Over the Net

by Jake Maddox

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  CHAPTER 1: Bad Practice

  CHAPTER 2: Quitting?

  CHAPTER 3: Unexpected Help

  CHAPTER 4: Coach Nikki

  CHAPTER 5: Frozen

  CHAPTER 6: Ups and Downs

  CHAPTER 7: Last Practice

  CHAPTER 8: Great Advice

  CHAPTER 9: “I Know I Can”

  CHAPTER 10: Down to the Wire

  About the Author

  About the Illustrator

  Glossary

  The History of Volleyball

  Discussion Questions

  Writing Prompts

  Other Books By Jake Maddox

  Internet Sites

  Copyright

  Back Cover

  Chapter 1

  BAD PRACTICE

  The gym was filled with the sounds of bouncing volleyballs and talking girls. Half of Allie’s team was on one side of the net, and half was on the other.

  Allie caught one ball as it sailed over the net. She stepped behind the line a few feet. Then she tossed the ball straight up into the air, about an arm’s length in front of her. She stepped forward and swung her right arm forward to serve.

  Just then, Coach Anderson blew her whistle. “Okay, girls, that’s enough,” she said.

  Allie’s serve hit the net. “Whoops!” she said under her breath.

  “Okay, everyone!” called Coach loudly. “We’re going to split up and work on skills. Hitters and setters, get to the net. Other players, go to the other side and get ready to receive. Go!”

  Allie sighed. She was a hitter, but she had never been very good at it.

  Her favorite part of volleyball was blocking. She loved to jump as high as she could, spread her hands out, and watch the ball hit them before it fell to the floor on the other side of the net. She especially loved the loud smack sound it made.

  Spiking was her least favorite part of practice. She felt like everyone expected her to be the best at it, just because she was the tallest.

  Allie felt like she was letting her team down when she didn’t slam the ball to the floor on the other side of the net. It was even worse when she hit the ball into her team’s side of the net and the other team scored a point.

  Allie stood nervously at the back of the line of spikers. She looked up at the clock on the wall. It was 4:40.

  At least I’ll only have to do this for twenty more minutes, she thought. I can handle it for that long.

  Soon, it was Allie’s turn to hit. She took a deep breath.

  Lizzie, the setter, pushed the ball up with her fingertips. It soared into the air and toward Allie. Allie took two hard steps to the net and jumped straight up.

  She swung her right arm forward to hit the ball. But she didn’t hear the loud thunk she wanted. Allie felt the ball hit the last two fingers on her right hand. Then the ball teetered on the edge of the net. Finally, it fell to the floor on the other side.

  Allie tried to hit the next one, but it hit the net on her side. Lizzie called out, “It’s okay!” But Allie could feel her face burning with embarrassment.

  After taking a deep breath, Allie stepped up to try again.

  Luckily, Coach Anderson blew her whistle. Practice was over.

  “Huddle!” the coach shouted, like she did at the end of every practice. The team gathered around.

  “Okay, team,” Coach Anderson said. “Good work today! We’ll have practice tomorrow as usual. Our match against Cooperville on Monday is at home, just like it says on the schedule. Also, summer league sign-ups will start on Monday. Anyone who is interested in playing on the freshman team next year needs to be in summer league.” She smiled and added, “That’s it. Have a good night!”

  Allie’s stomach dropped. She wanted to play next year. But how could she join the summer league or play on the freshman team when she couldn’t even spike?

  Chapter 2

  QUITTING?

  Allie barely tasted her dinner that night. After putting her dishes in the dishwasher, she went to her room and closed her door. She sat down at her desk and opened her algebra homework, but she wasn’t really looking at it.

  She just kept thinking about what Coach Anderson had said. The coach had said that anyone who wanted to play next year had to play summer league.

  Of course Allie wanted to play next year! Volleyball was Allie’s favorite sport in the world. She loved it. But she wouldn’t even make it through tryouts for the freshman team if she couldn’t spike the ball.

