Snowboard Struggle

by Jake Maddox

  Kevin, however, didn’t seem fazed at all.

  When they were at the top and began to board toward the starting gates, Kevin said, “Good luck, man!”

  “Thanks,” Alex mumbled. “You too.”

  Alex didn’t need luck. He breezed through the race without a hiccup, gliding past the finish line in first place. He pumped a fist in the air as he skidded to a stop.

  “Nice job, Alex!” Tia shouted. Her sharp whistle cut through the crowd. He saw his family near the chalet, cheering for him. A woman was standing with them. She was surrounded by three wiggly children.

  Miles’s family.

  Daisy saw Alex looking over and waved.

  He gave her a thumbs-up.

  Alex waited at the bottom of the hill for the next race. He saw Kevin’s and Eddie’s names listed. As the boarders sizzled through the curves, it was Kevin who had the lead. Eddie was in the middle of the pack.

  Kevin took the win, beating Alex’s time by nearly a half-second.

  “That’s how you do it!” Kevin boasted. Many Kingsford teammates congratulated him, but Alex instead went over to a grumbling Eddie. “Next time, man,” he said.

  Eddie’s disappointment soon turned to cheers as they watched the last few qualifying races. Miles was in the last run. Alex studied the mountain eagerly. He strained to see the top of King’s Crown.

  “Here they come!” Tia pointed to the course. Five colorful blips carved down the mountain. As they passed the berms and hit the curves, Alex saw Miles and his bright yellow coat, like a beacon of light, surge ahead. He swerved past the flags and blew by the crowd at the finish line.

  “Wow!” Eddie bellowed. The Kingsford team leaped and cheered.

  Alex checked the board as it blinked to life with race times.

  “He beat you by almost a full second, Kevin!” Eddie said, clapping Kevin on the shoulder.

  Kevin did not seem happy about that fact — even less happy that Eddie had just announced it to the whole team.

  In his first SBX race, Miles had scorched every other racer’s qualifying time.

  It wasn’t even close.

  CHAPTER 11

  COLLISION COURSE

  “Three Kingsford racers in the final? That’s amazing!” Coach Gregg was beside himself with excitement. He and the three boys were huddled at the top, near the starting gate. Alex could feel the strained energy between his two friends.

  “Remember to stay focused,” Coach Gregg said. “Be aware of your surroundings. You’ve got teammates on that course with you. Got it?”

  The boys nodded.

  “Boys’ individual championship race,” a woman’s voice said over a loudspeaker. “All racers to the gates.”

  Alex took a deep breath and pushed off toward King’s Crown.

  As they were positioned for the race, Alex found himself in the lane on the far right; both Miles and Kevin were on his left.

  “Riders ready!” the woman shouted.

  Alex gripped the metal handles, tapped the nose of his board on the gate for good luck.

  “Attention!”

  He slid back, stared at the snow. This is it.

  The gates dropped.

  Alex propelled himself forward as the cluster of five boarders hit the berms. His heart raced as he sailed over the first bump. On the backside of each berm, Alex pressed his feet down and leaned forward to gain speed. For a while, he was hanging near the front of the pack.

  And then, despite his best efforts, Miles and Kevin pulled ahead.

  They were neck and neck, mirror images. Alex had never seen Kevin move so fast.

  On the first curve, Kevin leaned left hard. He had the inside track, and the move sprayed powder in Miles’s direction. Miles had to swerve to avoid a face full of snow.

  He did that on purpose! Alex thought. It’s the same thing he tried at practice. He wants to knock Miles out of the race!

  They hit the second curve. Miles, with the inside edge now, rode dangerously close to the flag. Kevin slid up, shoulder to shoulder, and pressed himself against Miles.

  Miles came millimeters away from slamming into the flag.

  “Hey!” Miles yelled. His voice sounded far off and tiny from the inside of Alex’s helmet. “Knock it off!”

  “Stop me!” Kevin answered.

