Baller Boys Read online

  “Yes Dad, they know—give it their best shot,” interrupted Rayne.

  Everyone laughed and Rayne puffed out his chest, proud that he was able to lighten the mood.

  Shay and Frankie glanced over at each other and smiled a secret smile that meant ‘let’s do this.’

  With Rayne sitting between them in his booster seat, they stretched their hands across him to fist-bump each other. They were ready.

  As Danny pulled into the car park at Marshals Playing Fields, Shay pressed his face against the window. The place was packed. Danny stopped the car to look around for a space to park.

  “Dad!” Shay yelled. “There’s a space behind you… quickly squeeze in.”

  “Good eye, Shay,” Danny said as he reversed the car.

  “Wow! I wasn’t expecting to see so many people here,” Shay said.

  “Neither was I,” Frankie said, budging Shay up so he could have a better view.

  “Come on boys, let’s get you registered,” Danny said as he stepped out the car and stretched his arms into the air. He was ready and so were the boys!

  CHAPTER 4

  The Trials

  Danny led the boys to the registration table whilst Joanne went with Rayne to chat with another mum by the pitch.

  “So, who have we got here then?” asked the man sitting behind the desk. He was dressed in a red and black football top with an AC United badge.

  “I’m Shay and this is my best friend Frankie,” Shay said. He looked from left to right. “Where’s Coach Reece? Is he here?”

  Coach Reece had been a great player when he was younger and everyone had nicknamed him Baller Boy. Now he was one of the founders and head coach at AC United. He coached one of the older teams but he was always on the lookout for exceptional footballers. The future Ballers Boys.

  The man laughed. “Yes, he’s around somewhere.”

  Danny handed him the registration forms and the man had a quick look at them.

  “Okay, I see that you’re both eight. I’d like you to both go over there to that nice young man called Coach Joe. He’s the one wearing the yellow bib and singing to himself. Tell him Pete, that’s me, sent you over and listen to his instructions while I speak to your dad. Is that okay?”

  Pete was a good man to know. He was the club secretary and in charge of all the paperwork. After every trial the coaches would sit down with Pete to discuss who would receive the good news about getting a place on the team via email or a telephone call.

  But first, the boys had to impress! They nodded at Pete and ran in the direction of Coach Joe.

  The white-lined pitches had been freshly marked out on the green grass and football nets were in position at each end. A man with a large megaphone was shouting out information. He told the parents they were welcome to stay and watch, but they were not allowed to cross the lines onto the pitches.

  “Anyone under nine, come over here please!” Coach Joe shouted.

  Wow, there must be at least five hundred boys here, Shay thought.

  In fact, it was closer to two hundred boys trying out for all the age groups, with at least thirty trying out for the under-nines team, including returning players.

  Coach Joe gestured for them to sit down, so Shay and Frankie sat down on the grass with their legs outstretched.

  “Welcome to the AC United trials. My name is Coach Joe and this is Coach Kaan.”

  Coach Kaan took his hand out of his pocket to wave at the boys. He had a large brown beard and looked younger than the other coaches. He wore a baseball cap low that hid a lot of his face.

  “We’re really pleased that you’d like to play for our club and we look forward to some new faces joining us. All we ask of you is to try your best. You’re here to have fun, meet new people and show us your skills. If you don’t make the team today, don’t worry, you’re still welcome to come along and train with us in our development squad to improve your skills,” Coach Joe explained.

  Everyone sat quietly listening to what Coach Joe was saying, except for one boy who kept fidgeting and making noises. Shay also noticed another boy who was sitting by himself. He wore a scarf on his head that was tied around a bun. He kept his eyes to the ground.

  Shay glanced over at Hassan, one of his classmates. It was alright for him. He was already on the team. In fact, quite a few of the boys trying out today were already on the team.

  “We’ll be looking at your dribbling skills today. We need to see you boys have possession of the ball and keep control as you move around the field, or towards the opposing team. Also, try to use small taps between each foot.” Coach Joe moved his feet to demonstrate the actions as he explained what he wanted to see from the boys. “When you get some space see if you can add some pace. Any questions?” He looked around at the players.

