The Soccer Game
The sound of chirping birds wakes me up. Sun pours through my windows, making me squint. I roll over to check my alarm clock. 8:31, the digital numbers read. "Ughhh," I groan, lazily rolling out of bed. It feels as if I had gone to sleep only 5 minutes ago! I quickly throw on my soccer uniform, brush my teeth, and dash out my bedroom door. I see my mom making coffee, flooding the kitchen with its warm aroma. "Good morning," she says with a smile. "Hurry up, you have to be at the field in 15 minutes!" I rummage through the kitchen cabinets, looking for a quick breakfast. I settle on a cereal bar. With little time left, I quickly collect my water bottle and ball, and hop in the car. "So," my mom says, starting the engine, "You excited for your first game?" "Uh, sure," I lie. I just finished the first week of school, and I was in no mood to play soccer, especially early Saturday morning. I like soccer, it’s one of my favorite sports, but sometimes I’m just too tired and worn out to play. Also, our team was not the best team. Last year, we only won one game in the whole season. One game! I’m not looking forward to this one bit. We pull up to the field, and I see a group of girls in red uniforms. "Have fun!" My mom says as I open the car door. "I'll be here for the second half, around 10." I run over to my team. "SOFIAAA!!" My friend Anna exclaims grinning. I run over to her, smiling. "Ohmigosh-" I begin, eager to fill Anna in about my summer and how the first week of school had "Hey Sofia," My coach says with a smile. "One lap, remember?" “Oh great,” I say under my breath. I run my lap, and return panting for air. I had to get in shape soon. “Now, what do we do after the lap..?” I think to myself, trying to remember the warm up routine from last year. I remember that we do ball drills, and begin with “toe taps.” I bounce up and down as my toes tap my ball, one foot at a time. "Blizzard!" My coach yells. Blizzard was the name of our team. "Circle up!"
Our whole team gathers in a circle. I look around and notice new and familiar faces. This year, we have 7th graders joining our team. Old players casually sit on their balls and get comfortable, while new players stand nervously. "Welcome back!" Coach Sara says. "We're facing Lexington today. They're a pretty good team, but I think we can beat them. Ok, starting line up..." She quickly gives out positions, and I'm starting center forward, my favorite position. "Yes!" I think. I love center forward because I don’t have to do any defending (which I hate) but I get to dribble past the other team’s defenders, and score the goals. The ref blows his whistle, signaling us to get to our positions. We run off, with Sara yelling, "Let's go Brookline!" Our team gets in our positions, and my heart is racing. The ref stands in the middle. "Goalies, ready?" he yells. "Ready! They both reply in unison, from both ends of the field. The ref brings the whistle to his mouth and blows. "TWEEEEEEEET!" The season had officially begun.