh?” she said to Christie, trying to sound casual.
Christie looked up from relacing her cleats, saw that Alex was speaking to her, then very pointedly looked away without answering.
Alex’s face turned bright red. She looked over at Brooke, who was standing nearby, but Brooke looked away also. Alex got the hint. They were all giving her the silent treatment.
She was still being punished for her one little mistake. That’s why no one would pass to her. And not even Lin was here to help her out.
Alex felt helpless. Everyone was staring at her with mean looks. Only Coach Mike was oblivious, talking with some parent over by the bleachers.
Alex thought she’d never felt so alone. Just then, she saw Lin coming back over to the sidelines. She smiled hopefully at her friend. But Lin looked away, too.
Alex couldn’t take it anymore. She felt her throat swell and tears spill from her eyes, pouring down her cheeks. She spun on her heel and ran away.
CHAPTER EIGHT
SLURPEE SURPRISE
Alex ran past the parking lot and through the quiet streets. She was sobbing so hard, she could hardly see. The houses on either side flashed by in a watery blur. Her cleats clacked on the sidewalk.
Finally, her sobs slowed and she stopped near a low wall in a yard. She laid her head down on her knees. Her mom had been wrong. Playing hard and playing fair wasn’t enough — at least not for her.
Alex got up and wandered down the sidewalk. She didn’t have anywhere to go. She couldn’t go back to the game, not after running off the field like that. And she couldn’t go home until the game was supposed to be over.
She dragged her feet along the sidewalk until she came to the corner, where a small convenience store stood. After her horrible day, she decided she could use a treat.
In the reflection of the glass window, she saw a figure approach. Alex swung around. Coach Mike was standing there, his hands in his jacket pockets, smiling.
Alex stepped backward in surprise. She didn’t know what to say. “Coach! What are you doing here?” she spluttered.
“Thirsty?” Coach Mike said in response.
He didn’t act like there was anything unusual about a coach leaving his team in the middle of a game.
“Uh . . .” Alex stammered.
But the coach already had his hand on the metal push bar of the door. “Wait here,” he instructed, pointing to a green bench nearby.
Alex sank down on the bench. When she looked up a minute later, Coach Mike was standing in front of her, holding two giant cherry Slurpees.
“So,” he said, handing her a Slurpee and sitting down beside her on the bench. “What’s the trouble?”
“Uh, Coach? Who’s coaching the game?” Alex asked.
Her Slurpee was freezing her hands, so she took a drink and set it down beside her.
“Oh, that!” Coach Mike said. He waved his hand. “I handed the reins to Brooke’s father for a few minutes. He’s been trying to get my job all season anyway.” He eyed Alex over the clear plastic Slurpee top. “All joking aside, Alex, I can see you’re having trouble with the team.”
“Is it that obvious?” Alex joked weakly. She felt a wave of shame rise up in her throat. It was bad enough that the other players hated her. But to have the coach know about it somehow seemed worse.
Coach Mike nodded. “You think I spend all of my time staring at that clipboard?” he asked. “Alex, I bet it wasn’t easy, moving here in the middle of the school year and leaving your friends behind.”
Alex nodded, the familiar lump rising in her throat again.
Coach Mike continued, “It may be selfish of me, but I was glad you joined the Strikers, even if you did have to leave your old team. You’re a great midfielder. Tall, strong, and quick.”
He held up his hand as Alex’s mouth opened to respond. “I know you played offense on your old team,” he said, “and I’m sure you were great as a forward. But I don’t think that was the right spot for you.” He looked right at Alex. “I need you at defense.”
Alex nodded. Her old coach had never told her she was needed before. It was nice, feeling needed. “But Coach,” she said. “I don’t know how I can play if everyone hates me.”
Coach Mike stood up and flipped his cup into a trash can with one decisive gesture. “Nobody hates you, Alex,” he said, smiling at her. “They just don’t know you. There’s only one way to make this whole thing better, and I think you know what you need to do.”
