Drive to the Hoop

by Jake Maddox

  TABLE OF CONTENTS

  CHAPTER 1: Bad News

  CHAPTER 2: Good News and Bad News

  CHAPTER 3: Visiting

  CHAPTER 4: The Worst Practice Ever

  CHAPTER 5: “Everybody Hates Me!”

  CHAPTER 6: A New Friend

  CHAPTER 7: Try, Try Again

  CHAPTER 8: New Girl

  CHAPTER 9: Setting Goals

  CHAPTER 10: A Team

  About the Author

  About the Illustrator

  Glossary

  Discussion Questions

  Writing Prompts

  More About Women’s Basketball

  Copyright

  Back Cover

  · CHAPTER 1 ·

  Bad News

  Mel was sick of warming up alone at basketball practice. Sometimes she warmed up with Leslie, the point guard on the junior varsity team. But today, Leslie was gone. That meant Mel would be warming up all by herself.

  Mel, her mom, and her older sister, Emily, had moved to Springfield right before the school year started. Four months later, Mel still didn’t have many friends.

  Emily had joined the cheerleading squad and made friends right away. But Mel barely knew anyone. Being on the Springfield Bears basketball team was the only thing stopping her from running back to Green Prairie and her old friends.

  As soon as the team had finished warming up and stretching, Coach Arnold, the junior-varsity coach, had everyone sit down together at half court.

  “Girls, I have to tell you some bad news,” the coach said. “Leslie was in a car accident last night.”

  All of the players got quiet. Coach Arnold went on, “She’s going to be okay, but she won’t be able to play basketball for the rest of the season. Today, I will be having a tryout with the freshman players to fill Leslie’s JV spot.”

  Mel felt like she had been punched in the stomach. She looked around the gym. A lot of her teammates had tears streaming down their faces. Everyone was friends with Leslie. She was one of the nicest girls on the JV team. And she was one of the few people who was really friendly to Mel.

  Coach Arnold interrupted the silence in the gym. “Girls, I know this is bad news,” she said. “But Leslie’s going to be okay. So let’s practice hard today. After we’re done, I’ll give the hospital information to anyone who wants to go visit Leslie.” A few people nodded.

  Mel’s stomach did flips. Today wasn’t a regular practice. It was a tryout, to play on the JV team for the rest of the season. And since Leslie and Mel were both point guards, Mel actually had a shot.

  But Mel knew Leslie was really good. The JV team was really going to miss her. Mel made up her mind. She’d try as hard as she could during the tryout.

  Maybe Coach Arnold will even pick me! she thought.

  Mel felt a little guilty about being excited about the chance to play on the JV team. After all, Leslie was hurt, and she was in the hospital. But she was going to be okay. Mel knew she might never get a chance like this again.

  The first drill of the tryout was called Zig Zag. Mel was paired up with Felicia. The other girl was supposed to play defense and try to steal the ball from Mel while she dribbled up the court. At half court, Mel was supposed to try to dribble in and make a lay-up.

  Mel knew that she was a little faster than Felicia, so at half court, she put on a burst of speed and drove to the basket. Swish!

  Then it was Mel’s turn to play defense. Felicia was pretty good at dribbling, but Mel managed to poke the ball away and stop her from making her lay-up.

  “Good job,” Mel said as both girls jogged to the end of the line. Felicia glared at her.

  “What did I do?” Mel murmured. “I’m just trying my best.”

  · CHAPTER 2 ·

  Good News and Bad News

  After practice, Coach Arnold and Coach Gregg, the freshman coach, huddled together. Mel knew they were talking about the tryout.

  Finally, Coach Arnold blew her whistle. “Okay, girls!” she called. “We have made our decision.”

  Everyone gathered around the coaches. Mel could feel her heart pounding. I hope I made it, she thought.

  Coach Arnold said, “Based on today’s tryout and all of her hard work this season, Mel Hones will be moved up to junior varsity for the rest of this season.”

  A few girls clapped. Felicia shot Mel a dirty look. But no one else seemed to notice.

