The Soccer Dream

Losing Has Its Benefits

 The next day, the Yellow Jackets had a game against the Albany Elites. Aja knew her team stood a tough test against the Elites. The Elites are one of the best clubs in New York. They are the defending regional club champions and are undefeated in the tournament. Their best player is named Sarah Billings, who competed in the dribbling competition. Sarah lost all of her races but has recorded six goals in the tournament. Another good player is named Jennifer (Jenny) Smith who led her team with 10 goals in the tournament.

The game might come down to who can break through and score the most goals. The game started rough for the Yellow Jackets because they went down 3-0 within the first 20 minutes of the game. Aja gathered her team and told her players to calm down. Aja kept going wide of the goal so Megan subbed out and replaced her with Gabby. Gabby was nervous to play against a good team but Aja calmed her down.

At the half, the score was 3-1 after Jordan scored. Audrey stayed in goal even though she allowed three goals. Megan was proud of her team and didn't care if they were to lose this game. The second half started good for the Yellow Jackets by Sophia scoring a goal to make it 3-2 with plenty of time left. Sarah added a goal to increase the Elites' lead. Sophia added another goal but the Elites won 4-3 and the Yellow Jackets were out of the competition. They lost their first game in which Aja was subbed out and didn't score a goal.

Aja was curious to see what Megan had to say about the game. Megan said she would meet with the captains separately.

"I am happy that you played well in the second half but we need to learn how to finish better. The captains could have done a better job of leading the team. Aja was the only one who took the blame for the loss. I have some unfortunate news for a few players. I didn't want to do this but I am going to cut a few of you from the team." Megan told her team.

"I am cutting Morgan, Isabella, and finally Alicia. This is not the end of any of your careers but I know you will tryout next time, this team is holding tryouts. I hope you will not quit soccer just because you were cut from the team. I will meet you all separately to give you your gifts."

"I am saddened to announce Jessica will be out for the rest of session due to her concussion. She may be able watch our league games which will start after the Virginia tournament. As you know, the league we compete in is located in California and if we do well in the league will qualify for the state club championships." Megan finished her speech.

After meeting with the captains and the three who were cut, Megan decided to have a training session. Megan texted a message to her team.

Megan: I am hosting a training session to work on our finishing and please bring water and your running shoes.

Aja: Ok. See you soon.

Aja arrived to an empty field and no one was in sight. Megan sent out a time to all of the players. Aja checked her phone and it said she was early. When she sat there to wait to see if anyone would show up, she grabbed her diary out of her bag and started to write.

Dear Diary,

I am disappointed that my team lost. I know my team has things we could work on, like finishing. We played very well in the game. My team is out of the tournament but the Ninjas won the quarter-final game and going to play the Husky team. I heard that Sami scored a hat trick. I guess she should have been asked to try out. I should talk to Megan about doing an open tryout to replace the three players she cut. As I am writing this, my teammates are arriving and I should get ready for the training session.

Aja placed her diary back in her bag and got ready for the practice. Megan set up three different drills for her team. Every one of the drills were focused on finishing. The first drill would be focused on Creative Movement. A player would try to come up with a way to get past the defender or time their run correctly. The second drill would be focused on when a player is 1v1 with a goalie.