The Ball Hogs (3 page)

Jordan finally stuck his foot into the mob and knocked the ball the other way, and the whole group started moving toward the other goal.

Ben ran over, too. He got in front of one of his opponents and kicked the ball to the side, and everyone chased after it.

But the ball went out of bounds.

Mark ran over to it and picked it up, then ran back to the sideline. He kept both feet on the ground, brought the ball over his head with both hands, and threw it, just as Coach Patty had demonstrated. But instead of throwing it toward a teammate, he threw it down the field toward the goal.

With Mark’s speed, he was the first player to get to the ball. He kicked it hard and ran after it, but Coach Patty blew her whistle and everyone stopped.

“Good throw, Mark,” she said. “But the rule
is that the thrower can’t be the first one to touch the ball after it hits the field. You have to throw it to a teammate.”

“But I’m the best one!” Mark said.

“We’ll see about that,” Coach said. “But a rule is a rule. Let’s try it again.”

“Wait a minute!” said Ben. “If he broke the rule, then shouldn’t my team get the ball?”

“Good point,” Coach said. “But maybe Mark didn’t realize what the rule is. Let’s give him another chance, since this is practice.”

This time Mark threw the ball hard at his teammate Omar. The ball bounced off Omar’s shin guard and back toward Mark, who kicked it up the field.

“Was
that
legal?” Ben called to Coach.

“It was legal, but not very sportsmanlike,” Coach said.

Ben chased after Mark. The ball was several feet ahead of him, but there was no one
between Mark and the goal. Mark reached the ball, kicked it forward again, and chased after it. He was getting very close to the goal.

Ben was running at full speed and had nearly caught up to Mark. He could see that Mark was close enough to shoot. Shayna was crouched in front of the goal, but Mark would be hammering that ball any second.

Ben caught Mark and inched past him, then slid toward the ball with his leg extended. Mark tripped over Ben’s leg and flew forward, landing face-down on the grass as Shayna ran up and kicked the ball away.

The whistle blew sharply and everyone stopped. Ben jumped up from the grass and smiled. He’d stopped Mark from scoring!

But Coach was not happy. “That was very dangerous, Ben. And illegal,” she said. “No tripping allowed. You both could have been hurt.”

“But I stopped him!” Ben said.

“Doesn’t matter. A referee could toss you out of the game for a risky move like that.”

Mark was on his feet now, too. He bent over and rubbed his knee, then hobbled around a bit.

“Are you okay?” Coach asked.

“Yeah,” Mark said. He glared at Ben. “I would have scored if he hadn’t cheated.”

“I wasn’t cheating!” Ben said. He turned to the coach and spoke softer. “I didn’t know that was illegal.”

Nothing made Ben feel worse than being accused of cheating. He knew he had made a rough play, but he hadn’t meant to break a rule. “Sorry,” he said.

“Well,” Coach said, “if everyone’s all right, then get started again. Mark gets a free kick from the spot of the foul.”

“Can I kick it into the goal?” Mark asked.

“Yes, since you were fouled.”

Mark took about five steps back, then ran toward the ball and kicked it hard. It lifted into the air and flew far past the goal, but it was too wide. Shayna trotted over and retrieved the ball, then kicked it back into play.

Erin ran to the ball and began dribbling up the field. Ben ran in the same direction, trying to get open. Then he felt a shove and
stumbled, hitting the ground with his hands and pushing back up.

When he looked around, he saw Mark running toward Erin. Mark glanced back and gave Ben a mean smile. Ben ran toward the swarm of players.

“Spread out!” called Coach.

But spreading out hadn’t done much good for Ben. No one was able to pass the ball with all those players around. The only way he’d get it was to take it away.

As the game continued, Ben kicked at the ball several times, but no one was able to dribble it for more than a step or two. So neither team came close to scoring. After several more minutes, Coach blew her whistle again.

“Let’s switch positions,” she said. “The goalies and defensive players move up to forward; the forwards drop back.” Coach smiled. “No one except the goalies has even
tried
to stay in a position yet. Let’s think about that. Try to move the ball as a team, passing and moving and talking to each other.”

Erin walked over to the goal and Ben moved into the center of the backfield as his team’s defender. He was sweaty and his breath was fast, but he was ready for more action. He noticed that Mark was playing defense for the other side, so they’d still be working against each other. Omar had taken over as goalie.

