Goalkeeper in Charge

by Matt Christopher

  Tina was watching as Cindy talked to two other players. As she watched them, they all looked her way. Tina felt some of her old self-consciousness come back. Then she felt angry.

  But she told Meg, “No, I don’t think I should complain to Danielle. It’d look bad.”

  “If you want, I’ll talk to her,” Meg offered. “She shouldn’t get away with that.”

  But Tina shook her head. “Danielle saw everything. If she doesn’t want to say something to Cindy, there must be a reason.”

  “I think you should do something,” Meg insisted. “She has to cut that stuff out!”

  Tina said, “I’m not going to complain to Danielle, and I’m not going to do what Cindy’s doing and make more problems for the team. And I don’t want you to do it for me. Okay?”

  Meg wasn’t happy, but she agreed.

  After the scrimmage, Danielle called the Wildcats together. “That was very good, for our first full scrimmage. We don’t have a lot of time before the real games begin, but we’re making progress. Everybody, work on your skills at home whenever you can: dribbling, passing, shooting. See you tomorrow!”

  As the players broke up, Danielle signaled to Tina and Andrea to come over. “Pepper says you’re both doing well as goalkeepers. I just wanted to mention that you can pick out the uniforms you’ll wear in games. You can make them anything but sky blue and gold; that’s what the rest of the team will wear.

  “Andrea, do you have anything to say, any questions?”

  Andrea smiled. “No, everything’s fine.”

  Danielle looked at Tina. “How about you? Anything to say?”

  Tina sensed that this was her chance to say something about Cindy. She thought about it for a moment and finally shook her head.

  “All right, then,” Danielle said. “Work on those drills! Bye!”

  As she changed into her regular shoes, Tina decided that she was right not to complain. Somehow, sometime, she’d have to figure out a way of dealing with Cindy if Cindy continued to act up.

  But taking it to the coach — that was definitely not the way to go about it.

  7

  After school the next day, Tina was in her room and heard the thump of a soccer ball being kicked. She looked out the window and saw Dave kicking a ball against his garage wall. She opened her window and stuck her head out.

  “Hi!” she called. “What’s up?”

  Dave smiled up at her. “I’m going to play with a team! Practice starts in a couple of days, and I need some work.”

  “Want company?” Tina offered.

  “Great!” Dave said. “Come on!”

  Tina ran outside. For a while they passed the ball back and forth. They took turns making high throws so that the other one could head it back. Dave was better at it than Tina was.

  “Keep your neck and upper body rigid when you head the ball,” Dave said. “When you move, bend from the waist. Throw it to me head-high.” Dave showed Tina what he meant. Then he tossed it back for Tina to try.

  “That’s better,” he said, after she did it. “Try to hit the ball with the middle of your forehead, not the top. And keep your eyes open.”

  As they practiced, Meg showed up.

  “Hi, guys,” she said. “Can I play too?”

  Tina said, “Let’s go to the park. Maybe you two can help me with my goalkeeping.”

  At the park, they used their jackets to mark off a goal. Dave and Meg kicked shots, which Tina tried to block, and usually did.

  After she sprang to one side and scooped up a hard shot, Dave said, “Hey, you’re good!”

  Tina smiled. “Thanks. Throw me more shots I have to jump for.”

  They lobbed balls that Tina had to leap to catch or to punch over where the crossbar of the goal would be. They tried to put shots into the corners of the goal, so she had to dive to both sides. After ten minutes, Tina was panting but happy. She was getting a good workout.

  The three passed and dribbled for a while, then sat down for a rest.

  “Guess who I saw today,” Meg said. “Cindy and her friends, talking. They saw me and shut up, like someone flipped a switch.”

  Tina frowned. “Why, do you think?”

  “Because I’m your friend,” said Meg. “They were probably talking about you.”

  “Who’s Cindy?” Dave asked. “It doesn’t sound like she’s a buddy of yours.”

  Meg laughed. “Hardly. She wants to be the superstar of our team, and she hates it that someone else, like Tina, might be as valuable to the Wildcats as she thinks she is.”

  Dave frowned. “Is she making trouble?”

