by Lisa Gibbs
‘Ah!’ she exclaimed, dropping the ball and putting her hands up to her stinging eyes. She tried to snatch the ball back but her eyes kept watering and one of the Barton goalers grabbed it instead.
Trying to goal was also harder than usual and the Barton Goal Shooter had to try four times before the ball dribbled through the ring for a goal, between gusts of wind.
The Marrang Gems were determined to play well, but by half-time they came off court tired and frustrated. They stood in a tight group around Janet, their blue and pink uniforms fluttering against their legs.
‘Okay, Gems, you’re in front by a few goals. For the rest of the game, make sure you remember to do short, safe passes. If you throw a long pass or a high lob, the wind will carry it off course.’
The girls nodded. They had found that out the hard way.
‘I think I’ll leave most of you in the same positions for the second half of the game …’ Janet paused and looked around the group at the bibs velcroed in place on each uniform.
‘Hmmm … Charlotte, where would you like to play for the last half?’
Huh? Lily’s jaw dropped. Did Mum just give Charlotte a choice? That never happens!
Sienna blinked in surprise. Maddy and Prani glanced at each other.
‘I’d like to play Goal Shooter, please,’ said Charlotte. She smiled as she pulled off her Wing Defence bibs and swapped them with Sienna, who had played Goal Shooter in the first half of the game.
Janet grinned at Charlotte. Resting her hand on the girl’s shoulder, she gave one last instruction. ‘Try not to shoot unless you’re right under the ring – or pass it to Maddy in Goal Attack if you’re having real trouble. Oh, and make sure you enjoy yourself!’
Now that’s just weird, thought Lily, shooting her mum a puzzled frown. Lily had been sure Janet would put a more accurate goaler in the Goal Shooter position. Barton would be a tough team to beat, and the weather conditions weren’t making it any easier.
She walked back on court, wondering why her mum had made Charlotte Goal Shooter. But she put it out of her mind. She needed to concentrate on breaking free from her opponent to take the centre pass.
The second half of the game was just as blowy as the first. The players were adjusting their game to allow for the wind, but the passage of the ball was still unpredictable and there were regular turnovers from Barton to Marrang and back again. All of the players had red eyes from the grit flying up off the ground. During one particularly strong gust in the third quarter, the game stopped as all of the players’ hands flew down to their skirts to stop them from blowing straight up in the air!
Battling the wind was making Lily out of breath. They had to rely on short passes, which meant they were working twice as hard to bring the ball down the court. Lily was finding it difficult to feed the ball to Charlotte and Maddy in the goal circle because they seemed to be constantly covered by two tall Barton defenders. Near the end of the last quarter, just after the Barton Goal Attack shot the ball through the ring, Lily glanced across to the Barton supporters, who were sitting on the bench by the court, cheering.
Oh no, they’re going wild. That last goal must have put them in front!
Chapter Ten
Lily glanced at the timekeeper, who was staring intently at the timer on the score table.
The game’s about to end!
She stepped up to the transverse line, ready for the whistle. This would be the last centre pass, she was sure. She had to make it count!
On the whistle the Marrang Centre, Phoebe, fired a pass to Lily. Lily caught the ball and spun around, looking for someone to pass it to. But Maddy was stuck behind her defender, and Charlotte wasn’t free either. Phoebe saw that Lily was in trouble and sped into the goal third, calling for a return pass. ‘Here, Lily!’
The hard pass from Lily slapped into Phoebe’s hands. She fumbled the ball and just managed to dribble a weak bounce pass to Charlotte, who was inside the goal circle. Lily held her breath, anxiously watching as Charlotte grabbed the ball and paused, unsure of what to do next.
Lily could see Maddy waving her arms right under the goal post. ‘Pass it to Maddy!’ she yelled. ‘To Maddy!’
In desperation, Charlotte flung the ball high, over the defenders’ hands, in Maddy’s direction.
The timekeeper stood up.
The umpire lifted the whistle to her lips.
