Goalkeeper in Charge Read online

  “He was nice,” Tina said. “Speaking of nice, I hope this new coach is nice. I —”

  “Did he talk about me?” Meg demanded.

  Tina was a little annoyed by Meg’s one-track mind. “I didn’t… well, he said that he was glad to have made two friends here. I guess he meant you and me.”

  Meg said, “I was hoping we’d have some of the same classes, but I didn’t see him. But maybe we’ll see him at lunch sometime.”

  Before Tina could turn the conversation back to soccer, they had arrived at the field.

  Among the girls already there, talking, lacing up their shoes, and stretching, were some Tina was happy to recognize: teammates from past years and a few she knew a little at school.

  Two women were setting up bright-orange traffic cones on the field. One of them had to be Danielle. A couple of girls waved and called hello to Tina and Meg. Tina laced her shoes, telling herself to relax, that there was nothing to be nervous about.

  As Tina finished tucking her molded plastic shin guards in place under her knee-length socks, she heard a shrill whistle. One of the women signaled for the girls to gather around her. She was tall, with curly brown hair held in place by a red sweatband. She wore a yellow workout suit and held a clipboard.

  She smiled brightly. “It’s good to see so many of you. It looks like we have eighteen players here — that’s excellent.

  “My name is Danielle Barron. I’ve been a coach for several years, and I played soccer in college and, for a time, professionally as well.”

  Danielle gestured to the woman standing at her side. She was not as tall as Danielle, had short, glossy black hair, and wore shorts and a sweatshirt. “This is Pepper Schmidt, my assistant. She was a top college player and really knows the game. For part of our practices, we’ll split the team in half, and Pepper and I will each work with a group. Before anything else, I’d like each of you to call out your name so that we get to know each other.”

  When her turn came, Tina shouted out as well as everyone else, which was a relief to her.

  After the introductions, Danielle said, “I believe we can have a successful season, and here’s what I mean by success.” She ticked off the points on her fingers. “You all have a good time; you all give your best effort; you all get to play meaningful minutes; you all play as a team. If we do that, we’ll have a great year.

  “Playing as a team means that when you’re in the game you know where the ball is, what the situation is, and what your job is. A team that plays as a unit will almost always beat a team with one or two outstanding players trying to do it on their own. Soccer is the ultimate team sport. Anyway, that’s how I coach. I hope you have shin guards, because you can’t play without them. Any questions?”

  There were no questions. Tina liked what Danielle had said. It fit in with her goal of not standing out. As she glanced around, she noticed that a few girls looked doubtful. Maybe they didn’t like the fact that Danielle didn’t see winning as the only thing that mattered. Maybe they saw themselves as stars and didn’t like Danielle’s downplaying of the role of stars. But maybe Tina was misreading the expressions on the girls’ faces, and they were as happy with the coach as she was.

  Danielle divided the team in half and took her half to the far end of the field to work. Pepper stayed with the others, including Tina and Meg. Pepper gathered them together behind a line of orange traffic cones that were five feet apart. She rolled a soccer ball in front of one of the girls.

  “We’re going to do a dribbling exercise. I want each of you to dribble the ball, weaving around those cones; go to the left of the first cone, to the right of the second one, and so on, to the end of the line. Then come back, doing the same thing. Remember, use only your feet. Okay? Go!”

  Tina watched the first girl, who did well until she mis-hit the ball so it rolled away. She looked at Pepper, not sure what to do.

  “It’s okay,” Pepper said. “Jus* get the ball and finish the course.”

  On Meg’s turn, she went through the cones carefully, not losing the ball, but taking more time than the other players. Pepper said nothing. Tina got through faster because she used the outside as well as the inside edges of her feet to move the ball along.

  After they finished, Pepper said, “Good! Here are things to work on. First, you should dribble without watching your feet. In a game, you need to keep your eyes on the field and other players, or a defender might steal the ball before you know what’s happening. Or you might miss a chance for a pass to set up an attack or a shot. Practice until it feels natural to look up as you dribble.