  Tina described what Cindy had done.

  “What did your coach do?” Dave asked.

  Tina said, “Nothing, but she must have had a reason. She’s a great coach, and I can’t believe she didn’t notice what was going on, or that she didn’t care.”

  Dave leaned forward and looked hard at Tina. “If the coach doesn’t do something, you have to. If you let her get away with that stuff, she’ll keep pushing you until you push back. You have to show you won’t take it.”

  “I won’t fight!” Tina didn’t like Dave’s suggestion. “I hope she’ll lighten up, but I’m not going to make things worse than they are!”

  “I’m not talking about fighting. The thing is,” Dave said, “sometimes you just tell someone to back off. A guy at my old school gave me problems like yours. He came on like he was the Big Boss. One day he got in my face with a lot of loud talk, and I came right back at him. Well, he backed down and left me alone.”

  Tina said, “What if he hadn’t? I’ll do something, if Cindy keeps it up.”

  “What’ll you do?” asked Meg.

  Tina shook her head. “I don’t know. But I will. When the right time comes.”

  “Well, I’ll be there to help,” Meg said. “And if you want me to talk to Cindy —”

  Tina shook her head. “No. I have to do it, whatever it is. I don’t want to start some kind of war on the team where everyone takes sides. I’d better go home and get ready for dinner.”

  They walked back to Tina’s, where Dave waved and ran up the steps and in his front door. As Meg unlocked her bike, she said, “So you like Dave after all, huh?”

  “Sure,” said Tina. “He’s a nice guy. Plus, he gave me some soccer tips.”

  Meg nodded. “Yes, but I mean, you like him. You know what I mean.”

  Tina said, “I think he’s a friend, like you, except he’s a boy. Okay?”

  Meg gave up and left. Tina, who knew what Meg meant, was happy to drop the subject.

  As Mr. Esparza served Tina some grilled beef— he was a good cook and often made the family dinner— he asked, “So what’s happening with your team? Are you still a goalkeeper?”

  Tina took her plate. “Thanks, Daddy, it looks delicious! So far, that’s still the plan. I’m doing keeper drills with another girl and the assistant coach, and it’s going all right.”

  A thought struck her. “Dad, you were playing soccer when you were my age, right?”

  “Sure!” said her father as he served Sammy. “We played everywhere — in the park, in empty lots, in the street.”

  “Did you ever have a problem with a pushy kid who thought he was a star, hogged the ball, and gave you trouble all the time?”

  Mr. Esparza gave his daughter a long look. “Yeah, we had a few like that. There are always a few like that.”

  Tina asked, “How did you handle it?”

  “It depended. There was this boy who thought he was better than the rest of us and said so. The thing is, he was better, and we knew it, so we left him alone. He wasn’t around long. Soon he went to a junior pro team, and in a few years, he was a real star.

  “But most of these types aren’t as good as they think they are. We didn’t do much about them, either. It soon became clear that they weren’t so good. They’d see it themselves and quiet down. Or they’d see they weren’t making friends with all their talk, and they’d stop or go
away and find other people to bother.”

  Tina wasn’t sure this helped her or not. Cindy waspretty good. “So, you wouldn’t stand up to the person and tell him to, like, cut it out?”

  “That’s what I’d do,” said Sammy.

  But Mr. Esparza shook his head. “Maybe in a street game, where we chose sides, there might be arguing or even a fight. But on a real team like yours? No. A coach can take a loudmouth aside and tell him to stop, to be a team player. But one teammate doesn’t fight another one. It makes for bad feelings, and if it happens, both players are to blame.”

  Mr. Esparza looked at Tina for a moment. “If I knew someone who had that kind of trouble, I’d tell him — or her — relax, don’t get excited. Things have a way of working out.”

  “Thanks, Daddy.” Tina felt better. She decided that by doing nothing, she’d been doing the right thing.

  8

  Over the next few practices, things stayed about the same with Cindy. She didn’t talk to Tina except to yell at her now and then for not getting her the ball or for something else Cindy didn’t like. Tina kept quiet, and as far as she knew, Danielle said nothing to Cindy.

