Soccer Shootout

by Jake Maddox

After just a few weeks of practice, the Titans were ready to begin their season.

  It would be a long schedule. There were twenty-four league games, plus four weekend tournaments.

  At the end of the regular season there would be playoffs.

  Before the Titans’ first game of the season, Coach Davis gathered the players around for a pep talk.

  “Well, boys, we’re ready for another great season,” he began. “Last year, we won the state tournament. I know some things are different this year, but I think we can do it again. And we have a new opportunity this year. Whoever wins the state title this year will be invited to play in a national tournament!”

  Now the players were pumped. They couldn’t wait to get on the field.

  When the game began, Berk felt strange. Playing as sweeper meant moving around the field a lot and doing things that he wasn’t used to doing.

  Still, he handled the position well, so Ryan didn’t have much work at the net.

  The Titans controlled play for most of the game.

  Peter scored a goal late in the first half to give the team a 1–0 lead against their opponents, the Storm.

  Early in the second half, the Storm became more aggressive. They kept putting pressure on the Titans’ goal. Berk and the rest of the defenders were busy clearing the ball away.

  Midway through the half, the Storm pushed the ball down into the left corner of the field. Ryan charged out of the net to challenge the forward. That left the net empty.

  “Ryan!” Berk yelled. “Get back in the goal!”

  It was too late.

  A Storm player hit the ball into the middle of the field.

  Berk couldn’t get to it, and the Storm’s center forward pounded the ball into the open net. Ryan dived, but couldn’t reach the shot.

  As Ryan dug the ball out of the goal, Berk walked over to him.

  “Ryan, don’t charge into the corners,” he said, as nicely as possible. “You have to stay in the net. Let your defense handle the corners.”

  “Maybe you should have cleared that ball away,” Ryan snapped back. “You made me look bad.”

  Berk turned and trotted back onto the field. Minutes later, the Storm had another chance from the corner. Ryan charged again, and again the ball was lofted over his head.

  This time, Berk slid in front of the forward and knocked the ball away.

  When the ball was cleared to the other end of the field, Berk turned back toward Ryan.

  “See?” Berk said. “You have to stay in the goal. That time, I saved you!”

  Chapter 7

  A LITTLE HELP

  The Storm and the Titans ended the game in a 1–1 tie.

  The rest of the Titans’ season was a lot like that first game.

  Ryan made some great saves, but his poor fundamental play cost his team several goals.

  The Titans were scoring as many goals as they had the year before, but they were giving up a lot more.

  Peter led the team with sixteen goals, but instead of winning games 2–1 or 1–0, the Titans were losing 3–2 or tying 2–2.

  After that first game, when Ryan didn’t seem to like Berk’s advice, Berk stopped giving it. He did his best job as sweeper, trying to protect Ryan. But he didn’t offer Ryan any help in how to play goalkeeper.

  The Titans were barely able to make the league playoffs.

  Their season record of twelve wins, eight losses, and four ties put them in fourth place — the last playoff spot.

  They would have to win two league playoff games and three state tournament games in a row in order to go to the national tournament.

  It seemed very unlikely.

  It took the whole season, but finally Coach Davis saw that Ryan’s risky play was hurting the team.

  After the last game of the regular season, he took Ryan aside for a private talk. Berk couldn’t hear what they were saying.

  When the talk was over, Coach Davis called to Berk.

  Berk ran up to him.

  “Berk, I think we need to make a change,” Coach Davis said. “I’d like to put you back in goal for the playoffs.”

  Berk wasn’t sure what to say. He glanced across the field and saw Ryan.

  The tall boy was walking away slowly, his head held low.

  “Are you sure?” Berk said. “Ryan’s been playing there all year.”

  “It’s not working out,” Coach Davis said. “If we want to go to nationals, we need you in goal.”

  It was a huge compliment, and Berk knew it.

  Still, he felt uneasy. “Um, thanks, Coach,” he finally said.

  As the coach walked away, Peter approached. “I heard the great news!” he yelled. “That’s awesome!”

  “Yeah, awesome,” Berk mumbled. “So why don’t I feel better?”

  That night at home, Berk pulled out his goalkeeper gloves. He tried them on. This time, they felt a little funny.

  Berk stared at the gloves, and things suddenly became clear.

  That night, Berk phoned Peter and asked if he could meet at the soccer field.

  “Trust me,” Berk told his friend. “I have an idea.”