  “Good job, Mel,” said Coach Arnold. “Everyone was great today. It was a tough decision to make. See you all tomorrow!”

  No one talked to Mel in the locker room that day. She missed her old school. There, if she’d gotten to play on the JV team, all of her friends would have celebrated with her.

  * * *

  When she got home from practice, Mel headed to her sister’s room.

  “What’s up?” Emily asked, looking up from her math textbook.

  Mel took a deep breath. “I have good news and bad news,” she said. “Leslie got into a car accident. She’s in the hospital.” She added, “That’s the bad news.”

  Emily gave her a sad smile and nodded. “I heard about it,” Emily said. “Her sister is really upset, but she said Leslie’s going to be fine. We can go to the hospital and see her if you want to.”

  “Um, yeah, maybe,” Mel said.

  “What’s the good news?” Emily asked.

  “We had tryouts at practice today to fill Leslie’s spot on junior varsity,” Mel answered. “The coaches picked me!”

  “That’s great!” Emily said, smiling. “Have you told Mom yet?”

  Mel shook her head.

  “Well, what are you waiting for?” her sister asked. “Come on!”

  Emily and Mel raced up to their mom’s home office and burst through the door.

  “What’s going on?” Mom asked, frowning. “Is everything okay? You guys scared me.”

  Mel explained what had happened to Leslie. “Leslie’s going to be okay,” she finished. “But she can’t play for the rest of the year. So after Coach Arnold told us about Leslie’s accident, she announced that all the freshmen were going to try out for Leslie’s spot on the JV team.”

  “A surprise tryout, huh?” Mom said. “How did it go?”

  “I’m the new JV point guard!” Mel said happily.

  Mom hugged Mel. “I know moving to a new town and starting a new school hasn’t been easy on you,” Mom said. “But you’re doing so great! I’m very proud of you!”

  “Thanks, Mom,” said Mel.

  “Let’s celebrate,” Emily said. “Pizza Palace!”

  “Great idea. Mel gets to pick the toppings,” Mom said. “I’ll get my coat. Meet you in the car.”

  “We should go see Leslie after school tomorrow,” Emily said as she and Mel put on their coats. “We can go before basketball practice.”

  Mel swallowed nervously. She was a little scared to see Leslie. How would Leslie feel about being replaced on the team? What if she was mad at Mel for taking her spot?

  But on the other hand, Leslie was one of the few girls who had been friendly to Mel. And Mel knew that if she was in the hospital, Leslie would have come to see her.

  “Okay,” Mel said slowly. “It’ll be good for her to have visitors.”

  · CHAPTER 3 ·

  Visiting

  The next day before basketball practice, Emily and Mel headed to the hospital. They stopped at a florist on the way and picked up some pretty flowers and a “Get Well Soon” card.

  When they got to Leslie’s room, Mel saw that there were a lot of tubes and wires everywhere and a computer monitor in the corner of the room. Leslie’s right leg was in a cast all the way up to her hip.

  Leslie was in bed. Her face broke into a big smile when she saw the two sisters standin
g in the doorway.

  Mel followed Emily into the room. She felt guilty about walking around, playing basketball, and going to school when Leslie was stuck in a giant cast in a hospital bed.

  “It’s so nice to see you guys,” Leslie said. “Thank you so much for coming!”

  Emily gave her a hug. “I’m glad you’re okay,” she said. “We wanted to come and see how you were.”

  Mel nodded. “It’s good to see you,” she said quietly. “How are you feeling?”

  Before Leslie could answer, Emily headed for the door. “I think I’m going to grab a cup of coffee,” she said. “I’ll be back in a minute.”

  After Emily left, Leslie raised an eyebrow and looked at Mel.

  “I’m not contagious, you know,” Leslie said with a half-smile.

  “Uh, I know,” Mel said. She inched closer to the bed.

  “I heard you’re taking my spot on the JV team,” Leslie said. “Coach Arnold came by last night.”

  “I bet you’ve had a lot of visitors, huh?” Mel said.

  Leslie shrugged. “Actually, no,” she said. She smiled. “I think a lot of people are scared of hospitals. It was really nice of you to come.”