Lily held her breath, staring at the ball as it arced through the air. It sailed high above the defenders, turned slightly in the wind … and dropped straight down through the goal ring.
Charlotte had scored a goal!
Brrrp! went the whistle for the end of the game.
Laughing, Lily ran to grab Charlotte’s arms. She pumped them up and down. ‘You got it in! You were miles from the goal ring! Yay!’
Charlotte grinned. ‘It was an accident. I meant to pass the ball to Maddy!’
‘Well, it was a great pass!’
All the girls gathered around Charlotte and Lily, Charlotte happily accepting the teasing about her ‘pass’ that became a goal.
Janet walked from the side of the court to join the team. ‘Do you want to know the score?’
Lily laughed up at her mum. ‘We forgot! How did we go?’
‘A draw.’
‘Really?’
Janet caught Charlotte’s eye, then addressed all the girls. ‘I think it was a wonderful finish to Charlotte’s very last game with the Marrang Gems.’ She moved to stand next to Charlotte, placing an arm around her shoulders.
There was a moment of stunned silence. All the girls turned and stared blankly at their friend.
Lily recovered first. ‘What? Last game?’
‘My dad got a new job, so we have to move away,’ said Charlotte.
So that’s why she was upset about her dad’s new job, Lily thought. I didn’t realise she’d have to move.
‘But where are you moving to?’ asked Prani.
‘London,’ replied Charlotte.
‘London!’ repeated Prani.
‘London?’ said Isabella.
‘But Charlotte,’ Lily protested, ‘you can’t go. You’re one of the Gems!’
Charlotte’s lip began to tremble. Maddy’s eyes filled with tears, while Prani hugged Charlotte.
Lily hated to see anyone sad. ‘Hey, cheer up,’ she said. ‘You’re not leaving the team, you’re extending the team – to England. Now you really will be a long-distance goaler!’
‘That’s right,’ agreed Sienna. ‘Once a Marrang Gem, always a Marrang Gem!’
Each of the girls gave Charlotte a hug and waved goodbye as she and her mum headed for the carpark.
‘Can we give her a proper send-off, Mum?’ Lily asked Janet.
‘What about pizza after training next week?’ suggested Maddy.
‘Yes, good idea,’ agreed Janet. ‘Why don’t you all check with your parents now, before you go?’
Then Lily had a sudden thought. ‘Mum, we don’t have enough players now. What if someone’s sick again, like Jade was this week?’
‘Don’t worry, I’m working on it,’ said Janet. ‘In the meantime, we’ll get one of the younger players from the Under 12s team to help us out by being our emergency fill-in.’
Chapter Eleven
‘So what food do they have at pizza restaurants?’ asked Prani.
‘Pizza!’ all six of the other girls chorused in response, and they burst out laughing with Prani.
‘Prani, have you seriously never had pizza?’ queried Lily.
‘Never. Mum prefers to make traditional Indian food and we don’t eat out much.’
The girls looked at her in wonder.
‘Definitely order a large meatlovers pizza,’ said Jade.
‘No way, it has to be margherita,’ argued Maddy.
‘Actually, I like potato and onion,’ said Phoebe.
‘Girls!’ interjected Janet. She had been trying to keep them focused on training all session, but they were so excited about the sen
d-off for Charlotte that they kept getting distracted. She sighed and gave up. ‘All right, pack-up time.’ She ended training fifteen minutes early and sent the girls to their waiting parents. They would regroup at the local pizza restaurant with Charlotte and her mum.
Ten minutes later they tumbled into the restaurant and grabbed the nearest table. The scrape of the wooden chairs on the tiled floor echoed around them. They raised their voices above it. Soon there was so much noise the waitress couldn’t make herself heard.
‘Orders!’ Sienna shouted to get their attention and they all fell silent, ready to name their pizza.
‘You go first, Charlotte. You’re the guest of honour,’ suggested Lily.
Charlotte flushed and asked for a simple margherita pizza.
‘I’d like a bit of everything please,’ said Prani.
‘We can’t really do that,’ the waitress said, so after some discussion, Prani settled on half margherita and half potato and onion.