  Alex’s stomach turned in knots, and not because he was hurtling down a mountain in the championship race. Best friend or not, Kevin’s actions were uncalled for. Somebody needed to do something before Kevin hurt Miles.

  It’s time to grow a spine, Alex told himself. Time to take a stand.

  He crouched low and pushed himself to go faster than he ever had before. He needed to catch up to Miles and Kevin. His board skimmed across the hard-packed snow.

  The gap between them closed as they cut a tight arc around the second curve, past the flag. I need to get Kevin’s attention, he thought, pull him away from Miles before something bad happens.

  He was mere feet behind them now. Alex saw Kevin’s head twist briefly to the left, as if sensing someone at his back. Ahead of them, one last, long curve, and a straight shot toward the finish line. It was visible in the distance, black-and-white checks sprayed into the snow, faded from a day’s worth of events.

  It’s now or never, Alex thought.

  He took a deep breath and shouted with all his might, “Knock it off, Kevin!” The wind seemed to snatch his words in its clawed hand and tear them away before they could be heard, even though Alex had shouted as loudly as he could.

  But to his relief, they were heard. Kevin, who had been angling toward Miles, drew back. He turned his head and saw Alex rocketing alongside him. His reaction cut his speed, and Miles safely carved around the flag milliseconds ahead of him.

  Alex was not so lucky.

  He’d taken his eyes off the course, had lost his focus like the run down Jagged Boulder on the first day of practice. This time, though, he couldn’t prevent himself from falling.

  Alex hit the ground and flopped like a rag doll along the snow. The air rushed from his lungs. His board twisted and snapped free of its bindings. His left leg bent with it, and a sharp pain radiated from his knee.

  Alex came to a stop by a thicket of trees at the edge of the course. He looked up, dazed, at the cloudless blue sky, shot through with barren tree branches like it was cracked.

  Finally, after what felt like an eternity of staring at the blue sky . . .

  “Alex?” The voice was tiny, swimming up at him.

  Alex slowly sat up. He brushed snow from his goggles and coat.

  “Alex? You hurt?”

  It was Miles. He was stopped in the middle of the course, about thirty feet downhill. The rest of the racers had already crossed the finish line below.

  “You hurt?” Miles repeated.

  Alex stood. His knee throbbed as he put weight on it. He could stand, though. He said, “I’m good.”

  Miles had unstrapped from his board. He jogged through the snow, retrieved Alex’s runaway board, and helped Alex snap his boots back in to his bindings before doing his own.

  “Shall we?” Miles asked.

  “Lead the way,” Alex said.

  Side by side, the two boys slowly made their way down the course. The pain in Alex’s knee flared with each bump and turn, but he gritted his teeth and bore it. Miles must have noticed, because he reached over and placed a steadying hand on Alex’s shoulder as they went.

  “Thanks, man,” Alex said as they rolled past the finish line. They were greeted by concerned teammates. Coach Gregg immediately came to Alex’s aid.

  Kevin was nowhere to be seen.

  CHAPTER 12

  FAMILY

  “Thanks for the lift, Dad,” Alex said as he checked his watch. Right on time.

  “Not a problem,” his dad said. “Tell Miles I said hello.”

  Alex closed the car door. As his dad pulled away, he blasted the horn in three succinct honks.

  It had been nearly a week since the SBX
meet. The Kingsford team had finished the competition in fourth place — out of five — in large part thanks to Alex’s and Miles’s last place finish. Miles had stayed true to his word. The days following the meet, he had not been to Mount Kingsford for practice. It seemed he really had quit the team.

  Kevin had also been quiet. He’d apologized to Alex, but it was clear a rift had grown between them. It wasn’t the first time the two best friends had fought, but it was the first time Alex had seen his childhood friend in a new — and totally unflattering — way.

  “You just going to stand there? Or do you want to come inside?”

  Miles stood framed in the front door. The car horn must have alerted him to Alex’s presence.

  “Sure,” Alex said. He hobbled up the porch steps. His knee was better, but not quite 100 percent yet.

