Take One For The Team

Chapter 8

The rest of the week flew by and before I knew it it was Friday and time for soccer tryouts. I woke up early and spent all day feeling sick with nerves. I literally had one shot. If I didn't make the team, my college dream was almost definitely over. 

I got changed in record time and jogged to the pitch to start warming up. I kept to myself and watched as more and more guys showed up. I'd heard from Adam that there were only 7 slots available. When Coach blew his whistle and called us in, I counted 21, including me. 

So I just had to be better than 14 of these guys. 

They all kept looking at me, so I stared back at them, determined not to show any weakness. 

"Welcome to tryouts." Coach Latimer bellowed as we huddled in front of him. 

"If you don't like hard work, I suggest you leave now. This isn't gonna be pretty."

I grinned, buzzing with nervous energy. 

Coach was right, it wasn't pretty. For the next two hours he worked us hard. We started with passing exercises and one-on-one drills. We then practiced free-kicks and corners, and one-touch shooting. 

This was followed by conditioning, which was savage. Coach made us do the bleep test, running between two markers 20 metres apart, keeping in time with the beep. If you didn't get to a marker in time you got a caution, and one more chance.  Every minute the beeps get closer together, so you have to go quicker. 

I ignored everyone else and focused on my breathing and rhythm. I made it to the last 4 before getting knocked out. 

I heard whooping and looked over to the bleachers to see half the soccer team sat watching us. Adam and Jake waved, Zack just watched me intently.

I collapsed on the floor with everyone else as we watched the last 3 finish the bleep test. Finishing in 4th place definitely put me at an advantage; it meant I was one of the fittest there. I tried not to get ahead of myself, but I had a good feeling about my chances. 

"Those of you who finished top 10, well done." Coach announced, catching my eye and smiling. 

"The rest of you better show me something miraculous in the next drill or it's game over."

He gave us 10 minutes to get our breath back and re-hydrate, before blowing the whistle and calling us back in. 

"Right, 10 v 10, with a rolling sub. Each time I call your name, it's your turn to come off and become the sub. You'll each get 2 minutes to recover and then you go back on. Any questions?"

We shook our heads. 

"Martinez, start as sub." Coach announced. 

I nodded and stood on the sidelines as the other tryouts took their places on the pitch. Coach blew his whistle once more and the game began. 

"Good job out there." Coach muttered to me under his breath, keeping a close eye on the game. 

I tried really hard to hold back my grin. 

"Thanks Coach."

2 minutes later, it was my time to go on.

"Go score some goals, kid." Coach chuckled. "Morrison, sub off!"

I ran onto the pitch and got into position. Play didn't stop when Coach called a sub, so I sprinted straight for the player with the ball and went in with a strong tackle, winning it from him. I dribbled upfield and passed the ball to a guy on my team before calling for it back. He crossed it in and I tapped it into the back of the net.