by Fred Bowen
Josh swallowed hard. He thought Coach Hodges would explain the team-building exercise. Josh could feel the eyes of his teammates on him. He felt like he was on the spot, like someone taking a penalty kick.
“This is a … um … team-building exercise,” Josh started. “Like the 1999 United States women’s team used to do.”
“Who?” Evan asked.
“The 1999 United States Women’s World Cup team,” Josh repeated. “They had great players—a lot of them—but they weren’t playing well together so they tried some team-building exercises.”
“What happened?” Victor asked.
“I know,” said Mario. “They won the World Cup!”
“Let’s give Josh a chance to explain,” Coach said, nodding for him to continue.
Josh told everyone a little more about the 1999 team and what they did to become better teammates.
“Me and Aidan—and Coach—figured maybe some team-building exercises would help us play better too.” He paused for a moment, then continued. “I mean we got a lot of real good players … and, um—”
“Josh, why don’t you tell everyone about the exercise you’ve set up over here,” Coach suggested.
“Okay,” Josh said. “See, this blanket is like a boat surrounded by hungry alligators and we’re all on the boat and we need to get it to shore.”
“Where’s the shore?” Victor asked.
Josh pointed. “Where Aidan and I put our water bottles.”
“Why don’t we just lift it up and move it there?” Patrick asked.
“You can’t get off the boat or you’ll be alligator food,” Aidan said, raising one hand high and slamming it down on the other like the jaws of an alligator.
Everyone on the team laughed, except Evan. “Come on, Coach. What’s this got to do with soccer?”
Coach Hodges fixed the center midfielder in a level gaze. Josh had never seen his coach look like this before. She answered Evan with one word: “Everything.” Then the coach set her watch and walked toward a shady tree. “You have twenty minutes,” she said. “Or you’re all going to be alligator food.”
Nobody spoke at first. They all crowded onto the blanket.
“This is stupid,” Evan muttered.
“Come on,” Demetrius said. “Let’s give it a try.”
Evan stared at Josh. “It’s your brilliant idea. How do we do it?”
“I don’t know. We got to figure that out as a team,” Josh said. “That’s the whole point.”
“Who made you coach?” Evan demanded. “Why do we have to do this … just because of some girls’ team?”
“That girls’ team won the World Cup,” Josh snapped.
“So what,” Evan barked.
“So that sounds a lot better than 0–7,” Victor said softly.
Evan didn’t have an answer for that.
“I got an idea,” Mario said, puzzling out the problem. “Maybe we can all shuffle our feet and kind of scoot the blanket to shore.”
“Let’s try it,” Kadir said.
“Okay,” Mario said. “Everyone face the shore. Ready? One … two … three … shuffle.”
“That makes it sound like we’re dancing!” Evan complained.
“Just shuffle, Evan!” everyone yelled.
The team shuffled forward, but the blanket just got twisted up in their feet.
“Hey, watch out!” Kadir shouted. “This is making the boat smaller.”
“Whoa!” Patrick yelled as he fell off the blanket. “You guys are going to need a new goalie. I think an alligator just ate my foot.”
Victor hopped up. “Wait! I got an idea!” Everyone stopped laughing and listened. “Maybe we can each grab the edge and jump forward.”
When the players were all in position, Victor shouted, “One … two … three—jump!”
They jumped, but yanking on the blanket made them lose their balance. Most of the players tumbled off. Everyone was laughing now, even Evan. “Hey! The alligators ate half our team!”
“Fifteen minutes,” Coach Hodges called from the shade.
“C’mon, guys. Let’s start over,” Josh said. “I got an idea. Everybody get to the front of the boat.”
The boys crammed onto the front of the blanket. “Hey, quit pushing,” Victor protested. “I don’t want to end up with the alligators again.”
“Here’s my idea,” Josh told the players. “You know how an inchworm moves? First it’s flat. Then it pulls up in the middle. Then it stretches forward and it’s flat again.”
“Yeah. That’s how they move. They keep doing that,” Patrick said. “We used to race them at summer camp.”