  Mel was silent for a moment. “Are you mad at me for taking your spot?” she asked quietly.

  Leslie laughed. “No way!” she said. She pointed at her cast. “It’s not like I can play with this thing on,” she said. “And anyway, I heard you were great at the tryout. Someone has to take my spot, so I’m glad it’s you.”

  The block of ice that had been forming in Mel’s stomach began to melt a little.

  Just then, Emily ran in. “We have to go, Mel,” she said. “I just overheard someone saying traffic is terrible. The highway is all backed up. You can’t be late to your first day of JV practice!”

  “Okay,” Mel said. She smiled at Leslie. “Hope your leg starts feeling better soon,” she said.

  “Thanks,” Leslie said. “Say hi to the team for me. Make me proud, Mel!”

  Suddenly, the block of ice was back, even bigger than before.

  Oh no, Mel thought. What if we lose because of me? What if I ruin the team completely? Leslie will never speak to me again. All my chances of ever having a friend here will be gone — for good!

  · CHAPTER 4 ·

  The Worst Practice Ever

  The traffic on the road back to school was really bad. By the time Emily dropped Mel off at school, practice was starting.

  Mel had to rush to get dressed. Coach Arnold shot her an annoyed look when she ran into the gym.

  Mel hurried to grab a basketball and start shooting lay-ups. Then she saw Felicia looking at her and whispering to another girl.

  After warming up as a big group, the freshman, JV, and varsity teams split up to practice separately. Mel started to go with the rest of the freshmen.

  “Mel, wrong team!” Coach Arnold shouted. “You’re on JV now, remember?”

  “Oh, whoops!” Mel said. She turned back to her new team so fast that she almost tripped over her own feet. As she joined the group, she heard someone laughing. She tried to ignore it.

  The block of ice from her visit to Leslie was still heavy in the pit of her stomach. Because she was shy and still new at school, Mel knew the faces and some of the names of her new teammates, but not much else. They were all sophomores and juniors, so Mel didn’t even have classes with any of them.

  “Hey, Mel!” said one of the girls. Her name was Katie, and Mel knew that she was a sophomore. Katie said, “Welcome to the JV team!” The rest of the older girls clapped and cheered.

  Mel smiled. Everyone was looking at her. She could feel her face heating up.

  “We’re glad to have Mel on the team,” Coach Arnold said. “Everyone, we have a lot of work to do today, so let’s get going!” She clapped her hands, and the rest of the team ran to the end of the court.

  Mel followed Katie. All of the older girls got started right away, forming three lines near the basket.

  Oh, great, Mel thought. Everyone knows what’s going on except me. The block of ice in Mel’s stomach grew bigger.

  The first drill was a three-person weave. Okay, Mel thought. I know this one. I’ve done this a million times. I can do this.

  The girls finished forming the three lines. Mel was in the middle line, holding the ball. She passed the ball to Katie, who was on her right. Then she ran behind Katie and sped as fast as she could up the court.

  Katie passed to Sara, the girl in the third line. Mel waited for the pass. Once she had the ball, she’d shoot a lay-up.

  Sara passed the ball, and it fell into Mel’s hands. Mel aimed and shot. But the ball bounced off the rim.

  She looked up just in time to see the entire freshman team watching her. Her face got hot again.

  “It’s okay, Mel!” Katie called. But Mel didn’t feel like it was. From the other end of the gym, she heard Felicia laughing.

  Later, Mel stood next to Katie while the JV and freshman teams watched the varsity team run through a play. Once the varsity players finished, the JV team would practice the play.

  “I don’t get this play,” Mel whispered.

  Katie started to explain it to Mel, but Coach Arnold saw them talking. “Mel and Katie, show some respect and pay attention!” she yelled.

  “Sorry, Coach,” Katie and Mel said together.

  Before Mel had time to learn how to run the play, the varsity coach called, “Mel, get in for Jill!”

  Jill passed Mel the ball. Mel jogged over to Jill’s starting position.