  After a while, Allie managed to stop thinking about volleyball. She was even able to finish her algebra homework. As soon as she finished, she called her best friend, Kate.

  “Hey,” said Kate. “How was practice?”

  “Awful!” exclaimed Allie. “I am such a bad player! I still can’t spike the ball, and we’re more than halfway through the season. Coach said today that we need to sign up for summer league if we want to play next year. I really want to play, but what’s the point? I’m the tallest player. It’s embarrassing if I can’t spike the ball!”

  Allie stopped talking. She was almost in tears.

  Kate sighed. “Allie, calm down,” she said. “You’re not a bad player. You know that! There is just one part of the game you need to work on. We’ve talked about this so much. I just wish you’d believe that you’re good at volleyball.”

  “I know,” Allie said. “Me too.”

  “Look, you have a coach for a reason, right?” asked Kate. “She’s there to help you get better. So tomorrow after practice, why don’t you just ask her for help?”

  Allie wanted to tell Kate she thought that was a bad idea. But she stopped. She frowned and thought for a minute. Maybe Kate was right. Maybe Allie just needed to ask for help.

  “Are you still there?” Kate asked.

  Allie smiled. “Yeah, just thinking,” she said. “I think you might be right. I’ll talk to Coach Anderson tomorrow.”

  “Great!” Kate said. “I’m glad to hear that you’re not giving up. You’re no quitter, Allie! You’ll be a great spiker before you know it.”

  “Yeah, maybe,” Allie said. She just couldn’t stop thinking about that day’s volleyball practice and the two spikes she’d messed up.

  Chapter 3

  UNEXPECTED HELP

  The next afternoon, practice was terrible again. Allie practiced hitting, but she couldn’t get anything over the net.

  Just as she was starting to think she’d never be more embarrassed, she heard a familiar voice. “Come on, Allie! You can do it!” someone yelled.

  Allie’s stomach dropped when she realized who was yelling. It was Nikki, Allie’s favorite varsity volleyball player.

  Nikki was a junior in high school. She was the best hitter on the varsity team — maybe in the whole state.

  Allie had been to all of the varsity team’s home matches. She’d watched Nikki hit the ball straight down to the floor over and over again. Nikki was amazing.

  So when Allie was messing up every single hit of her own, Nikki was the last person Allie wanted to be watching. She felt her cheeks burning.

  Luckily, just then, Coach Anderson finally blew her whistle. She called the team in for the end-of-practice huddle.

  “Great work today, girls,” said Coach Anderson. “Have a good weekend. Remember, our match on Monday is at home. See you then!”

  Everyone started to head to the locker room, but Allie hung back. Then she walked across the gym to Coach Anderson’s office. She knocked on the half-open door.

  “Come in!” called Coach Anderson.

  Allie pushed the door open. “Hey, Allie!” Coach Anderson said. “What’s up?”

  Allie looked down at the floor. Standing in the doorway, she quietly said, “Coach, I was wondering if you coul
d help me with my hitting. I really want to play on the freshman team next year, and I’m afraid I won’t make the team if I can’t learn to spike.”

  She looked up, hoping to see Coach Anderson’s reaction. To her surprise, she saw Nikki sitting in a chair against the wall. Coach Anderson smiled at Allie.

  “Oh!” exclaimed Allie. “I didn’t know you were busy. I’m really sorry!” She started to back out of the office. “I’ll just talk to you next week,” she added.

  “Wait, Allie! I’m not busy,” exclaimed Coach. “Nikki’s just here visiting.”

  “I had to bring some stuff down from the varsity coach,” explained Nikki. “You know, for summer league sign-ups and stuff.”

  “Oh, yeah,” said Allie. She smiled and tried to stop feeling embarrassed.

  “To answer your question, Allie, I would be more than happy to help you with your hitting,” said Coach Anderson. “I am very proud of you for asking for help. And I’m very happy that you want to keep playing next year.” She paused and looked at Allie.