  Chapter 8

  HELPING OUT

  Berk walked over to Ryan’s house. He rang the doorbell and waited.

  He wasn’t sure how Ryan would react to him coming over. After all, they weren’t exactly friends.

  Ryan came to the door. When he saw Berk, he paused for a moment. Then he opened the door and stepped out.

  “So, did you come over to gloat?” Ryan said.

  “Not exactly,” Berk said. “I have an idea.”

  Ryan looked confused.

  Berk didn’t worry about what he was about to say.

  He decided direct honesty was the only way.

  “Look, you make better saves than I do,” Berk said. “But you’re not a better goalkeeper than me.”

  “So you did come over to gloat,” Ryan shot back.

  “Just listen,” Berk replied. “If we put our skills together, we’d have an awesome goalkeeper. So that’s what we need to do.”

  “Huh?” Ryan said. “What are you saying? Are you nuts?”

  “We need to combine our skills into one keeper,” Berk said. “I’ll never be able to make some of the amazing saves you make, because you’re a better athlete than I’ll ever be. But you can learn how to play goalkeeper as well as I do.”

  It was all becoming clear to Ryan. “So, you’re going to help me with the fundamentals?” he said.

  “Exactly,” Berk said.

  * * *

  Throughout that weekend, Berk and Peter drilled Ryan on the fundamentals.

  They worked on helping Ryan decide when to charge and when to stay in the goal. They even worked out a series of signals that Berk could give to Ryan to help him hold his place.

  It wasn’t easy, but Ryan was starting to get it.

  * * *

  At the next practice, Berk and Ryan approached Coach Davis together.

  They presented their idea, and told the coach what they had already done.

  Coach Davis seemed pleased.

  “I’m not sure if this will work,” he said. “But I’m proud of you boys for working together to solve this problem. Let’s do it!”

  Chapter 9

  PLAN IN ACTION

  It wasn’t always smooth, but the plan worked.

  Berk shouted “Goal!” whenever Ryan needed to stay put, and “Now!” when he needed to charge.

  After a few games, Berk didn’t need to make the calls anymore.

  Ryan was figuring it out on his own.

  Ryan kept making spectacular saves.

  This time the saves were keeping the Titans ahead instead of covering up Ryan’s own bad decisions. It made playing goalkeeper much easier.

  The Titans easily advanced through the league playoffs and the first two rounds of the state tournament.

  In the state championship, they again faced the Cosmos, just as they had the year before. This was it, their
chance to go to nationals for the first time ever.

  The Cosmos were a great team, and they had a powerful offense. That was clear in the first half, when the Cosmos pressured the Titans’ goal.

  Berk and the rest of the defense kept the ball away from the goal for most of the half.

  Ryan made a few saves, too, and did a great job of playing the position fundamentally.

  Early in the second half, Berk intercepted a pass at the top of the penalty area.

  Looking ahead, he heard Peter yell “Send it!” as he took off down the sideline. Berk booted the ball high down the field, ahead of Peter.

  With his speed, Peter beat the defense and controlled the pass.

  He closed on the Cosmos goal and boomed a heavy shot toward the far upper corner.

  As the ball hit the webbing of the net, Berk and the rest of the Titans yelled.

  They were ahead!

  Now they only needed to protect their lead. Against the Cosmos, it wasn’t going to be easy.

  Throughout the rest of the half, the Cosmos pressured the goal. Like many teams, they tried to advance the ball to the corners, then cross it into the middle of the field.

  Ryan never budged on those plays. He was able to intercept several crossing passes as a result.

  In the final minute, the Cosmos made one last rush up the field. They moved the ball into the corner, and a Titans defender rushed to challenge.

  Berk moved to cover a player. But with the game on the line, the Cosmos brought more players into the zone.

  The Titans defenders couldn’t cover them all.

  The Cosmos player kicked the ball toward the front of the goal.

  Ryan froze. Berk could tell he was trying to decide if he should run out to try to play it or if he should stay in the goal.

  Ryan stayed put. He saw the ball going toward an unguarded player near the penalty-kick dot.

  Ryan prepared for the shot. He crouched low and kept his hands ready.

  When the ball bounced off the player’s foot, Ryan was ahead of it.

  His sprawling dive met the ball perfectly. And, instead of knocking it away, Ryan caught it. He clutched it tightly as time expired.

  The Titans were champions again!

  Peter and Berk rushed to their keeper. Ryan still held the ball to his chest.