  As soon as the play began, it was clear that Mel didn’t know what to do. She passed the ball to the wrong person. Then she didn’t move to the right spot.

  Nothing worked right, and it was all because Mel didn’t know what to do. She knew everyone would realize she hadn’t been prepared.

  The varsity coach blew her whistle. “This isn’t working,” she said. “Mel, you need to watch and learn what Jill does. Next time, know the plays, okay?”

  “Okay, Coach,” Mel said. She felt her face heating up. When she saw that the freshman players were all making fun of her, she felt even worse.

  “Having fun, Mel?” Felicia asked, rolling her eyes. “Seems like the team would be better off without you. Leslie could play better with a broken leg than you can right now!”

  Mel felt like crying. It was the worst practice ever.

  · CHAPTER 5 ·

  “Everybody Hates Me!”

  All I want to do is finish my homework and go to bed, Mel thought that night when she got home.

  She slammed the front door, ran to her room, and collapsed on her bed. But just then, she heard a knock on her closed bedroom door.

  Mel was about to open her mouth to say that she just wanted to be left alone. Then her sister, Emily, walked in.

  “I promise that I’ll go away and leave you alone,” she said. “I just need to tell Mom you’re okay. She didn’t want to bother you.” Emily paused. Then she asked, “What happened at practice today?”

  Mel curled up into a ball on her bed. “Everybody hates me!” she sobbed into her pillow.

  Emily sat down in the desk chair next to Mel’s bed. “Why would anybody hate you, Mel?” she asked.

  Mel didn’t know where to start. “Because I’m taking Leslie’s place,” she began. Then the words came in a rush. “And I’m not good enough to take her place. I don’t know any of the plays, and Coach Arnold yelled at me because she thought I wasn’t paying attention, and . . .”

  Mel broke off into more sobs. Emily leaned over and gave her a hug. It took a long time for Mel to calm down and catch her breath. When she could finally talk again, she said, “Please don’t tell Mom I was crying. She’ll just worry.”

  “Get a good night’s sleep,” Emily said, standing up. “You’ll feel better in the morning.”

  As she reached the doorway, she turned back to Mel. “You are good enough to play junior varsity, Mel,” Emily said. “Don’t let anybody tell you
any differently. And don’t tell yourself any differently.”

  · CHAPTER 6 ·

  A New Friend

  The next day, Mel couldn’t stop thinking about last night’s practice.

  Maybe I was just imagining things, she thought. Maybe Felicia wasn’t laughing at me. But she couldn’t help thinking that being on the JV team was the worst idea of all time.

  As she walked into the locker room after school, she heard a familiar voice. “Hi, Mel!” Katie called.

  Mel’s face brightened when she saw the older girl.

  “Hi, Katie!” Mel said happily.

  Katie walked with Mel to her locker. Mel stuffed her winter coat into the small locker and pulled out her uniform to get changed for practice.

  “I’m so tired,” Katie said. She yawned.

  “I was just thinking the exact same thing!” Mel said. “It’s been so hard to get out of bed in the morning lately.”

  “I know!” Katie said. “My dad always threatens to sing to me unless I wake up. He’s awful!”

  Both girls laughed. Then Mel asked the question she had been dying to ask someone since the night before.

  “Is JV practice always that hard?” she asked quietly.

  Katie smiled. “No way!” she said. “And anyway, yesterday was your first day practicing with the JV team. A couple of missed shots are no big deal.”

  “But I was terrible! And I got you into trouble with Coach Arnold,” Mel argued. She sighed and added, “And I’m sure that everyone liked Leslie better than they like me.”

  “That’s not true!” Katie said with a frown. “You were nervous last night. And Coach Arnold always yells. It doesn’t mean we were in trouble.” Katie thought for a second. “I think people just don’t know you,” she said.

  “What do you mean?” Mel asked.

  “You said everyone liked Leslie better,” Katie explained. “I don’t think that’s true. I think it’s just that you’re new, and you’re shy, and the rest of the team doesn’t know you that well. Really. Today’s practice will be better, and you’ll love playing on JV. I promise.”