  Allie felt relieved, but she still felt nervous. “I love volleyball,” she said quietly.

  “I know you do,” Coach Anderson said. She went on, “Like I was saying, I’d be happy to help you with hitting. But I think I know someone else who is much more qualified to give you the help you want.”

  Coach Anderson looked at Nikki and raised her eyebrows. “How about it, Nikki?” the coach asked. “I’ve always been a setter. What Allie really needs is another hitter to help her. Do you want to be her coach?”

  Nikki smiled at Allie. “I would love to!” she said brightly.

  “Great!” said Coach. “Well, maybe we can get started this weekend. Can you both be here tomorrow morning at 10?”

  “Yeah, I can,” Nikki said.

  Allie nodded. “Me too,” she said.

  Coach Anderson smiled. “Then it’s settled,” she said. “I’ll see you both here tomorrow morning at 10.”

  Chapter 4

  COACH NIKKI

  Allie usually slept in on Saturdays. This Saturday was different.

  Allie woke up a lot earlier than she normally would have. She was nervous, but she was surprised to realize that she was really looking forward to practicing with Nikki.

  Nikki and Coach were already in the gym when Allie’s mom dropped her off.

  “Good morning, Allie!” said Nikki when Allie walked in. “Are you ready to get to work?”

  “Yeah,” said Allie. “Teach me everything you know.”

  Nikki laughed. “Whoa,” she said. “Let’s just start with spiking, okay?”

  “Sounds great,” Allie said. She already felt more relaxed.

  “Why don’t we run a few laps to get warmed up?” Nikki suggested. “Then we’ll start working on hitting.”

  Coach Anderson smiled. “I think you’re in good hands, Allie,” she said. “If you guys need me, I’ll be in my office.”

  “Okay!” Allie said. Coach Anderson walked across the gym to her office. Allie turned to Nikki.

  “Let’s get started,” Nikki said.

  First, Allie and Nikki ran three laps around the gym. Then they stretched out their arms and shoulders.

  “Okay,” Nikki said when they were warmed up. “Why don’t you show me how you normally start out when you’re hitting?”

  “Why?” Allie asked. “I’m pretty sure I’m not doing it right.”

  “Well, let’s see,” Nikki said.

  Allie showed Nikki how she did her approach when she was hitting. She started behind the ten-foot line, stepped forward with her left foot, took another step with her right foot, and jumped forward a little toward the net. Her right arm was bent at the elbow.

  After Nikki watched Allie, she said, “Well, I can see a few places where you can improve your approach.”

  “Like what?” Allie asked.

  “Well, you’re right-handed, right?” Nikki began.

  Allie nodded. Nikki went on, “That means you should start with your right foot. First, take two really hard, fast steps. Your third step, with your right foot, should be in the air, kind of like a lay-up in basketball. Does that make sense?”

  Allie followed Nikki’s direction. It did make sense. In fact, Allie had never heard the approach explained that way before. She was learning already!

  “You’re a really good blocker, right?” Nikki asked.

  Allie smiled. “Yeah,” she said. “I really like to block. It’s fun.”

  “Great!” exclaimed Nikki. “Hitting isn’t that much different than blocking. To be a good hitter, you need to jump straight up in the air, just like blocking. The most important part is to keep your eyes on the ball the whole time.”

  “I can do that,” said Allie.

  By the time practice was over, Allie was tired and sweaty. Her head was swimming with everything Nikki had told her, but she really felt like she had gotten better.

  “So, same time next week?” Nikki said, smiling.

  “That would be great,” Allie said. “See you then!”

  Chapter 5

  FROZEN

  On Monday, Allie was nervous for that night’s volleyball match. But she was excited to try out the new techniques she’d learned. The school day went by quickly.

  After school, she hung out with Kate until the other team’s bus arrived. Then she headed into the locker room to get ready.

  Allie was nervous. Still, she was trying to act normal.