  Pepper continued to work with Tina and Andrea. In addition to drilling the girls on catching, blocking, and other skills, Pepper spent time talking about goalkeeping strategy.

  She’d say, “When an opponent wants to shoot, make her shot harder by coming out of the goal and giving her a smaller target. If you’re right in the goalmouth, the shooter has almost the whole eight-yard cage to shoot at. But if you move in, she has to shoot around you. But don’t get caught out of the goal, in case a ball gets loose. You’ll give up an easy shot.”

  Andrea sighed. “It’s complicated.”

  Pepper grinned. “You bet. But that’s what makes it a challenge. Here’s something else to think about. Let’s say you stop a shot and have the ball in your hands. What do you do with it? There are different ways to distribute the ball.

  “If you’re a strong, accurate kicker who can kick to midfield, and if you have a forward who can head the ball and control it, a long lack is a great way to start an offensive drive, if you can kick it to where you want it to go.

  “You can throw to a defender or midfielder — if you can throw long overhand and control the ball, that is. Always throw to the side, not in front of the goal.

  “The surest way to go is to roll the ball to a teammate, especially a good dribbler. But be sure she’s looking and sees the ball coming.

  “Or you can dribble the ball yourself and move it up before getting it to a teammate. But that’s dangerous. If an opponent takes it away, the goal is unguarded.

  “Spend time on your kicks and throws. See what you’re good at and where you need work. If you’re not sure where the ball will go if you kick it, don’t kick. Any questions?”

  Tina asked, “Does the keeper always decide what to do and who to get the ball to?”

  “Definitely,” Pepper said. “On defense, the keeper is like the team general. You decide, and don’t let anyone else tell you what to do. That’s important. When the other team has the ball, the goalkeeper is in charge. You direct traffic. If you want a player out of your way, let her know. And she has to do what you tell her.”

  Tina nodded. Ordering people around wasn’t something that felt natural to her. Could she do it? It seemed that she would have to.

  At the next practice, Danielle reminded the team that they had only three more sessions before their first game of the year.

  “From now on, we’ll drill and scrimmage as a team. After the drills today, we’ll play nine-on-nine. I’ll be watching, and Pepper will be referee. Ms. Allen, Zoe’s mother, will be the second official. She’s played the game and knows the rules. But first, let’s do our drills. Andrea, Tina, you’ll work with Pepper.”

  Pepper took Andrea and Tina aside. “Let’s see how your kicking and throwing are.”

  Tina’s first kick was straight, but short. She sighed and waited for Peppers reaction.

  “Pretty good, for starters. Hold the ball longer instead of tossing it up before you kick,” said Pepper. “And step into the lack more, so you bring your kicking leg back farther. You also want more follow-through after the kick.”

  Tina’s later kicks were much better. She’d have no trouble kicking to midfield.

  Andrea, however, kept kicking the ball off the side of her foot and out-of-bounds.

  “Don’t worry, you’ll get better,” Pepper told her. “But for now, I’d probably avoid kicking the ball in a game.”

  Throwing the ball was a different matter. Andrea’s long fingers helped her control the ball, and her long arm gave her throws good distance. Tina’s overhand throws went all over the place; twice the ball dropped down from her hand. Her throws were short, and her aim wasn’t good.

  “Well, we learned some things,” Pepper said when they finished. “We know that Tina can use her kicking to move the ball in the right direction but that throwing is a gamble, for now. Andrea, you throw well, but you need work on kicking. That’s helpful!”

  “Put us together and we’d make the perfect keeper!” Tina said. Both Andrea and Pepper laughed. Tina realized, to her surprise, that she’d made a joke without worrying if others would think it was funny. She grinned.

  The two girls did other drills while the rest of them worked with Danielle. Then Danielle called the team together again.

  “We’ll take a break and then begin our scrimmage. Everyone, take five minutes.”

  “You know what amazes me?” Meg said to Tina and Zoe as they sat in the grass. “I don’t think we’ve ever repeated a passing drill or a dribbling drill since we first started practicing.”

  “You’re right,” said Zoe. “It’s like they have this endless list of exercises.”