Once all the girls had placed their orders, Janet asked for quiet and nodded to Lily.
Lily stood up awkwardly. ‘Um … Hi, Charlotte. We just want to say that we’re sorry you’re going. We’re going to miss you and … um … here is a present.’ Lily handed Charlotte a small parcel with coloured polka-dot wrapping.
‘It’s a netball book we got off the Netball Australia website!’ said Prani.
‘Prani!’ the girls yelled.
‘What?’
Janet laughed and then stood next to Lily. ‘I also wanted to say that it has been a pleasure coaching you, Charlotte. We will miss having you in the team but I’m sure you’ll have a wonderful time in London.’
Chapter Twelve
‘Happy birthday!’ Lily’s family chorused as soon as her Aunt Jo opened the door on Friday night.
Lily scanned the room as they joined the party. She couldn’t see Eliza yet.
‘Lily! Steven! Over here!’ Their cousin Jamie was beckoning them over. ‘Come and check this out. We’ve got our own entertainment room!’
Lily and Steven followed Jamie upstairs to find that the study had been transformed into a movie cinema. There were beanbags spread across the floor, bowls of chips and lollies sitting on the desk and a large flat-screen TV set up ready to be watched. Three of their cousins were already settled on the beanbags, debating which movie to watch first. Steven headed straight for the chips, while Lily leapt on the most comfortable-looking beanbag and claimed it as her own.
Whump!
Steven had whipped the beanbag out from under her and left Lily sprawling on the carpet.
‘No way, Steven!’ she said, laughing. ‘Bmmf.’ She was being smothered by the beanbag – Steven had dumped it over her and plonked himself on top!
Lily’s giggles were muffled by the beanbag and her cousins’ whooping, but she was determined not to let Steven defeat her. With sheer strength, she pushed up on her arms, causing Steven to tip and roll off the beanbag. She leapt to her feet and yelled the words for a guaranteed victory. ‘Stacks on!’
Five bodies piled on top of Steven, their full weight pinning him down.
Lily flashed her fingers in front of his face. ‘Three, two, one. You’re out!’ she yelled in triumph. Then she raced out of the room, before he could get her back.
Once downstairs, Lily heard her mum discussing netball with Aunt Jo.
‘Did you see Jamaica play in the Netball World Cup?’ asked Janet.
‘Yes, I watched every game! Their game style is so different to Australia’s, isn’t it?’
Lily wandered past. She was used to netball conversations in her family. All the women were involved in netball, one way or another. Lily loved netball and wanted to be a great player. But what if she didn’t grow? Or what if she grew, but still wasn’t tall enough?
‘Hey Lil, there you are!’
Lily felt an arm sling across her shoulders and glanced up to see Eliza looking down at her. She had a wide smile and shiny blonde bob.
‘Eliza! I’ve been trying to find you!’
‘Want to head out the back? I’m dying to see your super-pivot!’
‘Okay!’ agreed Lily. ‘I’ve got a surprise for you, as well,’ said Eliza.
Surprise? What surprise?
When they stepped out the back door, someone was waiting for them out there.
‘Lily, I want you to meet my friend –’
‘Julie!’ Lily couldn’t believe it. Standing before her was her hero, Julie Corletto! She played for the Australian Diamonds and the NSW Swifts, and was known as one of the best defenders. She played all the defence positions: Wing Defence, Goal Defence and Goal Keeper.
I can’t believe that I get to talk to Julie Corletto! thought Lily. What can I ask her?
Suddenly, her worry popped into her head once again. Will I be tall enough? She steeled herself and turned to Julie.
‘Julie, I have a really important question to ask you. How tall were you when you were my age?’
Julie stood still and gave the question serious consideration. ‘I’m not sure, but I guess I was always tall for my age.’
Lily’s smile dropped from her face.
‘Don’t worry, Lil,’ said Eliza. ‘Everyone grows differently and besides, didn’t you say you have long arms?’