  “You did it!” Berk yelled. “You did it!”

  Ryan looked him in the eye. “No, we did it,” Ryan said.

  About the Author

  Bob Temple lives in Rosemount, Minnesota, with his wife and three children. He has written more than thirty books for children. Over the years, he has coached more than twenty kids’ soccer, basketball, and baseball teams. He also loves visiting classrooms to talk about his writing.

  About the Illustrator

  When Sean Tiffany was growing up, he lived on a small island off the coast of Maine. Every day, from sixth grade until he graduated from high school, he had to take a boat to get to school. When Sean isn’t working on his art, he works on a multimedia project called “OilCan Drive,” which combines music and art. He has a pet cactus named Jim.

  Glossary

  competition (kom-puh-TISH-uhn)—a contest, or a situation in which two or more people all want the same thing

  fundamentals (fuhn-duh-MEN-tuhlz)—basic and necessary skills

  gloat (GLOHT)—to show happiness that someone else has failed

  penalty kick (PEN-uhl-tee KIK)—in soccer, an extra shot awarded against a team that has committed an offense

  position (puh-ZISH-uhn)—the role assigned to a player

  rebound (REE-bound)—to bounce the ball back into play

  scrimmage (SKRIM-ij)—a game played for practice

  More About Soccer Positions

  A soccer team is made up of eleven players: forwards, midfielders, defenders, and a goalkeeper.

  The forwards are responsible for most of the team’s scoring. Since they play in front of the rest of the team, they can take the most shots.

  Midfielders play directly behind the forwards. They help with ball control and passing.

  The defenders are next in line. They keep the other team’s players from scoring.

  Finally, the goalkeeper prevents shots from crossing the goal line.

  Discussion Questions

  1. Why do you think Ryan acted the way he did when he first got to the new school?

  2. Berk could have made Ryan look bad by letting other teams get good shots on him. Instead, Berk tried his best to protect Ryan. Why?

  3. Coach Davis offered Berk a chance to be the goalkeeper again. Why do you think Berk felt funny about that?

  Writing Prompts

  1. At the beginning of the book, Berk faced a situation in which the game was up to him. Write about a time when you had a lot of pressure on you, and how you handled it.

  2. Have you ever been replaced by someone else, like Berk was? Write about how that felt.

  3. At the end of the book, Berk did something to help out Ryan. Write about a time when you helped someone achieve something great.

  Other Books By Jake Maddox

  Hannah and Brian have the run of Snowstream, a cool winter resort. But a new kid, Zach, starts a boys-only snowboard cross team. What will Brian do when he’s forced to choose between Hannah and snowboarding?

  Best friends Carlos and Ricky race all the time, but when their bikes are sabotaged before a major race, they can’t trust each other. They’ll have to band together to figure out who’s pulling a double-cross.

  Internet Sites

  Do you want to know more about subjects related to this book? Or are you interested in learning about other topics? Then check out FactHound, a fun, easy way to find Internet sites.

  Our investigative staff has already sniffed out great sites for you!

  Here’s how to use FactHound:

  1. Visit www.facthound.com

  2. Select your grade level.

  3. To learn more about subjects related to this book, type in the book’s ISBN number: 9781598898446.

  4. Click the Fetch It button.

  FactHound will fetch the best Internet sites for you!

  Impact Books are published by Stone Arch Books,

  A Capstone Imprint

  1710 Roe Crest Drive

  North Mankato, Minnesota 56003

  www.capstonepub.com

  Copyright © 2008 by Stone Arch Books

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in whole or in part, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission of the publisher.

  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Maddox, Jake.

  Soccer Shootout / by Jake Maddox; illustrated by Sean Tiffany.

  p. cm. — (Impact Books. A Jake Maddox Sports Story)

  Summary: When a new boy joins the Titans soccer team, Berk, who has always played goalkeeper, is challenged for that position and he must decide whether to hold a grudge or act for the good of the team.

  ISBN-13: 978-1-59889-844-6 (library binding)

  ISBN-13: 978-1-59889-896-5 (paperback)

  ISBN-13: 978-1-4342-8860-8 (ebook)

  [1. Soccer—Fiction. 2. Teamwork (Sports)—Fiction.] I. Tiffany, Sean, ill. II. Title.

  PZ7.M25643So 2008

  [Fic]—dc22

  2007003635

  Art Director: Heather Kindseth

  Graphic Designer: Kay Fraser