Winning Touch

by Ellyse Perry

  ‘Okay.’ Ellyse ran onto the field and took her position in the centre. Vinnie had moved Alex out to her wing. Jamie kicked off, and Ellyse found herself in the thick of the game. The Dolphins’ strikers had obviously been given a stern talk at half-time and they both went on immediate attack. She discovered the boy’s name was Naji and she continued to watch his moves carefully. It wasn’t just his feet she watched; his body language gave her signs too.

  Still, he was so good that he zoomed past her twice before she knew it.

  I can’t let him get the better of me. I won’t! Ellyse began closing in earlier, challenging rather than jockeying, moving to block as soon as she saw his feet change position. Once, twice, she got the ball off Naji, and then she began to sense a hesitation when she went for him. The next time the ball was kicked to him, she ran in fast and intercepted, kicking it to Jamie. Jamie took the ball and dribbled hard down the field, stepped over, back and kicked. Goal! It was now 1–1.

  But just as Ellyse regained her confidence, Naji regrouped and changed his moves. He was better than Josh, she realised, relying on his skills and speed rather than bullying defenders out of his way. The game went back and forth and then, with a couple of minutes left, Naji got the ball and headed straight for goal, weaving down the field. He passed once, received it back, kept going. She knew there was only one way to stop him – run fast, slide tackle.

  Look out, here I come! She chased him hard, watching the ball and his feet, and launched into the tackle, sliding towards the target. She connected, the ball went sideways and Naji half-fell. Before he could get it back, the Hawks goalie grabbed it up and kicked it away. Saved!

  The game ended as a draw, but it could easily have been a loss.

  ‘Excellent,’ Vinnie said to her.

  Afterwards, Dad shook his head admiringly. ‘That was darned good, little one. Perfect slide tackle. No more Josh in your head, hey?’

  Nope, there isn’t. I feel brave again. She grinned at Dad. ‘I should get Hu to watch Naji play. I bet she’d pick up a lot of great attacking skills from him.’

  ‘Careful, she might join their team!’ Dad joked.

  Ellyse pulled open her kitbag to put away her boots and found the flyer Ms Beattie had given her. She took it out and read it quickly, then once more to make sure it was what she thought it was. An invitation to nominate for a trial at the new Aztecs Youth Football Academy. The most amazing thing was, they were planning to have a girls’ team in the future!

  ‘Dad, do you know anything about this?’ She handed the sheet of paper to him.

  He scanned it and huffed out a breath. ‘Wow. Where did this come from?’

  ‘Ms Beattie. I mean, it’s not personally addressed to me, is it?’

  ‘No.’ He glanced at her anxious face. ‘Did she only give this to you?’

  ‘And Hu,’ Ellyse said. ‘Does it mean I really can go and try out with them?’ She wrapped her arms around herself, trying to hold in her growing excitement. ‘I can’t believe it – a youth team. What if … what if I’m chosen?’

  ‘One step at a time,’ Dad said. ‘We’ll talk to Mum and then we can fill out the nomination form, if it all looks okay.’

  Okay? What wouldn’t be okay about being in the academy?

  After lunch, Ellyse and her parents talked about what being selected might mean. ‘It’ll be more training on top of everything else,’ Mum said. ‘You might have to give up something.’

  ‘Not touch,’ Ellyse said. ‘And not school soccer. And not the Hawks!’

  Dad laughed. ‘That is everything. You’re not giving up school, that’s for sure.’ He read through the flyer again. ‘Trials won’t be straight away. And, dare I say it, you might not get in.’

  ‘I have a good chance, though, don’t I?’ Ellyse said anxiously.

  ‘I’d say so,’ Dad said. ‘Let’s see how it all goes before we think about dropping something.’

  Ellyse agreed but inside she was fiercely determined to play her very best and be selected.

  ‘Don’t forget,’ Mum said, ‘you have touch footy selections tomorrow.’ She made a frowny face. ‘If you’re picked for that …’

  Ellyse grinned at Mum. ‘One step at a time, Dad said.’

  Later, when she called Charlie, she was all ready to tell her about the academy but then decided not to at the last minute. I want her to play well tomorrow, not be distracted. I really want us both to be in the touch team.