“I’ve said this ten times already, but think about it,” Coach said. “Spread out. Don’t swarm all over the ball. If you have the ball, move it forward and find a teammate to pass to. If you don’t have the ball, either play defense or get open.”

Ben decided to give it a try. He hadn’t had any luck trying to beat the swarm; maybe Coach’s strategy would work.

So Ben stayed back on defense, about
halfway between Erin and the center of the field. The ball went toward the opponents’ goal with five kids after it, then came back Ben’s way as Mark took possession and booted it up the field.

Back and forth went the swarm. Then, with the players near the sideline about halfway up the field, Shayna took possession and began to dribble. The entire middle of the field between Ben and the other goal was wide open.

Ben began sprinting up the field, yelling at Shayna to pass. Shayna kicked it hard across the field. The ball was well in front of Ben, but he was closest to it. Mark wasn’t playing defense like he was supposed to; he was part of the swarm. So if Ben could get to the ball, there would be no one between him and the goal except Omar.

Ben pumped his arms and ran as hard as he could. He was eight feet ahead of the swarm
and about thirty feet from the goal when he reached the ball. He tapped it with his right foot, then his left, then slowed just enough to allow himself to plant his left foot and kick the ball with all his might toward the goal.

Omar lunged for the ball and managed to get his hand on it. The ball bounced to the side, missing the goal but staying on the field. Ben was the first to reach it. He pivoted toward the goal, but the swarm was on him now.

Shayna was open, but Ben shot the ball again. It hit Mark in the leg and flew in the opposite direction.

Again the players chased after it in a mob. This time Ben was with them. Up and down the field they ran, never quite getting near either goal again. Ben’s strategy had almost worked. By getting open he’d come closest to scoring a goal.

But he hadn’t scored. Nobody had. They’d
been scrimmaging for half an hour and the score was 0–0.

Practice was just about over. They’d only have one more session before their first real game.

Coach Patty blew her whistle and clapped her hands. “Great job today,” she said. “Nice hustle.”

But Ben wasn’t happy. He was worried about this team.

How would they ever win a game if they couldn’t even score a goal in practice?

When Ben reached his desk the next morning, he found a folded note tucked inside.

There wasn’t much “new” about the group, except that Loop was being excluded and Elliott was taking his place. They’d even be using the same court they always used.

Ben looked over at Tyler, who was turned in his seat to face Elliott, seated behind him. Tyler caught Ben’s eye and gave him a serious nod.

Loop was standing in the back of the room, joking around with Erin and another girl. He probably had no idea what Tyler was trying to do.

Not fair
, Ben thought. But he certainly didn’t want to waste another recess, so maybe he’d have to join Tyler’s game after all. He figured Loop could always join the other group.

Ben read the note again. Then he glanced at the clock: 8:29. Class would start in one minute. He’d have a couple of hours to decide what to do before recess.

Joining Tyler would be the easy thing to do, but it didn’t seem right. Keeping Loop out would be like saying that he had cheated. There was a difference between cheating and just trying too hard. Like that illegal move Ben had made in soccer practice. He hadn’t meant to break the rule.

Maybe he and Loop should start
another
new group. But what fun would that be if none of the other good players were with them?

The bell rang for the start of class. Ben crumpled up the note and tossed it into the back of his desk.

“Are you joining us?” Tyler asked as they hustled outside for recess.

Ben shrugged. “Not today,” he said.

“Why not?”

“I just don’t feel like it.”

Tyler made a face. “Suit yourself.”

Ben took a seat on one of the swings. Tyler and his group started playing. Loop had joined the other group.

“Watch how high I can go,” said Erin, who was on another swing.

“Not too high!” called one of the teachers.

Erin gave Ben a half-smile. “They always worry too much,” she said.

Ben saw Mark on the playground, playing tag with some kids from his class. He was making a lot of noise.

“There’s the big shot,” Ben said.

Erin laughed. “At least he always plays hard,” she said. “He’d be really good if he used his brain, too.”

“I don’t think he’s learned anything,” Ben said. “He made the same mistakes in our second practice as he did in the first one.”

“We all made mistakes,” Erin said.

“Some make more than others.”

“There’s Shayna!” Erin said. She waved to Shayna and called her over.

“Hey, team,” Shayna said. “My mom says we need to work on our passing.”

“That’s true,” Ben said.

“She says our two best players are our two
worst passers,” Shayna said. “It’s not that you can’t pass, it’s that you don’t.”