Alex looked up. “Isn’t it a little too late to apologize to the team?” she asked hesitantly, almost hoping there would be a different answer.
Coach Mike shook his head and looked at his watch. “It’s never too late,” he said. “I know you didn’t mean to score for the other team. Mistakes happen. But it would really make everyone feel better if you just said those two magic words.”
“I know, I know,” Alex said.
“Come on. Game’s almost over. Now’s the perfect time,” he said, turning and jogging back in the direction of the field.
Alex watched until he was about half a block away, then rose slowly and followed. He was right. It was now or never.
CHAPTER NINE
HARD TO SAY
Alex walked slowly back up the street, through the parking lot, and to the edge of the field. From where she was standing, she could see that the game must have just ended. The Strikers were scattered on the sidelines, taking off their cleats and talking.
Alex stood still, twisting her fingers. The last thing in the world she wanted to do was apologize, but Coach Mike was already waving her over.
There’s no way out, she told herself. You have to do it.
Alex felt her legs move across the soft turf as if they were moving on their own. One by one, her teammates turned to face her, their eyes curious. She saw Lin standing over to the side. Was it just Alex’s imagination, or did Lin look hopeful?
The talking died down and the players fell silent. Coach Mike stepped up next to Alex and laid a hand on her shoulder.
“Listen up, please,” he said. “Alex would like to tell all of us something. I’d like you all to listen to her with respect.” He gave Alex’s shoulder a firm pat and stepped back.
&
nbsp; Alex stood alone in front of the sea of watching eyes. Her stomach was churning.
Please, please don’t let me throw up, she prayed silently.
Then she caught Lin’s sympathetic face, and her friend gave her an encouraging nod.
Alex’s stomach steadied itself. She opened her mouth and somehow, the words started coming out.
“Um,” she started. “I just wanted to say that . . . I know you all are really mad at me. I’m sorry for scoring that wrong goal the other day.”
She looked at their faces. Brooke and Christie looked suspicious. Alex knew she needed to say more. She shifted her weight.
Her palms were clammy, and she could feel a trickle of sweat running down the side of her face.
“I’m new here,” Alex went on, “and everyone already knew each other. I just wanted to help the team. Maybe I was trying too hard. I’m sorry about that. I didn’t want to be a ball hog or mess everything up.” The words seemed to be getting easier now. At the back, near the bleachers, she could see Coach Mike, smiling and nodding encouragingly.
“But most of all,” Alex went on. “I’m sorry I didn’t say sorry earlier.” She paused. “Does that make sense?”
A couple of the girls, including Brooke, nodded.
“I don’t know why I didn’t,” Alex added, “except that sorry is hard to say. I know I haven’t started out great, but I’m going to try to do better.” She stopped talking. No one moved.
The only sounds were distant traffic and a bird singing in a nearby tree. Alex’s heart sank. Was this all a mistake? Did they all still hate her?
Then from the back of the group, came the sound of clapping. Alex craned her neck.
Lin and Coach Mike were both applauding, big smiles on their faces. Then the applause spread through the rest of the group.
Brooke, Nadia, and Christie were all smiling. And Alex couldn’t help smiling back.
“Thanks, guys,” she whispered. She didn’t think anyone heard her, but Lin pushed her way through the crowd and grabbed Alex up in a hug.
“We’re happy to have you on our team,” said Brooke.
“Really?” Alex asked.
“Really,” Brooke said. “Now, enough talking, let’s celebrate our latest win!”
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Emma Carlson Berne has written more than a dozen books for children and young adults, including teen romance novels, biographies, and history books. She lives in Cincinnati, Ohio, with her husband, Aaron, her son, Henry, and her dog, Holly.
ABOUT THE ILLUSTRATOR
Katie Wood fell in love with drawing when she was very small. Since graduating from Loughborough University School of Art and Design in 2004, she has been living her dream working as a freelance illustrator. From her studio in Leicester, England, she creates bright and lively illustrations for books and magazines all over the world.
