Grace on the Court

by Maddy Proud

  “Let’s do this girls!! Lions on three! One, two, three … LIONS!!!!”

  The roar from the crowd was deafening; it seemed as though the whole of Clarkson and Linwood had come to watch the two teams play for the championship. Amber high-fived Grace as they crossed the white line of the court and whispered in her ear, “How cute – your boyfriend came to cheer you on!”

  Grace glanced to the sidelines and saw Sebastian leaning against the makeshift grandstand, still managing to look like a movie-star even in his black skinny jeans and Linwood High hoodie. He caught her eye and winked.

  “He’s not my boyfriend – and get your head in the game,” Grace retorted with a grin.

  Grace took a deep breath, blocking out everything that was going on around her as she prepared for the battle ahead.

  Mia stepped into the circle to take the first centre pass. The crowd quietened. The whistle blew and Mia passed the ball to Jordan who turned and connected with Stella as she broke free from her defender along the sideline. Stella flicked the ball to Sophie, who had double-dodged away from her opponent to receive the ball under the goal post. She set herself to shoot but the ball bounced off the back of the ring and the Clarkson defender took the rebound.

  Sophie shook her head as the Clovers drove the ball towards their goal circle. It was expected that it would take a little while for the shooters to shake their nerves and find their accuracy despite the pressure they were under, but Grace knew that Sophie would be disappointed in herself. The Lions’ defensive efforts couldn’t stop the ball from reaching the Clarkson goal shooter. Grace also missed her first shot but the ball bounced off the ring and straight back into her shooter’s hands and on her second attempt, she scored the first goal of the match.

  The Clovers’ centre passed the ball to the wing attack who turned and looked for a free player. Grace could sense her opponent making a move towards the ball so she ran with her and lunged forward just as she thought the wing attack was going to pass the ball. Unfortunately, the wing attack had faked the pass, causing Grace to run past her player, leaving her unopposed. The goal attack capitalised on this and turned back to receive the ball just under the ring before slotting it through for a goal. Grace hit her hand on her leg, angry at herself for misreading the play. They’ve done their homework, she thought. If the Clovers were going to try to reduce Grace’s impact on the game by misleading her, Grace would just have to be smarter.

  With the Clovers leading 2-0, the Lions were determined to make their mark on the scoreboard. After receiving a bullet-fast pass from Mia, Stella remained calm under pressure and slotted a goal through from mid-range, giving some confidence back to her team. The next time the ball came into the Clovers’ attacking end Grace was focused on covering her player’s every move rather than following the ball. With Nadia and Amber both working hard and Mia blocking the Clovers’ centre’s vision by reaching her hands high over the ball, the centre had no choice but to force the ball into the goal circle. Pressure from Grace and Amber pushed the ball out of court, giving possession to the Lions.

  The ball moved down the court smoothly and Sophie scored it from beneath the goal post. With their jitters disappearing, both teams gained their rhythm and alternated in scoring goals for most of the quarter. There were a few missed shots and all four defenders secured some inspiring intercepts but it seemed to work in perfect tandem – any time the Lions’ defenders intercepted and enabled their team to creep ahead by a goal, the Clovers would reciprocate.

  When the whistle blew for quarter-time the scores were even at ten apiece. The players on both teams breathed sighs of relief that they could finally have a few minutes’ rest and grabbed their drink bottles. Grace knew the first quarter of any game was tough while the players became accustomed to the pace of the game, but with the added nerves and adrenaline of the grand final, this first quarter had been even more intense than usual. The Lions offered each other words of encouragement and exchanged high-fives and back slaps, increasing the level of energy and enthusiasm in the group.

  Mrs Peters brought the team together. “Great job, girls. You’ve really got your work cut out for you! I know it’s tough out there but we’ve just got to keep pushing and pushing, and soon things will start to open up. I know it’s frustrating for you in defence because you’re working so hard to keep your players covered, but they are starting to get impatient – keep working at that and keep the pressure up and we will start to force the turnovers.