  Inside the warm home, Alex stripped off his coat and sat on the couch. Daisy and Johnny were playing a board game on the living room rug while Oscar colored at the coffee table. His wild, vibrant designs could not be contained by the coloring book picture’s lines.

  “How’s the leg?” Miles asked.

  Alex shrugged. “Fine. I’ll miss the next couple of meets, though.”

  Miles shook his head. “You’re not coming here to try to get me back on the team, are you?”

  “Maybe.”

  Miles opened his mouth to respond, but Alex didn’t let him. “I also wanted to say I’m sorry for how I treated you before the race. I should have stood up to Kevin much sooner.” He stretched out his injured leg. “It probably would have hurt a lot less.”

  “Well, I appreciate that,” Miles said.

  “And yeah, I really think you should come back to the team,” Alex continued. “Maybe you won’t come in last place next time.”

  Miles chuckled. “Hey, we tied for last place,” he said. “I have to admit, Alex, it’s tempting. But I should really focus on my family. Not on trying to fit in where I don’t belong.”

  As if on cue, Daisy sprinted over to the front window and peered out. “Why are there people on our lawn?” she asked.

  Alex smiled. They’re here.

  “What?” Miles turned to the window and looked out. “What is going on?”

  “Grab your coat,” Alex said.

  The two boys stepped out onto the porch.

  “Hey, Miles!” Eddie said with a wave.

  The entire boardercross team, along with Coach Gregg, stood in the snowy front yard. They smiled as Miles and Alex came down the steps and joined them.

  Alex placed a hand on Miles’s shoulder. “You know, Miles, maybe your family is a little bigger than you thought.”

  Miles looked at him and grinned, shaking his head.

  “So is he back on the team or what?” Eddie asked Alex as he picked up Miles in a massive bear hug.

  “Okay, okay! I’m back on the team!” Miles squeaked out from within Eddie’s enormous embrace.

  He set Miles back down.

  “That’s what I’m talking about.” Tia and Miles fist-bumped.

  Alex looked out at the road where Kevin leaned against a streetlamp, away from the action. But he was there, at least, and that was a start.

  Suddenly, a snowball struck Alex right in the arm. He spun around and saw Daisy laughing. She had another snowball cocked and ready to fire.

  “Hey!” Alex shouted. “No fair attacking a guy with a limp!”

  Daisy giggled uncontrollably. She let loose her second snowball, which Alex ducked to avoid.

  Soon, it was not just Daisy throwing snowballs, but the entire SBX team. A monster battle commenced on the lawn, with Alex and Miles caught in the middle. Snowballs sailed in all directions. Once, after Alex had been hit in the gut with a giant powderpuff, he caught Eddie grinning at him and wiping his hands.

  Alex smiled back. He nudged Miles in the side and pointed at Eddie.

  “On three!” he shouted, scooping up a large handful of snow and packing it tightly. Miles did the same.

  “One! Two!” Alex and Miles wound up. “Three!”

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  Brandon Terrell is the author of numerous children’s books, including several volumes in both the Tony Hawk 900 Revolution series and the Tony Hawk Live2Skate series. He has also written several Spine Shivers titles, and is the author of the Sports Illustrated Kids: Time Machine Magazine series. When not hunched over his laptop, Brandon enjoys watching movies and television, reading, watching and playing baseball, and spending time with his wife and two children at his home in Minnesota.

  GLOSSARY

  5-0 grind (FIVE-oh GRIND) —

  skating along the edge of a rail or ledge with the front of the skateboard in the air and the back “grinding” on the area being skated over

  backside indy (BAK-side IN-dee) —

  grabbing a skateboard or snowboard while in midair

  berm (BURM) —

  in boardercross, a small hill to snowboard over in a course

  boardercross (BOR-duhr-kros) —

  a snowboarding race where four to six snowboarders compete at a time

  deck (DEK) —

  the flat surface of a board in skateboarding or snowboarding

  kickflip (KIK-flip) —

  a trick where a skateboarder kicks off the skateboard and makes the board turn in the air

  yard sale (YARD SAYL) —

  in snowboarding, when a snowboarder falls and loses gear as they tumble down

  DISCUSSION QUESTIONS

  Alex gets teased for never following through on things. Did he follow through on anything by the end of the story?

