A Change Of Heart
John grabbed his soccer bag and then dropped it, realizing his soccer ball was not in there. He opened his window, moving the blue curtains aside. "Josh! Jacob! Give me back my soccer ball" he yelled. John knew the twins had it, he could hear the thud of the ball against the garage door.
When no answer came, he picked up his soccer bag and left his room, the orange paint looking lighter in the natural light. John went outside and came up behind Josh, before snatching the ball away from him. "Do not touch my stuff!" he said angrily. "How many times do i have to tell you before you will listen?" Since the twins were 11, four years younger than John, they should know better. He certainly did at eleven.
He put his soccer ball in his bag and checked his watch. His dad would be home any time now to take him to practice. Soon enough, his dad's car pulled in the driveway and John got in. The trip was short, only about ten minutes, since John's school was relatively close.
He put his cleats on in the car, and then grabbed his soccer ball to start warming up. He could see his teammates warming up a few yards away. John thought he was better than the rest of his team, so he did his own warm up. He was co captain. He resented not getting captain, that position went to Trevor. John knew better than to argue with the coach, but he still thought he deserved the position more.
The rest of the practice was spent doing scrimmages. John never passed the ball to another player, He knew they would mess up the play. He ignored the dirty looks from the other players, when it came time for a real game they would thank him.
At the end of practice, his coach had an announcement to make about tryouts for a elite soccer camp. John made sure to sign up. For the next week, it was all he could think about.. He ignored his family in favor of looking up information about the soccer camp and imagining what it would be like to train there.
On the day of the try outs, he got up early and made himself breakfast. By the time his dad was ready to take him to the field John was already ready. His mom hugged him and wished him luck. When they got to the field he found that he was the first one there. John sat in the car until more people arrived.
The players started doing drills. John noticed the scouts watching him so he pushed himself harder. Then the players had to form teams of two. John stood alone, not wanting anyone to mess him up. Unfortunately, he still got paired with Trevor.
They played against another team, and John soon realized that he was not as prepared as he first thought he was. Whenever he had the ball he tried to make a shot but he was blocked by the two players. After several unsuccessful tries, John finally had a chance when he passed the ball to Trevor in an attempt to keep the other team from getting it. Trevor made the goal and they continued the pattern until the game was over.
Trevor and John won, and they waited impatiently to hear the results. "Although you did not start out very good, you eventually worked together to win the game." The scout handed each of them a packet."I'm happy to tell you both that you have been accepted into the program." John smiled, barely containing his excitement. He high fived Trevor. It would be nice to have someone he knew at the camp, and working with Trevor was not as bad as he thought it would be.