  “In attack, we’ve got to make sure we have two players leading for the ball at every pass. Don’t wait for someone else to do it – you do it! Let’s have each other’s backs, pick up every loose ball, and keep encouraging one another. I know we can do this so keep going in hard and the results will come!”

  The Lions’ determination showed as they ran back onto the court to start the second quarter.

  Just before the whistle blew to draw the players into position for the second quarter, there was a silence in the crowd, followed by the sound of drums beating. Along with almost everyone on the sidelines, the Lions turned and looked to where the noise was coming from. Sebastian, Tyler, Ethan and Adam were standing in one corner of the court and Ethan was banging on bins he had transformed into a makeshift drum kit. His mates began stamping their feet and clapping their hands as Sebastian started singing.

  Throw, catch, shoot, get it through the hoop

  Dodge, jump, run to the beat of the drum

  Beat them to the ball, give it your all

  Clovers can’t keep up, kick them in the butt

  Lion’s go roar, need we say more?

  LIONS!

  The crowd (particularly those supporting Linwood) roared. People began to join in as the boys repeated the chant over and over. The girls couldn’t help but giggle and smile at one another. But the umpires quickly recovered and shooed the boys off the court, blowing their whistles to call the players into position.

  The Clovers looked a little distracted and Grace overheard her opponent mention Sebastian’s name in a comment to the wing attack. This was enough to motivate her to charge forward the first time the ball headed towards the Clarkson goal attack and snare the first intercept of the second quarter. Wasting no time and taking advantage of the fact that her opponent was slow to react, Grace passed to Mia and then raced down the court to take it back from her on the transverse line. She then made eye contact with Sophie, who made a ‘dummy’ lead from the circle to lose her player but then doubled back to collect a long pass from Grace right under the ring and secure the goal. It was a textbook passage of play, and Grace had driven it. Mia high-fived her as they ran the ball back to the centre circle, giving her a sneaky wink as she ran past. Mia obviously knew where Grace’s extra bit of energy had come from; she had also gained some after catching Brodie’s eye.

  The Lions dominated the second quarter and at half-time were leading by five goals. It was the Lions’ who started the third quarter with the pass. Jordan received the ball and turned to connect with Stella. Mia dodged to the right and then cut in front of her player and made her way to the top of the goal circle. Stella passed the ball in front of her and Mia leapt to catch it. But as she came down she landed on the side of her opponent’s foot, falling to the ground with a loud shriek. Grace heard a collective groan from the crowd as it became clear to them what had happened. The look on Mia’s face said it all.

  The umpire blew her whistle to hold time. Mia tried to get to her feet but fell straight down with a loud moan. Both Mia’s and Grace’s fathers ran onto the court and formed a cradle with their arms to carry her off. It was clear Mia wouldn’t be back. Grace gave her a quick pat on the back then made her way to the team huddle.

  While the whole team was devastated by what had happened, the game had to go on. As Mrs Peters had so often reminded them, their preparation was designed to help them overcome adversity, which is why it was so important for all nine players to be ready. Emily reluctantly took the centre bib from Mia, w
ho gave her a smile of encouragement despite her pain. Emily ran onto court and took the ball in the position where Mia had fallen over, waiting for the umpire’s signal for play to resume before passing it to Stella. But Stella missed what normally would have been an easy shot, apparently shaken by her friend’s injury. The Clovers took advantage and scored a quick goal – the first of a series in which they exploited the Lions’ mistakes. After only seven minutes of play in the third quarter the scores were even again, and the Clovers continued to break away to lead by four goals at the final break.

  Grace could see from the expressions and body language of her teammates that their confidence had dropped dramatically. Mrs Peters had gathered the team together and was just about to speak when Mia hobbled over, cringing with pain as she leaned on her mother’s arm.