  Instead they talked about the Sunday tournament and then about Jazz. Charlie hadn’t heard from Jazz at all. ‘Maybe she’s still mad at you. And me too,’ Charlie said. ‘Do you really think she steals stuff?’

  ‘I don’t know.’ Ellyse sighed. ‘It sure seemed like it.’ She quickly changed the subject back to their Callinan soccer semifinal, and how they should have an extra lunchtime training session.

  In the morning, Dad drove them both to the touch ground, where they were allowed to play in their shorts and school polos with coloured bibs. Neither girl wanted to wear the mouldy Devils’ shirts – even a good wash hadn’t improved them much.

  Before the games started, the man in charge explained that they’d be selecting a team for a Country Cup tournament. ‘It’s in two weeks,’ he said, ‘which is very short notice, but they only decided to include an Under 14s team at the last minute. So if you can’t make it to Goulburn that weekend, you need to say so now and withdraw.’

  ‘Can you go?’ Ellyse whispered to Charlie.

  ‘I think so,’ she whispered back. ‘What about you?’

  Ellyse cringed inside. So much was happening, even at school, and she didn’t want to miss a single thing, but this would mean she’d miss a Hawks game. What would Vinnie say? What would Mum say? She bit her lip. One step at a time. I might not even get picked. ‘I think it’ll be okay.’

  There were only six teams in the mini tournament, so the Devils played two games, one after the other, to decide who’d compete in the final after lunch. Rocky and Sam wanted to play all of both games but Ben said no. ‘We’ll run it like we always do,’ he said, ‘rotating off the bench. If you do your best, you’ll have just as good a chance as anyone.’

  Charlie jiggled her legs nervously. ‘We should do a Callinan roar,’ she suggested. ‘It might make me feel tougher. How did you get to be so tough?’

  ‘I don’t know,’ said Ellyse. Charlie had accused her once before of being too tough. ‘I just keep trying, I guess. Hey, have you heard from Jazz?’

  Charlie shook her head. ‘I feel so bad –’

  ‘Let’s think about footy for now,’ Ellyse said quickly, ‘and show them what we can do. Remember, no singing or dancing needed.’

  Charlie laughed. ‘I can still play like a Rum Tum Tugger, though.’

  It was great to start their first game with a laugh. It buoyed Ellyse and carried her through, even when she was sitting on the bench, cheering on her team. The Devils lost 4–5, but Charlie and Rocky both scored touchdowns. In their second game, Ellyse played at centre for the whole first half. Her feet felt like they had little wings on them. She jinked and dummied, ran hard, passed, touched, defended left and right. Ten minutes in, she ran through a gap and scored a touchdown. And just before half-time, she dummied a pass, ran straight and scored another one.

  ‘That was terrific, kiddo,’ Ben said during the break. ‘I probably won’t play you much in the second half. I’ll give Charlie a longer run, okay?’

  ‘Sure,’ Ellyse said. Come on, Charlie, show them how you can shine!

  Charlie played so well that she also scored two touchdowns, and the Devils won 6–2. On total points, they were in the final!

  After lunch, they gathered around Ben. ‘You’re all playing like stars,’ he said, ‘so we’ll stick with our usual rotations. Everyone gets a go. Keep it up, Devils!’

  The other finals team was one they hadn’t played before – the Bears – and they were fast. They passed and rolled and passed and dodged, and within the first five minutes th
ey’d scored a touchdown.

  Rocky was disgusted. ‘Come on, Devils! You guys are making us look bad.’

  ‘Which guys?’ Charlie said. ‘You’re part of this team too. We’re in this together, remember?’

  Rocky’s face reddened. ‘Yeah, I know,’ he mumbled.

  ‘Right, let’s play harder then,’ Charlie said. ‘We can do it.’

  Wow, Ellyse thought. Charlie doesn’t need me to show her how to be tough.

  Charlie took the tap and passed to Emma 2, and the game was on again, but this time the Devils were faster and played harder. It was as if Charlie had inspired everyone, and by half-time they were leading 2–1. The Bears came back in the second half and scored again, but the game ended 3–2 when Ellyse and Rocky passed back and forth six times and Ellyse scored the winning touchdown.

  It was the Devils’ first big win and they got to take home a trophy and a medal each. Ben was so excited that Ellyse thought he might start throwing their trophy in the air. ‘I am so proud of you all,’ he said. ‘Each one of you was a team player today.’