  “It never gets dull, for sure,” Meg agreed. “Hey, is that Cindy’s mom with her?”

  Tina saw a tall woman in an expensive-looking warm-up suit talking to Cindy. The woman was pointing and gesturing, and Cindy kept nodding. She didn’t look happy.

  “Yeah,” Zoe said. “That’s her. She’s the one who wanted Cindy to go to soccer camp. Looks like she’s giving Cindy instructions.”

  Meg nodded. “Cindy doesn’t like it.”

  Tina watched mother and daughter and said, “I bet if Danielle sees, she won’t like it either.”

  “You’re right,” said Zoe. “Coaches don’t like parents to coach their own kids — or anybody else’s kids.”

  “I don’t blame Cindy for not liking it,” said Meg. “I’d hate for my mom to do that.”

  Danielle divided the team into squads. Tina and Andrea were the goalkeepers. Tina’s squad included Cindy and Zoe, and Meg was on the other side. From her position in front of the goal, Tina had a good view of the action.

  Cindy was definitely fast, and her quick feet helped her steal the ball from opponents — as Tina already knew. But Cindy did too much on her own. She’d try to dribble through a whole team and shoot. The first time she did that, Zoe was open, in perfect position for a shot from the left wing. Cindy ignored her and took a long shot herself that Andrea had plenty of time to grab.

  From the sidelines, Mrs. Vane yelled, “Cindy! Get closer!”

  Andrea threw to Meg on her left, who passed off to a midfield teammate. Cindy darted over to try for a steal, but the girl screened her off and passed to a wing. The wing and another forward moved in on Tina, who braced for a shot. The forward on Tina’s right passed across the goalmouth, and Tina advanced toward the other girl, who wanted to shoot. The girl tried to chip the ball over Tina’s head, but Tina backed up and stretched, arms high. She punched the ball over the crossbar and out-of-bounds, setting up a corner kick for the other team.

  Cindy trotted by the penalty box and muttered, “You should have caught the ball,” so that only Tina and a few others could hear. Tina turned red, but didn’t say a word.

  The corner kick came across the penalty box. The center forward hea
ded the ball to the left wing, who dribbled closer to Tina. As Tina was trying to see where a shot might come from, Cindy raced in front of her, blocking Tina’s view. As Cindy slid to the grass in an attempt to tackle the wing and steal the ball, the wing passed back to the center forward, who got off a lightning-fast shot. Tina lost sight of the ball for only a few seconds, but that was enough. She saw the shot coming too late and tried to get to it, but it was by her for a goal.

  Tina’s impulse was to scream at Cindy, but she didn’t. Partly it was because she hated to make a fuss. Also, after seeing Cindy’s mom in action, Tina thought she understood what made Cindy do the stuff she did.

  As Pepper took the ball to resume play, Tina noticed Danielle walk over to Mrs. Vane and speak to her. She couldn’t hear what was said, but it was clear that Mrs. Vane didn’t like it. After a short discussion, Mrs. Vane walked away, looking angry.

  When play started again, Cindy made a nice goal, heading the ball in on a pass from Zoe. Cindy glanced over at her mother, who nodded but didn’t smile. Each team had scored a goal. A minute later, Meg made a quick move to intercept a pass. Cindy, who had been looking for another shot, was out of position to defend, so Meg had a long, open pass to a teammate at midfield. Suddenly, Tina was facing another scoring threat.

  A couple of Tina’s squadmates tried to get back to help, but one of the opposing forwards made a nice crossing pass to her teammate, who faked a shot to the left side, pulling Tina in that direction. She then slammed the ball past Tina into the right side of the cage for a goal.

  “Really nice job!” yelled Cindy, pulling up short in front of Tina. “Why were you out of position?”

  “Why was I out of position?” Tina yelled. “If you’d been in position instead of all over the field, they would have never gotten a shot at all!”

  Immediately, Tina felt awful. The words had popped out of her mouth before she knew it. Cindy turned on her heel and stormed to her starting position. Zoe trotted over, seeing how upset Tina was.

  “It’s okay,” she said. “You’re totally right; she’s trying to be a one-woman team.”