Soccer Snub by Jake Maddox

Author:Jake Maddox [Maddox, Jake]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: books for kids; capstone; chapter books; children’s book; friendship; jake maddox; social emotional learning; sports; sports stories; sportsmanship; stone arch books; teamwork; soccer
Publisher: Capstone
Published: 2023-02-24T00:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER SEVEN

LINEUP DRAMA

The next day, Quincy sprinted out of his parents’ car as soon as they arrived at the field for practice. He was ready to learn more and keep the Vipers’ winning streak alive. A group of teammates waved him over to talk.

“Hey, Quincy,” Norah said. “Practice should be fun today. Coach says we’re going to put in a new game plan.”

“Really?” Quincy said. “But we’ve been doing so well.”

When Will arrived, he immediately started working on his ball-handling skills. He dribbled quickly and bounced the ball between his feet.

“Why do you think Coach is changing things up?” Quincy wondered.

“It’s because our next game is against the Grasshoppers,” Will said. “They’re always one of the toughest teams in the league.”

The whistle blew to signal the start of practice. Now that he truly felt like part of the team, Quincy had a great practice. His passes were sharp, he scored a couple of goals, and he ran faster than ever.

His connection with Will was still strong, but now, Quincy and Norah started working well together. Quincy was fast enough to track down Norah’s long outlet passes, and Norah was awesome at handling Quincy’s crosses into the box.

I’ve got to be in the starting lineup now, Quincy thought.

When practice ended, Coach Ally asked the team to stick around for a minute. “So far, we’ve been playing great soccer,” she said. “But I do want to make some changes to the lineup so that we can maximize our potential. I like to be up-front about our lineup changes so there are no surprises.”

Quincy looked over at Will, who winked.

“The biggest move is to our starters,” she continued. “Quincy, you’re going to move into the starting eleven so we can take advantage of your speed. Will, we’re going to have you coming off the bench moving forward. I want to use your ball skills late in the game as our opponents get tired.”

Oh no, Quincy thought. Will just got benched! He snuck a quick glance over at Will, who was bright red with anger.

Coach spoke for a few more minutes and then let the group go. Quincy quickly went over to his friend, who was yanking off his cleats.

“Will, I’m sorry—”

“Don’t worry about it,” Will said gruffly. “Congrats on taking my spot.”

“I didn’t mean—” Quincy started, but Will stood up to leave.

“Hey, do you want to hang out at my house today?” Quincy asked.

“No,” Will said.

“What about tomorrow? We could watch the match on TV,” Quincy offered.

“No!” Will yelled and ran toward the parking lot.

Quincy thought about his friend the whole ride home. He knew what it felt like to get snubbed, and now Will was experiencing the same thing.

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