  “Hey!” she snapped ferociously. “Look, girls, we didn’t train all year for you to fall apart just because I couldn’t land on my damn feet! I know you’re all trying but it’s not enough. Those Clovers don’t deserve this, we do!

  “Go out there and leave it all on the court. If you don’t all come off at the end of the game with your hands on your knees in exhaustion, you’ll have to answer to me and you don’t want that! I might not be able to chase you today, but I will chase you down.”

  “Well, you heard her, girls,” Mrs Peters said. “We’ve got nothing to lose. This is it! Enjoy it and give it all you’ve got. One last time, Grace!” Mrs Peters motioned for Mia to join in as she signalled for Grace to inspire the team for the last time.

  “We can do this!!! On three! One, two, three, LIONS!”

  The Lions sprinted onto the court with an extra spring in their step, their determination renewed by Mia’s motivational words. It was their centre pass and they wasted no time getting the ball swiftly into Sophie’s hands. Cool and composed, Sophie slotted the ball through the ring effortlessly.

  The first few minutes went goal for goal so the Clovers maintained their four-goal advantage after six centre passes. Then it was the Clovers’ centre pass and their wing attack made a long drive into the pocket, calling for the ball from the goal attack who stood in the centre third. But just as the goal attack released the ball to send it to her teammate, Amber left her player in the circle and took a few powerful steps to take the ball and land in front of the wing attack. The Lions’ supporters erupted, cheering for Amber as she sent the ball down the court to Grace and on to Stella in the circle. Stella finished the play by putting the ball through the net.

  It was the Lions’ centre pass next and they scored from it easily, decreasing the gap to just two goals. The momentum was in the Lions’ favour but the Clovers maintained their composure and with each team scoring from their next few centre passes, the two-goal difference remained into the twelfth minute. With under three minutes left to play, the Clovers’ goal shooter uncharacteristically missed her shot, apparently falling prey to the pressure. Taking advantage of the opportunity, Grace blocked her opponent and took a strong rebound, wasting no time to direct the ball to Nadia and send it moving down the court. Stella was steady under the goal post and with nerves of steel, guided it through the ring.

  Now only down by one goal and benefiting from the centre pass, the Lions executed a well-practised set play with Stella receiving the pass and delivering it to Jordan at the top of the goal circle. Sophie stayed back behind the goal keeper, moving only at the last second to take the ball just centimetres from her opponent’s long arms. But now she showed the weight of the pressure, missing her attempt for goal before catching the ball as it rebounded off the edge of the ring. Not making the same mistake twice, she put the ball through the ring to even the score.

  Grace could hear her teammates on the sidelines screaming that there was only thirty seconds left to play. The scores were tied and it was the Clovers’ centre pass. The Clovers tossed the ball back and forth among themselves, attempting to minimise any chance of a Lions goal. Someone had to step up and do something to disrupt the play and Grace knew she was the one who had to do it. Glancing towards the sidelines she saw the devastation in Mia’s eyes – devastation that Grace knew wasn’t only due to her pain.

  Grace turned back to the court. She waited until she saw the wing attack turn her shoulders, pointing towards where she would pass the ball. Just as the ball was released in the direction of the other side of the goal circle, Grace left her opponent and stretched every muscle and tendon in her body to rip the ball from the air. Knowing there was no time to waste, she quickly delivered the ball to Jordan, who was running down the centre of the court at full pace. Jordan turned mid-flight and passed it to Emily, who had sprinted clear of her opponent and, balancing on the edge of the circle, fed it cleanly to Stella.

  The noise from the crowd was deafening. Stella remained calm and released the ball from her hands shortly after she caught it, sending it towards the goal ring. Grace held her breath. She knew Stella had rehearsed this moment over and over; she knew, too, that there was nothing more she could do to influence the outcome. It seemed as if the ball travelled in slow motion. People on the sidelines stood as one, some gasping and others with hands raised to their mouths or over their eyes. Grace could also barely watch but she didn’t need to – the reaction from her teammates said it all.