GLOSSARY
CENTER (SEN-tur) — one of the players whose job is to score points
DEFENDER (de-FEN-dur) — a person playing defense, trying to keep the other team from scoring
DEFENSE (DI-fens) — the team or players that are trying to prevent the other side from scoring
FORWARD (FOR-wurd) — part of the offense; responsible for most of the scoring
GOALIE (GOH-lee) — the person who guards the goal and prevents the other team from scoring
INTERCEPTED (in-tur-SEPT-id) — stole the ball
MIDFIELDER (MID-feel-dur) — part of the defense; they help with ball control and passing
OFFENSE (AW-fenss) — the team that is attacking or trying to score, or the players whose job it is to score
OFFSIDES (OFF-sidez) — a penalty when a player has moved ahead of the ball
PENALTY (PEN-uhl-tee) — a punishment that a team suffers for breaking the rules
SCRIMMAGED (SKRIM-ijd) — played a game for practice, usually between members of the same team
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
After Alex scored a point for the other team, the other girls were mad. However, they weren’t mad about the goal. They were mad that Alex didn’t apologize for her mistake. Do you think they had a right to be mad? Why or why not?
Were you surprised that Coach Mike left the game to help Alex? If you were the coach, would you have done the same thing? Explain your answer.
Why do you think it was so hard for Alex to apologize to her teammates?
WRITING PROMPTS
After the big loss, Coach Mike gave the team a little pep talk. Write your own pep talk to make the Strikers feel better.
Would you rather be a defensive player or an offensive player? Write a paragraph explaining your answer.
How do you think the Strikers ended the season? Did they lose in the first round of playoffs? Did they win state? Write a small article for the school newspaper about the Strikers’ season.
SOCCER FUN
In the United States, the sport is called SOCCER. Nearly everywhere else in the world, fans call it FOOTBALL. Soccer is the world’s most popular sport.
A NEW BALL is designed for every World Cup, which takes place every four years. Billions of people around the world watch the World Cup.
The Romans played a game called HARPASTUM. This is said to be the beginning of soccer in the modern era. However, the origins of soccer can be traced back more than 2,000 years to China.
MIA HAMM holds the record for most world game goals by a male or female player. She has 158 goals in world games in her career.
CRISTIANO RONALDO is one of the most famous and highest-paid soccer players in the world. He makes over $17 MILLION a year.
BRAZIL has won five World Cups, which is the most in the world (1958, 1962, 1970, 1994, and 2002).
KRISTINE LILLY of the United States has played in more soccer games than any other man or woman in the world. She played in 352 matches before she retired.
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Jake Maddox books are published by Stone Arch Books
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Copyright © 2012 by Stone Arch Books
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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Maddox, Jake.
Soccer surprise / by Jake Maddox ; text by Emma Carlson Berne ; illustrated by Katie Wood.
p. cm. -- (Jake Maddox sports story)
Summary: Alex has just moved and joined a new soccer team, where she is expected to play a different position; when her error leads to the team’s first loss she has to learn to put aside her pride and put the team first.
ISBN 978-1-4342-3291-5 (library binding)
ISBN 978-1-4342-3906-8 (pbk.)
ISBN 978-1-4342-8917-9 (ebook)
1. Soccer teams--Juvenile fiction. 2. Soccer stories. 3. Disappointment--Juvenile fiction. 4. Pride and vanity--Juvenile fiction. [1. Soccer--Fiction. 2. Teamwork (Sports)--Fiction. 3. Pride and vanity--Fiction.] I. Berne, Emma Carlson. II. Wood, Katie, ill. III. Title. IV. Series.
PZ7.M25643Som 2012
813.6--dc23
2011032225
Designer: Heather Kindseth
Production Specialist: Michelle Biedscheid
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