reaction.
“Pretty good, for starters. Hold the ball longer instead of tossing it up before you kick,” said Pepper. “And step into the
lack more, so you bring your kicking leg back farther. You also want more follow-through after the kick.”
Tina’s later kicks were much better. She’d have no trouble kicking to midfield.
Andrea, however, kept kicking the ball off the side of her foot and out-of-bounds.
“Don’t worry, you’ll get better,” Pepper told her. “But for now, I’d probably avoid kicking the ball in a game.”
Throwing the ball was a different matter. Andrea’s long fingers helped her control the ball, and her long arm gave her throws
good distance. Tina’s overhand throws went all over the place; twice the ball dropped down from her hand. Her throws were
short, and her aim wasn’t good.
“Well, we learned some things,” Pepper said when they finished. “We know that Tina can use her kicking to move the ball in
the right direction but that throwing is a gamble, for now. Andrea, you throw well, but you need work on kicking. That’s helpful!”
“Put us together and we’d make the perfect keeper!” Tina said. Both Andrea and Pepper laughed. Tina realized, to her surprise,
that she’d made a joke without worrying if others would think it was funny. She grinned.
The two girls did other drills while the rest of them worked with Danielle. Then Danielle called the team together again.
“We’ll take a break and then begin our scrimmage. Everyone, take five minutes.”
“You know what amazes me?” Meg said to Tina and Zoe as they sat in the grass. “I don’t think we’ve ever repeated a passing
drill or a dribbling drill since we first started practicing.”
“You’re right,” said Zoe. “It’s like they have this endless list of exercises.”
“It never gets dull, for sure,” Meg agreed. “Hey, is that Cindy’s mom with her?”
Tina saw a tall woman in an expensive-lookingwarm-up suit talking to Cindy. The woman was pointing and gesturing, and Cindy kept nodding. She didn’t look happy.
“Yeah,” Zoe said. “That’s her. She’s the one who wanted Cindy to go to soccer camp. Looks like she’s giving Cindy instructions.”
Meg nodded. “Cindy doesn’t like it.”
Tina watched mother and daughter and said, “I bet if Danielle sees, she won’t like it either.”
“You’re right,” said Zoe. “Coaches don’t like parents to coach their own kids — or anybody else’s kids.”
“I don’t blame Cindy for not liking it,” said Meg. “I’d hate for my mom to do that.”
Danielle divided the team into squads. Tina and Andrea were the goalkeepers. Tina’s squad included Cindy and Zoe, and Meg
was on the other side. From her position in front of the goal, Tina had a good view of the action.
Cindy was definitely fast, and her quick feet helped her steal the ball from opponents — as Tina already knew. But Cindy did
too much on her own. She’d try to dribble through a whole team and shoot. The first time she did that, Zoe was open, in perfectposition for a shot from the left wing. Cindy ignored her and took a long shot herself that Andrea had plenty of time to grab.
From the sidelines, Mrs. Vane yelled, “Cindy! Get closer!”
Andrea threw to Meg on her left, who passed off to a midfield teammate. Cindy darted over to try for a steal, but the girl
screened her off and passed to a wing. The wing and another forward moved in on Tina, who braced for a shot. The forward on
Tina’s right passed across the goalmouth, and Tina advanced toward the other girl, who wanted to shoot. The girl tried to
chip the ball over Tina’s head, but Tina backed up and stretched, arms high. She punched the ball over the crossbar and out-of-bounds,
setting up a corner kick for the other team.
Cindy trotted by the penalty box and muttered, “You should have caught the ball,” so that only Tina and a few others could
hear. Tina turned red, but
“Pretty good, for starters. Hold the ball longer instead of tossing it up before you kick,” said Pepper. “And step into the
lack more, so you bring your kicking leg back farther. You also want more follow-through after the kick.”
Tina’s later kicks were much better. She’d have no trouble kicking to midfield.
Andrea, however, kept kicking the ball off the side of her foot and out-of-bounds.
“Don’t worry, you’ll get better,” Pepper told her. “But for now, I’d probably avoid kicking the ball in a game.”
Throwing the ball was a different matter. Andrea’s long fingers helped her control the ball, and her long arm gave her throws
good distance. Tina’s overhand throws went all over the place; twice the ball dropped down from her hand. Her throws were
short, and her aim wasn’t good.
“Well, we learned some things,” Pepper said when they finished. “We know that Tina can use her kicking to move the ball in
the right direction but that throwing is a gamble, for now. Andrea, you throw well, but you need work on kicking. That’s helpful!”
“Put us together and we’d make the perfect keeper!” Tina said. Both Andrea and Pepper laughed. Tina realized, to her surprise,
that she’d made a joke without worrying if others would think it was funny. She grinned.
The two girls did other drills while the rest of them worked with Danielle. Then Danielle called the team together again.
“We’ll take a break and then begin our scrimmage. Everyone, take five minutes.”
“You know what amazes me?” Meg said to Tina and Zoe as they sat in the grass. “I don’t think we’ve ever repeated a passing
drill or a dribbling drill since we first started practicing.”
“You’re right,” said Zoe. “It’s like they have this endless list of exercises.”
“It never gets dull, for sure,” Meg agreed. “Hey, is that Cindy’s mom with her?”
Tina saw a tall woman in an expensive-lookingwarm-up suit talking to Cindy. The woman was pointing and gesturing, and Cindy kept nodding. She didn’t look happy.
“Yeah,” Zoe said. “That’s her. She’s the one who wanted Cindy to go to soccer camp. Looks like she’s giving Cindy instructions.”
Meg nodded. “Cindy doesn’t like it.”
Tina watched mother and daughter and said, “I bet if Danielle sees, she won’t like it either.”
“You’re right,” said Zoe. “Coaches don’t like parents to coach their own kids — or anybody else’s kids.”
“I don’t blame Cindy for not liking it,” said Meg. “I’d hate for my mom to do that.”
Danielle divided the team into squads. Tina and Andrea were the goalkeepers. Tina’s squad included Cindy and Zoe, and Meg
was on the other side. From her position in front of the goal, Tina had a good view of the action.
Cindy was definitely fast, and her quick feet helped her steal the ball from opponents — as Tina already knew. But Cindy did
too much on her own. She’d try to dribble through a whole team and shoot. The first time she did that, Zoe was open, in perfectposition for a shot from the left wing. Cindy ignored her and took a long shot herself that Andrea had plenty of time to grab.
From the sidelines, Mrs. Vane yelled, “Cindy! Get closer!”
Andrea threw to Meg on her left, who passed off to a midfield teammate. Cindy darted over to try for a steal, but the girl
screened her off and passed to a wing. The wing and another forward moved in on Tina, who braced for a shot. The forward on
Tina’s right passed across the goalmouth, and Tina advanced toward the other girl, who wanted to shoot. The girl tried to
chip the ball over Tina’s head, but Tina backed up and stretched, arms high. She punched the ball over the crossbar and out-of-bounds,
setting up a corner kick for the other team.
Cindy trotted by the penalty box and muttered, “You should have caught the ball,” so that only Tina and a few others could
hear. Tina turned red, but
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