  The whistle blew for the end of the game just as the ball slid through the goal ring. The Lions players ran towards the sideline to include Mia in their celebration, careful not to hurt her injured foot. They jumped on each other and pulled Mrs Peters into the team embrace, demanding that she share their jubilation. Grace closed her eyes for a few seconds, taking in every aspect of what was happening to her. She had heard stories of famous sports people who had never won grand finals so she knew that she might not have an opportunity to experience such immense joy for a very long time, if ever again. She then looked at Amber and together they gathered the team and shook the Clovers’ players’ hands, applauding them for the excellent contest.

  Just before the girls went to hug their families, Mrs Peters brought them together on court one last time. “Girls, I know we’ll have a team wind-up but now I just want to say what a pleasure it has been to coach you this season. You have all demonstrated such determination and passion for the game and it has been a privilege to get to know you and learn from you.

  “You have all grown so much this season, not only as players, but as people too. To think that some of you couldn’t even look at one another before being in this team together is incredible. You have bonded better than any team I’ve ever coached, which is something you should be very proud of. I hope that you all stay this close and continue your netball journey together.

  “Now,” she said with a wide grin, “Grace, how about we do this together one last time?”

  Grace didn’t take a second to hesitate. “One, two, three,” before they all roared “LIONS!!!”. The girls took turns thanking and hugging Mrs Peters, telling her she was the best coach they had ever had.

  After the game the team headed back to the Parkers’ house, something that was an end-of-season tradition for the girls who had played together before. They were more than glad to include Amber and the others this year. The parents cooked a barbecue and the girls sat around sharing stories and laughing over funny things that had happened during the season.

  “Remember when Sophie got hit in the face with the ball when it bounced off the goal post?” Jordan asked in hysterics.

  “Hey that wasn’t funny! I had a blood nose for the rest of the day,” Sophie said, trying to remain serious, but giggling as she realised how funny it must have looked to everyone else.

  Amber was halfway through telling an embarrassing story about Jordan to pay her back when she suddenly stopped talking midsentence. The girls followed her gaze to see Amber’s father standing in the doorway, looking awkward and uncomfortable. Mr Burns always used his business commitments as an excuse to avoid social occasions, so he didn’t know any of the other parents. He made his way towar
ds the girls and, when he realised he was the centre of attention, coughed a few times to clear his throat.

  “Congratulations, girls – I hear you played a brilliant game.” The girls smiled, unsure how to respond. “They certainly did,” Grace’s father commented, breaking the silence. He offered Mr Burns a drink, but Amber’s father had clearly arrived with a purpose.

  “Amber, dear, do you mind if I chat to you for a few minutes?” he asked. Amber caught Grace’s eye and rolled her own eyes as she pushed back her chair and followed her father outside.

  The girls were quiet as they watched Amber and her dad talk, trying to read her face and body language. Grace felt it was wrong to watch them so tried to change the subject.

  “So, the Friday at Five concert is tomorrow night. I can’t believe we got so close to going.” The looks on her friends’ faces made Grace realise she hadn’t chosen the best topic of conversation.

  “Gee, thanks, Gracie. Way to dampen the mood,” Mia snapped.

  Just as she was about to apologise, Amber came sprinting back, waving some pieces of paper in the air. “Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God!” She squealed. “You’ll never guess what dad just gave me!” The girls stared at her, trying to confirm whether her reaction was one of happiness. “VIP FRIDAY AT FIVE TICKETS!”

  The girls all gasped. “WHAT?” cried Mia. They talked over the top of each other until Amber gestured for them all to be quiet so she could explain. “So, I guess Dad felt really bad about what happened when you guys were at my house that time,” Amber said. “He said he feels he has been a less than terrific father, and that he’s going to try to be an adult and work things out with mum, and that he knows this doesn’t make up for how he’s behaved but … we’re all going to the Friday at Five concert!!!” Amber passed the tickets around before realising there were four extra.