  “Another thing: Did you see how Tina — is that your name?”

  Tina blushed and nodded wordlessly.

  “— how Tina was faster through the cones because she used both the inside and outside edges of her feet? Practice that too. Let’s do it one more time.”

  The girls went through again. Some were better, but a few, trying not to look down, lost control of the ball.

  “Don’t worry,” Pepper said. “You’ll improve with practice. Before long, it’ll be natural. Let’s work on passing.”

  Pepper paired off the girls and had each pair place two cones five feet apart. The players stood thirty feet from each other with the cones midway between them. The coach gave each twosome a ball and partnered herself with Meg.

  “What you do,” she said, “is pass to each other, between the cones.” She demonstrated, kicking the ball to Meg. “See how I kick with the inner surface of my foot? You can’t control the ball when you kick with your toes. Okay?”

  Tina already knew the technique and did fine, as did other girls with a lot of soccer experience. A few had trouble getting the ball between the cones. Pepper knelt by one of the girls. “First, plant the foot you’re not kicking with, and then swing your other leg so the inside surface of the foot hits the ball. Lock the ankle of your kicking foot — don’t flex it.”

  The girl’s next pass was between the cones. The players worked on passing with both right and left feet. After a while, Pepper moved them ten feet farther apart.

  “Great!” Pepper said, after the drill was over. “You’re all getting the idea. Now for some passing on the run.”

  She had pairs of players run twenty yards one way and back the other way, passing to each other as they ran. Tina quickly realized that her partner didn’t know how to pass on the move. Her partner’s first pass was yards behind her, forcing Tina to stop short and backpedal. The other girl then lofted her next kick high in the air, forcing Tina to lunge forward and stop the ball with her forehead. So it went, up and down the field. Tina was embarrassed for the other girl and herself. At one point, the other girl, whom Tina didn’t know, actually gave Tina an annoyed look, as if everything was Tina’s fault. Tina, who had just made a desperate but unsuccessful try to reach another bad pass, said nothing. She did notice, however, that Pepper was watching them closely.

  Afterward, Pepper said, “Remember: When you pass, lock the ankle — don’t flex it. Swing your foot in a line toward the receiver and allow for her being a moving target.” She didn’t say a word to Tina’s partner, but Tina realized that Pepper knew what had happened.

  Pepper then split the group into threes. Two players would pass back and forth, with the third as a defender trying to intercept passes.

  Tina was relieved when the girl who couldn’t pass well was put in a different group. Tina’s threesome included Meg and a third girl, who could pass. Tina and the other girl, a tall redhead named Zoe, had little trouble keeping the ball away from Meg. Meg was slow to react and see where the ball was going.

  Then Tina was the defender. On Meg’s first pass, Meg almost came to a full stop and looked hard at Zoe before kicking. Tina easily intercepted. Zoe managed to get the ball by Tina, but Tina picked off Meg’s second pass too. She could have intercepted almost every pass Meg made because Meg did everything but yell, “Fm going to pass now” before passing. But Tina felt bad for Meg and deliberately let
passes through. She thought that Pepper knew what she was doing. She did it anyway.

  After the drill, Pepper said, “Be careful not to let defenders know you’re going to pass or who you’re passing to. Kick on the run, and don’t stare at your target. Tina, good ‘D’!”

  Once again, Tina felt uncomfortable at being singled out, even for praise. A minute later, Pepper came up to Tina and said softly, so no one else heard, “Meg’s a good friend, right?”

  Tina turned red and nodded.

  “I understand,” Pepper said. “But try not to be embarrassed about being a good athlete.”

  Again Tina nodded but said nothing.

  Pepper studied Tina for a moment, smiled at her, and went to pick up the cones.

  The team took a break. Danielle and Pepper huddled together, and at one point, Tina thought she caught them looking her way.

  Meg came up to Tina while the coaches talked. “You were taking it easy on me in that last drill. You don’t have to. I know you’re better at this than I am, and I’m okay with it.”

  “Pepper sort of told me the same thing just now,” Tina admitted.

  “She’s right,” said Meg.