  After all, she loved playing volleyball. Games were usually really fun. As long as the hitting part went well, she’d be fine.

  At first, everything was great. All of Allie’s serves went over the net. In the second game of the match, she made two good blocks. But then the players rotated. That brought Allie to her turn at the net. It was her turn to spike.

  “Allie!” Lizzie called. “Your ball.”

  Allie looked up. The ball was speeding toward her.

  Allie froze. Her mind went completely blank. She couldn’t remember anything that Nikki had taught her at Saturday’s practice. It seemed like time was standing still.

  I can’t do it, she thought.

  She looked up just in time to see the ball coming down toward her. It was too late.

  She tried to jump straight up, like Nikki had said, but she took her eyes off the ball. When she hit it, she hit it straight into the net.

  Her team had already used their three hits, so the other team got a point. All of Allie’s confidence from the beginning of the game had disappeared, just like the things she’d learned from Nikki.

  A minute later, Coach stood up, signaled to the referee for a substitution, and took Allie out of the game.

  The team always rotated players. Allie knew it was just her turn to come out, but she couldn’t help feeling like it was also because she had really messed up.

  She walked to the bench and sat down. As she looked under the bench for her water bottle, she heard Coach Anderson call, “Allie!”

  “Yeah?” Allie replied.

  “Come talk to me for a minute,” said Coach Anderson. Allie bent to pick up her water bottle and walked back down the bench to sit next to Coach.

  “What’s up, Coach?” asked Allie. Her voice shook. She was afraid she was going to get into trouble for her mistake.

  “I wanted to make sure you knew that I only took you out because it was your turn,” said Coach. “You looked upset.”

  “Yeah,” replied Allie. She looked down at the floor. “I know. I’m just upset with myself. I thought I did so well at practice.”

  “First of all, you did do well at practice with Nikki. And secondly, everyone makes mistakes, Allie,” Coach Anderson said. “One practice with Nikki isn’t going to fix everything. Nikki’s been playing for years. But keep up your hard work. It’ll come.” Coach smiled. She gave Allie a pat on the back.

  Allie nodded and took a drink from her water bottle. She wanted to believe that Coach Anderson was right. But she wasn’t so sure.

&nbs
p; Chapter 6

  UPS AND DOWNS

  Allie didn’t talk to Coach Anderson about her spiking for the rest of the week. She felt too embarrassed and disappointed in herself.

  She just wanted to pretend that Monday’s match hadn’t happened. The less Allie had to think about it, the better she seemed to play. But whenever Allie remembered what had happened, she played really badly.

  On Saturday morning, Allie met Nikki at school again.

  “Let’s run a few laps again, Allie,” said Nikki. “Then we’ll get right to work.”

  “Sounds good, Coach Nikki,” said Allie. “I’m ready to get started.”

  After they ran laps and stretched, Nikki said, “So, Allie, Coach Anderson told me what happened at your match on Monday.”

  Allie felt her face heat up. “She did?” Allie asked.

  “Yeah. And I wanted to tell you, it’s not a big deal,” said Nikki.

  “Yes it is,” Allie said. “Why? I froze up and hit the ball right into the net. I let the other team score.”

  Nikki smiled at Allie. “I know that feeling,” Nikki said. “Believe me, I know. But we only had one practice together. And it was only one point.”

  “I guess,” Allie said. She started to feel a little bit better.

  “Besides,” continued Nikki. “You won the match, right? Coach said you had some awesome blocks. She also said that you served really well.”

  “She did? Cool,” Allie said. Then she frowned. “I just wish I hadn’t made that mistake.”

  “I make mistakes all the time,” Nikki said. “Everyone does. The key is not to let one mistake ruin the rest of your game. You just have to let it go and get your mind back on the next play.”

  “Really?” Allie asked. “Even when it’s a really bad mistake?”

  “Yes,” Nikki said firmly. “Everyone has their ups and downs. It’s part of playing the game. Now, let’s run through your approach a few times, and then we’ll start hitting.”