“Right. Come on, Evan,” he said, motioning with his hand. “I need you to help me. Everyone else stay where you are.” Evan followed Josh to the middle of the blanket. “Okay, let’s pull up here to make a bump like an inchworm.” Josh and Evan pulled at the same time. The back of the blanket inched closer as they tugged the middle higher.
“Okay, now everybody step over the middle and go to the back of the boat,” Josh called. The players stepped over the bump and squeezed onto the remaining strip of blanket. Josh continued giving orders. “Now, Evan, Victor, Aidan, and me will push the blanket forward.”
The boys leaned over the bump in the middle and started pushing and heaving the front of the blanket toward the water bottles and the “shore.” When the bump was flat and they had pushed as much as they could, the players eyed their progress.
“We only gained about a foot!” Kadir said.
“Ten minutes!” Coach Hodges called out.
“That’s okay,” Evan said. “If we keep it up, we’ll make it. Everyone to the front again, so Josh and I can pull up the back.”
Working together, all of the boys got into a rhythm. Move to the front. Pull up the middle. Step to the back. Push out the front. Move to the front. Pull up the middle. Step to the back….
They were in constant motion, bumping into each other and laughing about it. Mario almost fell off the boat, but Patrick yanked him back. The steady chatter kept everyone pumped and focused.
“Make the bump bigger. That’ll make the boat go faster.”
“Let’s have more guys push the blanket flat.”
“We should name our boat the U.S.S. Inchworm.”
When the front edge of the blanket reached the water bottle, they all cheered.
“We are the United!”
“We’re not alligator food!
“Let’s hear it for the U.S.S. Inchworm!”
Aidan started to laugh. “Hey, we finally got a win!”
Coach Hodges joined the celebration. “Good work, United,” she said, smiling and checking her watch. “You made it with a minute to spare.” She clapped her hands and added, “See you Thursday. And, Josh, I’ve got a research project for you.”
Josh looked at his coach, wondering what she meant.
“Find me another team-building exercise,” she said. “We’ll do it after the next practice.”
The players cheered. They kept laughing and talking about the U.S.S. Inchworm and the day’s different kind of practice. Josh realized the United had laughed more today than they had during the whole first part of the season.
“See you later, alligators!” Aidan shouted as he walked away.
Even Evan smiled. “That wasn’t too bad,” he admitted. Then he looked at Josh and added, “But let’s see how we do—as a team—on Saturday.”
Chapter 10
Tweeeeeet! The referee’s whistle blew, ending the first half. Josh glanced at the scoreboard even though he knew the score of the game.
The United was losing again, 2–0.
The players drank their water in silence. They sat near a corner of the pitch where the grass was still thick and green. Aidan leaned toward Josh and whispered, “Coach doesn’t look very happy.”
“I don’t blame her,” Josh said without looking up. “We stunk in the first half.”
Coach Hodges stared down at her cl
ipboard as if she was stalling for time, trying to control her temper. Finally she stepped forward and spoke to the team in a firm voice. “We’ll start the second half with the same starting lineup.” Her finger jabbed the air and her voice got louder. “But I am telling the starters right now, you have ten minutes—ten minutes—to make something happen. Or I’ll find some other players who will.”
She paced back and forth, then turned and barked out more instructions to the team. “One or two touches. Pass the ball. Don’t dribble so much. Don’t try to do it all yourself. Trust your teammates. Share the ball. Work together. We practiced being a team, now play like one.” She flashed the fingers on her left hand twice. “Remember, you have ten minutes.”
The United walked back onto the pitch. Their heads were still down. Evan glanced at Josh. “Looks like your team-building ideas aren’t working.”
Josh turned and looked right at him. “The exercises can’t make you play like a team. We have to do that.”
For the first few minutes of the second half, the United continued their sloppy play with the ball stuck around midfield. Out of the corner of his eye, Josh could see the United reserves jogging along the sidelines, warming up.
Coach Hodges wasn’t kidding when she said ten minutes, Josh thought.