  After the break, Danielle took over Tina’s group. She set up a shooting drill in which two players tried to set up shots while a third girl acted as goalkeeper. Danielle used cones to mark off a goal.

  Tina passed to Zoe, who slammed a hard shot past the girl in goal. A few minutes later, Tina aimed a shot at the corner of the goal, but it was just wide.

  Then it was Tina’s turn to act as keeper.

  On the first shot — kicked by Zoe — Tina dived to one side and stretched out to catch the ball. Out of the corner of her eye, Tina saw Danielle give an approving nod. A few minutes later, Zoe and a girl Tina didn’t know moved in, passing back and forth until they were five yards away. Tina moved toward the girl with the ball, who tried to kick it past her. Tina just got a hand on it and knocked it away. She stopped all but one shot attempt during her turn as goalkeeper.

  On the last shot, Zoe tried to chip the ball over Tina’s head. Tina leaped up as high as she could, punched the ball straight up, and stepped back to grab the ball as it came down.

  “Good save!” Danielle called.

  Tina smiled weakly, knowing that her face was bright red.

  Practice ended soon after the goalkeeping drill. As Tina was getting ready to leave, Danielle called to her.

  Tina felt nervous for no clear reason, but walked over to the coach.

  “Have you ever been a goalkeeper?” the coach asked.

  Tina shook her head. “No. I’ve usually been a midfielder.”

  “Interesting,” Danielle said. “You have good goal-keeping instincts. Instead of backing away from a shooter, you knew when to go toward her and cut down her target. You’re also fast when you move to either side.”

  “Uh … thanks,” Tina mumbled. She didn’t like where this conversation was going.

  “Are you interested in goalkeeping?” the coach asked. “It’s an important position, and our top keeper from last year is gone.”

  Tina didn’t want to simply say no, even though that was how she felt. Finally, she said, “Well… I don’t know.”

  “It’s all right,” said Danielle. “I don’t need a definite answer right now, but I’d like you to think about it, okay? If you decide you’d rather not, fine. You’ll be a good addition to the Wildcats in any position.”

  “Thanks,” said Tina. Walking away, she was worried. The more she thought about goalkeeping, the less she liked it. It was the one position where you couldn’t be invisible. Keepers even wore different-colored uniforms, so players could distinguish them from their teammates. Playing keeper carried more responsibility.

  On the other hand, Danielle said that the Wildcats needed a good keeper. The thought that she might be letting the team down was troubling to Tina. She didn’t know what to do. Why did things have to get so complicated?

  3

  What did Danielle want?” asked Meg as the girls headed home. “You look like you just got bad news.”

  Tina sighed. “She thinks I should be a goalkeeper.”

  “Really?” Meg said. “That’s great! Isn’t it? You’ll be awesome! I wish I was as quick as you. I’d love to be a keeper.”

  “Well, not me,” said Tina. “Goalkeepers are always in the spotlight. If they make saves, they’re heroes, and if the other team scores, they’re booed. I’d hate it either way.”

  “But it isn’t just the keeper’s fault when the other team scores,” objected Meg.

  “No, but a lot of people think it is. I don’t want to stand out. I just want to fit in.”

  “I know how you feel,” said Meg. “Except the thing is, Danielle’s right. You’d be so good! We’d be a better team with you there. Will you think about it?”

  “Yeah, I’ll think about it,” Tina said, looking unhappy.

  “Here’s something else to think about,” Meg added. “If you’re an awesome goalkeeper, like I think you’ll be, it’ll be good for you.”

  “Yeah?” Tina replied. “How?”

  “You have trouble with people paying a lot of attention to you. But if you become an important player on the Wildcats, people are going to pay more attention to you.”

  Tina stared at her friend. “How will that be good for me?”

  Meg said, “Think about it, Teen! You don’t like being in the spotlight, because you’re not used to it. But the more you’re in the spotlight, the more you’ll get used to it! As you get used to it, you’ll have an easier time with it. Wait and see.”

  Tina thought about what Meg had said as they reached Tina’s house.

