Quarterback Dreams by Jake Maddox

Author:Jake Maddox [Maddox, Jake]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Jake Maddox; Maddox; sports stories; sports; chapter books; young readers; Football; athletes; Matt Christopher; realistic fiction; SEL; character education; sportsmanship; running back; quarterback; teamwork; books for boys; sports fiction
Publisher: Capstone
Published: 2021-04-12T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 7

MAKING IT RIGHT

Darius spent the weekend thinking about what Coach Julian had said. He knew he needed to talk to his team. But that Monday, as he was about to enter the locker room, the two teammates he did not want to see—Eric and Stephen—walked up to him.

“Hey, newb,” said Eric.

“Look, if you guys are going to harass me, I don’t want to hear it,” Darius snapped.

Stephen shook his head. He looked at Eric. “Actually … we wanted to apologize.”

Darius was surprised. “Really? I thought you two hated me.”

Eric shrugged. “We were just jealous that you were stepping on our turf. We didn’t want to be shown up by a seventh grader.”

“Coach Julian was pretty tough on you Friday. We’ve both been there. But like he said, we’re a team. If we win this week, we’re in the playoffs. We should support each other instead of trying to knock you down,” Stephen said.

“But next time,” Eric added, “run the plays Coach calls, okay?”

“Yeah, if there is a next time,” said Darius.

“So, are we cool?” asked Stephen.

“We’re cool,” said Darius. He took a deep breath, exhaled, and entered the locker room.

Inside, some of his teammates gave him cold stares. Others didn’t even look at him.

Darius walked to the center of the locker room, looked at his teammates and coaches, and cleared his throat. “Hey, guys, um … there’s something I need to say to all of you.”

He paused nervously. “I want to apologize for what I did on Friday night. I thought if I proved I could throw the ball and put points on the board, it would make things better for all of us. But I was playing for me, not the team.”

A few of the players looked up and nodded.

“I can’t take back what I did, but I’m sorry,” Darius said. “It won’t happen again.”

The locker room was quiet. Kody, one of the starting linebackers, stepped toward Darius.

“Apology accepted,” he said, putting a hand on Darius’s shoulder. “We all make mistakes.”

Another teammate, Adrian, spoke up. “What matters is that we learn from our mistakes, and it looks like you have. We’re a team. No matter what happens, we’ve got your back.”

The Bulldogs rallied around Darius in the center of the locker room. Darius felt relieved after getting that off his chest—and even better that the team was behind him.

I’m still a Bulldog, and that’s the most important thing, he thought.

Darius shouted to his teammates: “WHO ARE WE?!”

“BULLDOGS!” the team replied.

Darius continued. “BULLDOGS WORK TOGETHER!”

“BULLDOGS FOREVER!”

Coach Julian stepped forward. “Okay, everybody, suit up and hit the practice field!” he said.

The Bulldogs put on their gear and got ready for practice. Coach Julian pulled Darius to the side.

“I’m proud of you,” Coach Julian said.

“Thanks, Coach,” Darius replied.

“Like I said the other day, you have a lot of potential, and it’s my job to help you reach it,” Coach continued. “There’s someone I want you to meet.”

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