  It wasn’t until they were nearly home that Ellyse remembered the selectors. Nobody had said anything about the regional team. Maybe none of us were chosen, she thought. Oh well … The disappointment stung, but there was nothing to be done now.

  ‘By the way,’ Dad said, ‘if any of you are picked for the regionals, they said they’ll be calling you on Tuesday.’

  Ellyse’s disappointment faded in a flash. There’s still hope for both of us, then!

  That night, Ellyse and her parents sat down to look at the Aztecs form and talk about it.

  ‘What does it all mean, really?’ Mum asked. ‘When, where – what will the commitment be? Ellyse, you already have so much going on. If you got into this academy, you really would have to give something up.’

  ‘I know.’ Ellyse stared down at the form. At the top was a brightly coloured photo of a boy and girl playing soccer, the girl tackling the boy. An Academy youth team. If I have to choose, I choose that. ‘If I get in – if – I promise I will give something else up.’ Even though I don’t want to.

  But she knew she would have to, and the idea was twisting her into knots.

  ‘I’ll put the form in, then,’ said Dad. ‘I think this is the right decision. You’re always going to have to make these kinds of choices, little one. It’s hard but true.’

  Ellyse jumped up from her chair. ‘Dad, come and measure me again. Please?’

  As she stood against the doorframe, Dad got up and measured a mark, then whistled. ‘That’s amazing. Another whole centimetre. I definitely think I’d better stop calling you “little one”.’

  Ellyse beamed happily. She didn’t need to be super-tall but it was definitely a bonus that she was still growing.

  At touch training on Tuesday night, nobody in the team had received a selector’s call yet. Rocky threw up his hands. ‘Hey, Charlie, if you don’t get in then nobody will. You played like a demon.’

  ‘You mean a devil,’ Charlie said. ‘Maybe they’ll call tomorrow?’

  Training was quiet, and even Ben telling them to be patient and just focus on the present didn’t help much. Ellyse and Charlie waved goodbye and set off home. On the way, Charlie’s phone rang. It was her mum.

  ‘What? You’re kidding. Really?’ she squealed. She hung up and grinned at Ellyse. ‘Mum said they just called. I’ve been picked for the regional team.’

  ‘That’s brilliant!’ Ellyse said. Charlie was so thrilled that it was impossible not to be happy for her. ‘You won’t have to wear a mouldy shirt either.’

  Then Ellyse’s phone jingled. It was Mum. Ellyse’s heart thumped in her chest like a bouncing kangaroo. ‘Hello?’ I hope Mum is calling with good news. She was – Ellyse was in the team too!

  Charlie screamed so loudly that Dad had to put his fingers in his ears. ‘Sorry, Mr Perry,’ she said. ‘Goulburn, here we come.’

  All the way home, they talked nonstop about what it would be like and did Rocky and Sam get in too, and where would they stay and who else would go.

  Dad shook his head. ‘You girls could talk parrots out of trees.’ But he meant it as a joke, of course.

  To celebrate, they bought pizza on the way, which was a big treat, and Ellyse picked her favourite, with salami and mushrooms. She had calmed down from all the excitement by the time she went to bed, and in the quiet dark, she just had one thought: I wish we could share this with Jazz.

  She’d texted Jazz twice now to say sorry but there’d been no reply. Jazz had been at rehearsals at lunchtime this week, Charlie said, and the rest of the time she seemed to be avoiding both of them.

  Maybe at school tomorrow, I can find a way to make up with Jazz and get our friendship back again.

  Only Charlie was waiting for Ellyse outside Callinan the next morning.

  ‘Have you heard from Jazz?’ Ellyse asked.

  Charlie shook her head. ‘I found out she’s not been at rehearsals like she told me. The chorus aren’t even rehearsing yet. Is she hiding from us? Or does she just hate us?’

  ‘I think she hates me,’ Ellyse said miserably. ‘I wish I’d never opened my mouth.’

  ‘But did you really see her shoplifting?’ Charlie asked.

  Ellyse had thought about it so many times, going over what she remembered again and again, and always it was the same answer. ‘Yes, I’m pretty sure. But I just wanted to help her. It’s not like I was going to dob her in.’

  ‘Of course not,’ Charlie said, giving her a sympathetic smile. The bell was about to ring, so they walked to their classrooms. ‘Listen, she’s got to turn up for our soccer semifinal today. Let’s talk to her then.’