  No one said anything.

  “As you all know, football is a team sport, so we’re expecting to see you working together by passing the ball. If you, or someone on your team, is under attack, you’ll have to pass the ball to keep possession. We’ll be looking out for speed and control. Any questions at this stage?”

  “Do we need to show you all the different passes?” asked one of the boys.

  “You’ll need to use whichever one works best for you,” replied Coach Joe. “Who thinks they can tell me some passes you might use?”

  Shay put his hand up. Coach Joe pointed at him.

  “You could do a side foot pass, an outside flick or even a back-heel pass to trick your opponent.”

  “Good job! Using all parts of your foot is vital in handling the ball. That’s what makes an outstanding dribbler and I’m hoping to see you use them.” Coach Joe clapped his hands together and almost sang the words, “Right, let’s get started.”

  The boys stood up to start the warm-up: a jog around the inside of their pitch, stretches, then different drills.

  Shay loved the drills. He was great at taking penalties and they nearly always went in. He also enjoyed one-touch passing and was usually accurate with where he wanted the ball to end up, but dribbling was his absolute favourite. He especially loved to dribble past two or three of his opponents.

  Today was no different for Shay and everything was going to plan. He knew the coaches would be watching. He wanted to impress them and stand out. Shay noticed that the fidgety boy had calmed down now and was really focused. Shay also noticed he was good— really good.

  In the distance, Shay spotted a familiar figure walking towards the under-nines. He’d seen him before in the local newspapers and on the television. The man wasn’t as tall as Coach Joe. He was stocky with a shaved head. Immediately Shay began to smile. The trademark red jacket and black tracksuit bottoms confirmed it. Shay knew it was him. It was definitely Coach Reece.

  Now that Shay had seen Coach Reece he felt even more inspired to try his absolute best. He could see Coach Reece speaking to Coach Joe and several other coaches, as they watched the players, but they were too far away for anyone to hear what they were saying. Shay prayed that they were saying good things about him and Frankie.

  Shay watched two other boys who were already on the team and it was obvious why. The bigger boy with the low cut Afro was good at intercepting the ball and wasn’t afraid to go in for the tackle. The shorter boy with the big Afro was a great goalkeeper. He even saved some of the shots from the penalty line. He dived a full stretch across the mouth of the goal and deflected the ball with the tip of his gloves and that wasn’t easy. Shay knew that must have impressed the coaches.

  While Shay went to the back of the line, waiting for his turn to dribble again, he could see Frankie and Hassan running against each other. They had to keep the ball under control and dribble it in and out of the cones.

  Hassan was really competitive. Shay knew he wouldn’t like it if Frankie outran him. At school, Hassan was known for his super tantrums. If he didn’t win a race, or his team didn’t win a game, he would walk off, sulk and not speak to anyone. He’d been known to whack the ball across the playground. Once he’d kicked the ball so hard it flew over the fence and landed on top of someone’s car. He’d been in so much trouble with their teacher.

  Frankie looked good, he had great control of the ball and was faster than Hassan. Shay was pleased for him but worried about Hassan’s reaction.

  Hassan looked upset and kicked the grass, but before he could do anything else, Shay noticed Coach Kaan shout something over to Hassan in Turkish. Hassan stopped kicking and walked off in a huff.

  Next, Frankie was called by Coach Reece to have a turn at Cone Kick Down, which is played with two players against each other. Instead of having a goal to shoot at, Coach Reece set up five cones along each goal line. He looked around and pointed in Shay’s direction, signalling him over. Shay looked around to see who Coach Reece was pointing at, then realised it was him.

  “Me?” Shay questioned.

  “Yes you, over here. You two are going against each other.”

  Shay walked over and stood opposite Frankie.