He got the ball on the wing and quickly sized up the situation. He was tempted to dribble the ball as far as he could, but remembered Coach’s instructions. “Trust your teammates. Don’t try to do it all yourself.” So he angled the ball to Evan.
Josh had another thought: I wonder if he’ll ever pass it back to me.
As if he could read Josh’s mind, Evan slipped around a Magic defender and fired a pass back to Josh, who was racing up the wing.
Josh controlled the ball with a quick touch, then skidded a low, hard centering pass back to Evan, now in perfect scoring position. With one swift kick, Evan redirected the ball right into the net.
Goal! The score was 2–1. The United were back in the game.
“Perfect give and go!” Josh shouted as the team celebrated around Evan.
“Great centering pass!” Evan cheered, pointing at Josh.
As the players took their positions, Josh checked the stadium clock. Nine minutes, he thought. Just in time!
The United continued to control play in the second half with short, crisp passes. Just as Coach had instructed, one or two touches and the ball would be on its way to another United player. The new United attack created more scoring chances. Victor forced the keeper to make a great save. Josh boomed a shot that rattled off the crossbar. Evan blasted a shot that sailed just wide of the post.
Coach Hodges paced the sidelines, clapping her hands and shouting. “Way to go! Keep trying! Keep it moving! Go for the goal!”
The team kept getting chances and corner kicks, but still no goals. Time was winding down. The Magic threatened, pushing the ball deep into the United zone. But Aidan intercepted a pass and the United pressed the attack.
Everyone kept passing the ball to an open teammate. First to the wing, then to the middle and back to the wing, edging closer to the Magic goal and always keeping possession.
Josh slipped the ball inside to Evan, just outside the penalty area. Then Josh darted to an opening between two Magic defenders, hoping Evan would spot him.
He did!
Evan drilled a quick pass back to Josh, who slipped between the two defenders and broke into the clear. The Magic goalkeeper stepped out to challenge Josh. But with the slightest touch, Josh shifted the ball from one foot to the other, spun around the keeper, and fired a shot low and hard into the net.
Goal! The score was tied, 2–2.
A few minutes later the referee blew his whistle to end the game. The United team celebrated in the middle of the field, smiling and slapping backs as if they had won. The players were still celebrating while they gathered up their water bottles and equipment bags.
“Come on, it was just a tie,” Aidan said. “You guys are acting like we won the World Cup.”
But the United were not listening to any of that talk. “Are you kidding me? A tie feels great,” Josh declared.
“Especially after seven straight losses,” Evan added.
Coach Hodges was standing at the edge of the field with her equipment bag full of soccer balls slung over her shoulder. “Hey, Josh,” she called as he walked by. “I was wondering. How’s your research project coming? You know, the one you’re doing for me?”
Josh smiled. “I’ve got a real interesting idea for the next exercise.”
Chapter 11
Josh and Aidan stepped out of the car at the High-Top Adventure Park. The gravel parking lot was surrounded by woods. Through the just-turning leaves, Josh could see zip lines, swinging ropes, and wobbly bridges high in the trees. And he could hear the sound of distant laughter and happy yells.
Josh eyed Aidan. “I told Coach about this place. I wasn’t sure she’d let us come.”
“Yeah, I remember when we came here with the Flames last year,” Aidan said. “It’s cool.”
“When will you guys be done?” Josh’s mother asked, leaning out of the car window.
“In two hours. Like a regular practice.”
“Okay, I’ll pick you up then.”
The two boys saw the rest of the United team gathered near a small cabin at the edge of the woods.
“Come on, guys,” Coach Hodges called, waving them over. “Hustle over here.”
Coach had a big grin on her face as she addressed the team. “Josh tells me this place is a lot of fun.” She looked back at the trees. “The park has lots of different climbing elements and courses. I’m going to break you into small groups. After you get safety instructions from one of the park rangers, you can spend the rest of the time climbing. Remember, stay together and help each other out. Be good teammates.”