  Standing up to a friend is hard. Alex had to stand up to Kevin in order to do the right thing. Have you ever had to take a stand against one of your friends?

  Miles doesn’t think he’ll fit in with the team. Why do you think he feels that way? What clues in the text lead you to that conclusion?

  WRITING PROMPTS

  Pretend you’re Kevin watching as Alex becomes friends with Miles. Write a letter to Alex to let him know what you’re feeling. Consider what emotions Kevin is dealing with in this story and write from his perspective.

  At the end of the story, Alex tells Miles that his family may be bigger than he thought. Write down what you think he meant by that. Can you name ways in which your family may be bigger than you think?

  Write down the characteristics that you think make a good friend. Now compare this list with Alex’s actions. When is he being a good friend and when is he not in the story?

  MORE ABOUT

  SNOWBOARDING

  The snowboard started out as the “snurfer.” Sherman Poppen, the inventor of the snowboard, wanted to create something that resembled surfing on snow for his two daughters. He bound two skies together into a “surf-type snow ski.”

  There are lots of types of snowboarding. Here are just a few:

  Backcountry—snowboarding on trails not usually used for snowboarding; often in rural places.

  Freestyle—snowboarding and performing tricks

  Alpine—snowboarding that concentrates on making smooth turns and “carving” smooth paths on the slope

  Snowboarding became an Olympic sport in 1998, debuting at the Nagano, Japan, Olympic Games.

  Snowboarding and skateboarding have moves and tricks that overlap.

  Some ski resorts ban snowboarding.

  A movie in 1983 called Apocalypse Snow sparked a snowboarding craze in Europe.

  Jake Maddox JV books are published by

  Stone Arch Books

  A Capstone imprint

  1710 Roe Crest Drive

  North Mankato, Minnesota 56003

  www.mycapstone.com

  Copyright © 2017 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.r />
  Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

  Names: Maddox, Jake, author. | Terrell, Brandon, 1978- author. | Maddox, Jake. Impact books. Jake Maddox sports story.

  Title: Snowboard struggle / by Jake Maddox; text by Brandon Terrell.

  Description: North Mankato, Minnesota : Capestone Press, [2017] | Series: Jake Maddox. Jake Maddox sport stories |

  Summary: Thirteen-year-old Alex Landry is determined to recruit the new boy at Wisconsin’s Kingsford Middle School, Miles Vaughn, to the snowboard team, because his skill is awesome, but Miles is taking care of his younger siblings while his mother works two jobs, and finding the time to attend practice is difficult—so Alex sets out to show him being a part of a team means you always have someone to share the load.

  Identifiers: LCCN 2016026557| ISBN 9781496539809 (library binding) | ISBN 9781496539847 (pbk.) | ISBN 9781496539885 (ebook (pdf)) | ISBN 9781496591401 (ebook)

  Subjects: LCSH: Snowboarding—Juvenile fiction. | Single-parent families—Wisconsin—Juvenile fiction. | Teamwork (Sports)—Juvenile fiction. | Friendship—Juvenile fiction. | Wisconsin—Fiction. | CYAC: Snowboarding--Fiction. | Single-parent families—Fiction. | Teamwork (Sports)--Fiction. | Friendship--Fiction. | Wisconsin—Fiction.

  Classification: LCC PZ7.M25643 Snk 2017 | DDC 813.6 [Fic] —-dc23

  Art Director: Nathan Gassman

  Designer: Sarah Bennett

  Production Specialist: Katy LaVigne

  Photo Credits:

  Shutterstock: Aaron Amat, design element

  Shutterstock: Brocreative, design element

  Shutterstock: DeanHarty, design element

  Shutterstock: Dmitry Kalinovsky, design element

  Shutterstock: hin255, design element