  “You really think so?” she asked.

  But Meg didn’t answer. She was looking toward Dave’s house.

  “Is Dave around?” Meg asked.

  “How should I know?” Tina snapped, annoyed. “I thought we were talking, but if you’d rather look for Dave, see if I care!”

  Meg blinked. “I was only —”

  Tina cut her off. “You were only! If you’d rather see Dave, go knock on his door. I thought you wanted to spend time with me, but maybe I was wrong.”

  “I’m sorry, Teen.” Meg looked like she meant it. “You’re my best friend, and I didn’t mean I wanted to see Dave and not you. But you know me. I like spending time with boys. Dave happens to be a nice boy — even you say so — and I was wondering if he was home. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings.”

  Tina knew right away that she had overreacted. “It’s okay. I’m too touchy.”

  Meg said, “Let’s just forget it.” She sat on the grass. “I was wondering something. Do you feel more shy with boys than with girls?”

  Tina thought for a moment. “I don’t think so. I feel that way with anyone I don’t know well, whether it’s a boy or a girl. But I don’t know as many boys.”

  “Do you have any idea why you have trouble just relaxing around other kids?” asked Meg. Then she hastily added, “If you’d rather not talk about it…”

  “No, it’s all right,” Tina assured her. She sat down next to her friend. “I think about it sometimes. I guess I’m afraid I’m really boring, that nothing I have to say could interest anyone. When I’m with other people, I try to think of stuff to say and I can’t and … well, then I am boring. Either I don’t say anything or I say dumb things, until people want to get away from me before they start yawning in my face. Or snoring.”

  “Huh,” said Meg. “That’s weird. You’re not like that at all when it’s just you and me, and no one else is around. You have plenty to say, and you can be funny too. Too bad other kids never see that side of you.”

  Tina smiled. Meg was a good friend and wanted Tina to feel better about herself, but Tina didn’t believe a word of it.

  Just then, Dave came out of his house and saw the girls. “Hey! Hi!”

  Meg’s face lit up, and Tina smiled as convincingly as she could.

  “What�
��s happening?” Dave asked.

  “Not much,” said Tina.

  “We just had our first soccer practice,” Meg said.

  “Yeah?” Dave leaned against the Esparzas’ fence. “How was it? How’s the coach? Tina, you said you were nervous about her.”

  “She’s nice,” Meg said. “And she thinks Tina could be a star goalkeeper.”

  “No kidding!” Dave grinned at Tina. “Fantastic! That’d be great!”

  Tina shrugged, looking down at the grass. “I don’t know. Meg is exaggerating. And I don’t know if I want to.”

  “Why not?” Dave asked. “I think it’d be fantastic to be a good keeper. But I don’t have the talent. I guess you do.”

  “Tina’s a super athlete,” Meg said. “She doesn’t think so, but she is. How’s school? You like your teachers?”

  “Yeah, they’re okay,” Dave said. “I really like my science teacher, Mr. Ryan. He’s cool. You know him?”

  Tina nodded but said nothing. Meg asked, “Is Mr. Ryan the tall guy with the mustache? He seems nice.”

  “Yeah, that’s him. Tina, don’t you take science?” Dave squatted on the edge of the lawn. “It’s my favorite subject. What’s yours?”

  Tina shrugged. “I don’t know. They’re all okay, I guess.”

  “My favorite is English,” Meg said. “I love reading. Tina’s really good in English too. She’s an awesome writer.”

  “Really?” Dave asked. “I wish I wrote well, but I’m not good at it. Maybe you could help me, I mean, if you have the time.”

  There was a long, awkward silence. Meg turned and stared hard at Tina. “I bet Tina could help, right, Tina?”

  Very softly, Tina said, “Maybe. I guess. I’m not really that good.”

  “Oh,” Dave said. Meg cleared her throat and was about to speak when Dave suddenly stood up. “See you,” he said, walked back to his house, and went inside.

  Tina looked up, surprised. “Why did he jump up and go like that?” she asked.

  Meg laughed. “You’re kidding, right?”