  CHAPTER 5

  Every Boy For Himself

  Shay knew that Frankie would be feeling nervous. Whenever it came to penalty shots, Frankie rarely ever hit the target. Shay just hoped nerves wouldn’t get the better of his best friend. Although he wanted Frankie to do well, he also knew that he had to do his best, so he tried to put Frankie out of his mind and focus.

  Frankie and Shay were given a ball each and sent to stand back to back in the middle of the pitch facing their own goal line.

  “When I blow the whistle, you have one minute to see how many cones you can hit by shooting your ball from the penalty line. Each time you kick your ball, you need to retrieve it and come back to the centre and start again.”

  Frankie stood in the centre and tried to f
ocus on the cones. He could see their outline but they were blurred. He used the back of his hand to wipe his eyes, to see if that would help him refocus, but no change.

  It must be nerves, he thought.

  “I’m looking for speed and accuracy!” Coach Reece shouted. He glanced at his stopwatch, then when he was ready, he blew the whistle.

  Frankie took his first shot and missed. He had no time to think about how Shay was doing, he had to retrieve his ball and keep going.

  Frankie attempted six more shots. By the time Coach Reece blew the whistle Frankie was really upset. He knew he hadn’t done well. He had managed to hit one cone. Frankie dropped his head and punched his hand into his fist. He was disappointed with himself. It didn’t help that Shay had hit four out of five cones.

  Shay was delighted with his performance and smiled from ear to ear. All the practice he had put in with his dad had paid off. As he turned around to look at Frankie, he could see the disappointment on his face.

  “Don’t worry, Frankie, you’ve still got time to show your other skills,” Shay said, putting an arm around him.

  “Thanks Sh—”

  But Frankie was interrupted by Shay coughing. Shay’s chest felt tight and he started wheezing. He slowly rubbed his chest and took some big deep breaths trying to ease the coughing. He looked towards the crowd for his parents.

  “Okay boys, take a ten-minute break. Help yourself to fruit and water,” Coach Kaan said.

  Shay hurried over to his mum. Joanne handed him the asthma pump.

  Shay attached his blue inhaler to one end of the spacer and his mouth to the other. He pressed his inhaler twice, sucking the medicine deep into his lungs, breathing out slowly.

  “Better?” Joanne asked.

  “Yeah, thanks. Can I go get some fruit and water?”

  Joanne nodded. “But if you start to feel like you need a break from running tell the coach.”

  “Okay Mum,” Shay said even though he had no intention of doing so. He wanted to be on the team and nothing was going to stop him.

  Shay had had asthma for as long as he could remember, and it had never stopped him from doing anything. In fact, the doctors had said sport was good for his type of asthma; it improved how well his lungs worked, so he would have more stamina and get less breathless.

  Now that he was older, Mum and Dad had taught him to always carry his bag with the inhaler for his asthma and EpiPen for his nut allergy, after having a serious allergic reaction at a birthday party last year.

  All the boys were sitting down having a quick drink, including the quiet boy with the headscarf who again sat away from everyone else. They eagerly listened to Coach Joe explain what was going to happen next. All except one; the fidgety boy. He was off again, kicking a stone around and doing cartwheels.

  “Boys, if anyone fancies themselves as a goalie, you’re up next. You’ll be in goal for some penalty shots, then you’ll be in goal for the five-a-side later on. Any questions?” The boys looked around at each other but no one said anything.

  “Jamie? Jamie sweetheart,” a red-haired lady with freckles called to the fidgety boy. “Come here now. You need to drink some water and listen to your coach.”

  Every now and again, Coach Joe would look up at Jamie but left him alone. Some of the boys looked at each other, then at Jamie, then at Coach Joe. They couldn’t understand why he wasn’t being told off or made to listen.

  Coach Reece and Coach Kaan walked back to where the boys were sitting. They stood looking and talking quietly to each other before signalling to get Coach Joe’s attention.

  Everyone sat waiting, wondering what the next part of the trial would be.

  CHAPTER 6

  Run Like The Wind

  “Joe, can you get the boys into groups of ten for the sprints? And then send them over to the line, where I’ll be waiting. Kaan will be at the other end.”