Lily brightened immediately, stretching her arms out so that Julie could see the full span of her reach.
‘Wow! It must be hard to get the ball past you,’ said Julie.
‘Uh-huh! And I’ve been practising extra hard, too.’
‘You’re just like me, then. I practise extra hard because I want to get better every day,’ said Julie.
‘But you’re so good already!’
Julie laughed. ‘Thanks, but I’m still learning new things all the time.’
‘Really? Like what?’ Lily asked.
‘Well, I’ve been trying out a new strategy with my teammate Sharni Layton. It’s called “the chairlift”. The Northern Mystics, one of the New Zealand teams, came up with it first. It is really hard but really fun. Have you heard of it?’
Lily shook her head.
Julie stood behind her to demonstrate.
‘Pretend that we’re defending together in the goal circle, and you jump to defend the goal.’ Julie held onto Lily’s waist and when Lily jumped, Julie lifted her high up into the air.
‘Wow! I could stop any shot at goal with that move!’ Lily said.
I’m going to have to try that!
‘Yeah, it’s pretty cool,’ Julie agreed, ‘but very tricky because you have to be in the right position at the right time, and your partner defender needs to be ready, too. What moves have you been learning lately?’
‘The super-pivot!’ Lily demonstrated the pivot, turning in front of Julie.
‘That’s excellent,’ said Julie, admiring the way Lily moved. ‘So what position do you play?’
‘Well, we play all different positions but my favourite is Wing Defence,’ said Lily.
‘That’s one of my favourites, too! You can change the course of the whole game if you can intercept the Wing Attack’s passes to the goalers.’
Lily beamed at Julie. That was exactly what she thought!
‘Hey Lily,’ said Eliza, ‘I’d love to see you play sometime. Do you think I could come and watch a game soon?’
‘Yes! Yes!’ Lily jumped up and down.
‘And I’ve been thinking … I could also get permission for you and Aunt Janet to come to a training game. I’m watching a special practice session of the Aussie 21/U team next week. If you come along, you could see the training drills they do.’
‘That would be amazing!’
Lily’s eyes were shining. The Aussie 21/U team? They have some of the best young players in the world!
Lily spent the rest of the party in the backyard, playing with a netball and shooting for goals. Steven and their cousins joined in but the best moments for Lily were when Eliza and Julie broke away from their conversations with friends to join in, and
Lily got to show them how she could dodge around Julie’s defence and defend Eliza’s passes.
Chapter Thirteen
Lily paced around the kitchen. At Saturday’s game against Greenfield and at the following Wednesday’s training, she hadn’t told the Gems that she was going to watch the Aussie 21/U team play. She had thought it might be too good to be true. But Eliza had called her up on Wednesday night and given Lily all the details of when and where the training session would be. It was on!
Now that it was time to go, she was feeling all different things. Mostly she was excited, but she was also a bit nervous and now she was annoyed, too. All her socks were missing and she had a feeling Steven had hidden them. She had looked in the most unlikely places – the broom cupboard, the pantry, under her parents’ bed … Finally she found them in the cabinet under the TV.
She yanked on a pair, followed by her shoes. ‘Come on, Mum,’ she called. ‘Let’s go! I don’t want to miss it.’
‘Do you mean you want to get somewhere early for once?’ Janet grinned. ‘Don’t worry, there’s plenty of time. Eliza said the team would train for at least two hours.’
Lily ran out the front door, jumped down the steps and kept running. She threw herself at the car door, wrenched it open and hopped into the passenger seat. Her mum followed at a much slower pace – not fast enough for Lily.
Janet drove steadily in the direction of the State Netball and Hockey Centre.
‘I can’t believe Eliza was able to get us in to watch this training session!’ babbled Lily.
‘I know,’ agreed Janet. ‘They’re normally closed sessions.’
‘I want to see everything they do,’ said Lily. ‘Maybe we can meet some of the players! That would be cool.’
Finally they walked into the netball stadium. Lily’s eyes widened when a huge security guard dressed in black stopped them.
‘You can’t go in there,’ he said.