Above All Else by Jeff Ross

Author:Jeff Ross [Ross, Jeff]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Juvenile Fiction, Mysteries & Detective Stories, Sports & Recreation, Soccer, Social Issues, Values & Virtues
ISBN: 9781459803893
Google: Z6DpAgAAQBAJ
Amazon: 1459803884
Barnesnoble: 1459803884
Goodreads: 18851389
Publisher: Orca Book Publishers
Published: 2014-03-01T05:00:00+00:00

chapter eleven

Monday, after school, Coach arrived in the locker room five minutes earlier than he normally did. We were playing the seventh-place team in the first round of the playoffs. During the regular season, we’d destroyed them 6–1. But this was elimination time, and it seemed, year after year, that anything could happen.

“We’re in the final stretch, lads,” Coach said. “We had a misstep. But don’t think for a moment that the championship is not still firmly within our grasp. We need to look at this one game at a time. We need to win today. And to do that, we need to play our best soccer yet.” He seemed strangely calm for the occasion. “Now, with the loss of Romano, we are without any subs. But I spoke with the league and they have allowed us to add a player who was not on the team during the regular season. However, we are unable to bring up one of our junior players due to age requirements. Luckily, we have a perfectly fine substitute who just happens to be a senior.”

A guy I’d seen around came into the locker room.

“This is Jean. He is originally from a suburb of Paris, am I correct, Jean?”

Jean nodded. He was thin and tall, with a curly mop of black hair.

“Jean played on his high school team over in France.” Coach put his hand on Jean’s shoulder. “What position did you play there?”

“Defense,” Jean said.

“That should work,” Coach said. “We’ll get you in right away, then. Dan, you can start the game out. We’ll keep you rested and get you in for the second half.” Coach clapped his hands. “All right, lads, let’s get out there and win, win, win.”

We were the first team on the field, which had never happened before. I didn’t know whether this shifting of tactics was yet another mind game from Coach or if he had finally changed his ways.

“Welcome, boys,” the ref said. It was the same guy who had kicked Romano out and, in the minds of many of our players, lost the game for us by awarding a penalty kick. “I see we’re timely today.”

“Do we get to flip the coin without the other team out here?” Jared said. “You know, decide on heads or tails once it hits the ground?”

“That would never happen,” the ref said.

The other team came out between the bleachers. A few of its supporters were in the crowd—though, again, “crowd” was a bit of an overstatement. It was a drizzly, gray day, and only the most die-hard fans were in attendance. As I ran to my striker position, I noticed someone waving from the bleachers. Huddled there in a blue raincoat was Kira, waving like crazy and hollering at us. Elsa was beside her. She wasn’t waving or yelling. Even though I didn’t know her that well, she seemed angry.

“All right, guys, let’s do this!” Jared yelled. The ref blew his whistle and Jared kicked the ball directly to me. There was immediate pressure from the other team as its striker and right midfielder charged.

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