  Coach Reece and Coach Kaan went to their ends of the pitch, whilst Coach Joe turned to the boys.

  “I’ll put you into groups and you’ll do a few runs. We need to see your stamina and speed, so I want you to run like the wind.” Coach Joe smiled as he talked.

  Frankie was in the first group of boys. As soon as Coach Reece shouted, “Go!” Frankie was off in front of all the boys and stayed in pole position for the entire race. Frankie smiled from ear to ear.

  Shay was in the next group that included the quiet but very quick boy. Shay did his best and finished third. Although he was a little disappointed with his performance, he was pleased he hadn’t come last. The quiet boy came in first place.

  The boys ran several races each before the coaches asked some of them to sit out and take a break.

  As the final group of ten, which included Shay, Frankie and Hassan, were called to the line by Coach Reece, Joanne watched her son coughing as he walked to the line and wondered if he might need his inhaler again.

  “Ready boys? Go!” yelled Coach Reece.

  Ten pairs of legs flew down the pitch towards Coach Joe and Coach Kaan. Frankie was a little bit faster and he narrowly beat Hassan. Shay was sixth and the quiet boy came fifth.

  “Well done boys. Get yourselves a drink and take five minutes,” said Coach Kaan. He walked towards Coach Reece who was holding a clipboard and papers.

  As the other parents clapped and called out encouraging words to their sons, as they slowly made their way back over to the others, Danny and Joanne called Shay over to check on him and give him his inhaler.

  “Right guys, it’s time for some five-minute five-aside,” Coach Joe said. “Jamie, over here please and join the boys on this team.”

  Jamie came over at once, wiping his long, red, tangled hair from his face and mouth. He hopped from one foot to the other, and twisted his hands so rapidly he almost fell over from all the movement. Shay noticed one of the other players, who was wearing a top with the name ‘Troy’ on the back, snigger at the fidgety boy.

  The five-aside matches started with four players and a goalkeeper on each team. Most of the dads and some of the mums were calling out instructions to their children.

  “Good shot, Oscar!” called a mum holding a baby.

  “Go on Tandeep! Down the middle!” shouted one dad.

  “Control it and keep it close to you!” shouted another.

  “That’s it, Jamie love, tackle!” screamed the lady with red hair and freckles.

  Shay could hear his dad shouting, “Well done, Shay! Beautiful passing! Get in there Frankie. Don’t worry lad, keep going.”

  Coach Reece mixed the teams up again and again, with each boy eventually playing four different matches.

  Finally, the whistles blew across the pitches. Shay and Frankie were exhausted!

  “Well done everyone and thanks for coming,” said Coach Joe. “You should all feel very proud of yourselves for turning up today and having a go. We’ll be in touch with your parents in a day or two!”

  And that was it. The football trials were over.

  CHAPTER 7

  The Big Wait

  On the way home Shay and Frankie talked and talked about nothing else but the football trials. They talked about what they thought they’d done well, what they weren’t happy with, which other boys were good, if Coach Reece had spotted them, and about the fidgety boy.

  As Danny parked the car outside his house, Shay and Frankie carried on their conversation. Joanne took Rayne inside so she could start their dinner—a family favourite of rice and peas with jerk chicken.

  “Let’s pop into Frankie’s so I can update his mum and dad on how it went today,” suggested Danny.

  Their dads had been friends for years. They had grown up in the same area and attended the same secondary school. Whenever they got together, they liked to talk about “the good old days.”

  Frankie pressed his doorbell. It was one of those bells that sang a long tune.

  “Frankie, your doorbell is so annoying,” said Shay covering his ears.

  “Yeah, I know.” Frankie laughed, pressing it again, and Shay groaned.

  Tina peered through the living room curtain before coming to answer the front door.

  “Hi guys, how did it go?” she asked, ruffling Frankie’s hair and loosening one of his plaits from his red hair band. She ushered everyone in. “Where’s Joanne?”