  Ellyse nodded and went into her homeroom, but as she sat down, a thought struck her. If Jazz didn’t have rehearsal yesterday, then she must have fibbed to Ms Beattie about not being at training. What if Ms Beattie finds out? She won’t let Jazz play.

  The thought bugged her all morning, and when she arrived to debating class, it was still buzzing in her head. They’d been doing impromptu speeches for a few weeks now, which Ellyse had considered a relief – it meant no homework. For impromptu, the teacher offered a hat and each student picked out a topic, had five minutes to make notes and then had to talk for three minutes. It was nerve-racking but fun. In the last class, Hu had had to talk about the pros and cons of a board game and she’d told a hilarious story about fighting over the chess board with her brothers until one of them had eaten a pawn!

  Jazz was still nowhere to be found at lunchtime. ‘Maybe she isn’t at school,’ Charlie said.

  But that means she won’t be here for the soccer semi either. Who will be goalie? ‘Please tell me she’s not staying away from school because of me,’ Ellyse said. That would be the most awful thing.

  ‘No, her mum wouldn’t let her wag,’ Charlie said. ‘I’m sure this isn’t about you. Something else is going on – something with her family, I bet.’

  Sure enough, Jazz didn’t turn up to their game, but Ms Beattie was able to tell them why. ‘Jazz has a week off school,’ she said. ‘They’ve gone away on a family retreat for intensive counselling. She didn’t tell you?’

  They shook their heads. ‘I sure hope it helps,’ Charlie said.

  It meant Ms Beattie had to replace Jazz in goal, and even though Hu put her hand up again, Ms Beattie chose Amy, one of the backs. ‘Don’t worry, girls,’ Ms Beattie said. ‘We’re not playing for the FA Cup here. Enjoy the game and play your hearts out. Roaar!’

  ‘Roooaaarrrr!’ the team yelled, and ran onto the field.

  It was true, Amy wasn’t nearly as good as Jazz in the goal, but she tried her hardest. The opposing team were more experienced – this was their second season – and their strikers were fast and aggressive. Hu stood up to them, and Ellyse and Charlie defended non-stop. After her game against Naji, Ellyse felt a million times more confident about her tackling, and she beat the other strikers and regained the ball for her team over and ov
er.

  In the end, though, Callinan lost 2–3. Amy was visibly upset, but Ms Beattie said, ‘You were terrific, Amy, really gung-ho. Jazz might have to fight for her position!’ That made Amy smile again, and she joined in the Callinan roar the loudest of all.

  With Jazz away, Ellyse was able to relax a bit and stop worrying about her. It didn’t mean the problem had disappeared, but it was a relief to think about other things for a while – like the touch footy Country Cup!

  The selectors called in the Northern Sydney Mets regional team for special training sessions, which meant a rush to get to the ground on Saturday after playing soccer for the Hawks. Rocky had also been selected; the three Devils stood together looking around at the other excited players. The training session didn’t turn out to be as tough as they’d expected. The coach, Martin, focused on drills that got them to know each other and work as a team, and then quickly moved into a practice game. He ran around the field with them, calling out advice and directing play, gradually speeding up their moves and passes. It got to the point that as soon as he opened his mouth, they knew he’d be shouting, ‘Faster! Try that faster!’

  Afterwards he told them to keep training all week with their friends and club team. ‘Stay focused on the rhythm and flow,’ he said. ‘I want you to pass both ways, even if you lean to your right. Ellyse, you’re good at that. Keep it up. We’ll have another training session on Wednesday afternoon. Bus for Goulburn leaves here at six o’clock on Saturday morning.’

  The permission forms had been signed, the shirts organised, expenses paid. All they had to do now was get on the bus! It was a full week, with the usual training and games, although there was no school soccer since they’d lost the semi. Vinnie wasn’t happy that Ellyse would miss the Hawks’ Saturday game, but he understood.

  The problem with Jazz, however, hadn’t been resolved. Jazz came back to school on Monday, but she was quiet and withdrawn and barely spoke. At least she was sitting with them at recess and lunch again, but she wouldn’t go to soccer training. When Charlie asked if she was okay, Jazz shrugged and said, ‘Sure, why wouldn’t I be?’