She glanced at her clipboard and started calling out the climbing teams. “The first group will be Josh, Evan, and Kadir.”
Josh’s group walked over to a big ladder made of angled logs nailed to a board. It led up to a platform that looked like the world’s coolest tree house.
Evan glanced around at the ropes and cables high in the trees. “This is a pretty weird soccer pitch.”
“Don’t worry, it’s cool,” Josh said. “I came here last year with my old team, the Flames. We—”
“Whoa! Look at that!” Evan’s eyes widened and he pointed into the trees.
Josh turned toward a loud, metallic whirring sound. High above them, a girl with her harness attached to a zip line flew between two trees.
“Yeeeeaaaaahhhhh!” Her voice filled the air.
A park employee approached Josh’s group. He was tall and wore a bright orange T-shirt with the words “High-Top Adventure Park—It’s Tree-mendous!”
“Hi, I’m Berkeley,” he smiled. “How are you guys doing today?” Berkeley eyed their United shirts. “Let me guess. Same soccer team?”
“Yeah.”
“How’re you doing this season?”
“Not so good,” Josh admitted. “Our record’s 0–7–1.”
“But we played a lot better our last game,” Evan added.
“Maybe this’ll help you play even better,” Berkeley said. For the next fifteen minutes he explained the park and its safety features while the boys stepped into their climbing harnesses, fastened the straps, and put on thick leather gloves.
“We use a double-clip system, so there’s no way anyone can fall. It’s totally safe. Stay away from the black-diamond and double-diamond courses. Those are for the expert climbers. Stick to the yellow, green, and blue courses. Those are easier. Remember, only one guy on an element at a time. And one more thing—have fun.”
“Aren’t you coming with us?” asked Kadir.
Berkeley shook his head. “No, I’ll stay down here. But don’t worry, somebody will climb up and help you if you get in trouble.”
The boys scrambled up the log ladder and stood on the platform. A m
aze of cables, ropes, planks, beams, and barrels spread out into the trees like a midair obstacle course.
“Which way should we go?” Evan asked.
“Why don’t we try the blue course?” Josh suggested, pointing the way.
The boys started off with Josh leading the way, Evan next, and Kadir going third. First they tried a hanging bridge made of strung-together wooden footboards. Josh gripped the taut wire railings and moved slowly, getting used to the height, taking one careful step at a time across the bridge. He tried not to look down. When he reached the other side, he let out a rush of air. “Come on, it’s fun,” he called back to his teammates.
Evan started, moving even more slowly than Josh across the hanging bridge. Kadir was the slowest. Standing on the platform waiting, Josh whispered to Evan, “He doesn’t look like he likes it up here.”
The boys proceeded through the other elements on the blue course: a rope pulled tight like a high wire in the circus, a bridge made of horizontal logs spaced really far apart, and a maze of boards hung at different heights and angles.
Best of all was the zip line, where Josh sailed through the air for about twenty yards, screaming all the way. When he reached the end, he yelled to Evan and Kadir, still on the starting platform. “C’mon! It’s great!”
Evan hesitated for a few seconds before pushing off, but as he flew fast and high toward Josh he was smiling from ear to ear.
Kadir waited forever on the platform. He seemed to be trying to summon up the courage to step off. Finally he closed his eyes, leaned forward, and stepped out into thin air, letting the zip line propel him through the trees.
Josh watched Kadir zoom toward him. As Kadir got close, Josh—still clipped to the safety cable—pulled him to the platform.
“Way to go!” Evan yelled.
The final element was the toughest. It was a bridge made with high “railings” and a series of long U-shaped cables strung between them. They looked like a bunch of big stirrups. When Josh grabbed the railing and stepped into the first big loop, everything—his feet, his hands, his whole body—swung wildly. He had to steady himself before he could step into the next big loop. His heart beat fast as he slowly edged from one shaky perch to another. When he finally made it to the other side, he hugged the tree. After he caught his breath, he turned back to Evan and Kadir. “Take your time,” he warned them. “This one’s tough. Make sure your foot’s really in the loop.”
