Go for the Goal! by Fred Bowen Page A

scorer.” Josh smiled. “I can’t believe we’re going to be playing with these guys.”
    “Remember you two are as good as any of them,” Mr. Bradshaw said. “Coach picked you because you could help the team.”
    Josh was quiet for a moment. He could feel a certain pride swelling up inside him.
I’ve always wanted to play on a really great team—a team like the United,
he thought.
And now I’ve got my chance.
    “When are practices?” his father asked.
    “Tuesdays and Thursdays. I guess we start tomorrow.”
    “What about games?”
    “Click on the schedules,” Aidan said.
    A list of dates and team names replaced the roster on the screen.
    UNITED SCHEDULE
September 1
Labor Day Tournament
TBA
September 8
Tournament
TBA
September 15
Kings *
2 P.M.
September 22
Magic *
Noon
September 29
Storm *
10 A.M.
October 6
Red Devils *
Noon
October 13
Dynasty *
2 P.M.
October 20
Columbus Day Tournament
TBA
October 27
Future *
10 A.M.
November 3
Galaxy *
10 A.M.
November 10
Veterans Day Tournament
TBA
November 17
Majestics *
Noon
November 24
Arsenal *
2 P.M.
December 1
League Tournament
TBA
December 2
League Tournament
TBA
    * League Games—All League Games will be played at the Soccerplex
    “The ones with the stars are the league games,” Josh explained. “Coach Hodges said we’re going to play in a bunch of tournaments too.”
    “Where’s the coach from?” Mr. Bradshaw asked.
    Josh clicked a picture of Coach Hodges and read her biography. “She played four years at University of Notre Dame—”
    “They’re good,” Aidan interrupted.
    “She’s been coaching the United for three years,” Josh continued. “She’s the real deal.”
    “Yeah, she seemed like she knew her stuff at the tryouts,” Aidan said.
    Josh clicked a small picture of last year’s United team and it filled the screen.
    “I love their uniforms!” Aidan shouted.
    “You mean
our
uniforms,” Josh corrected. “Hey look, there’s Evan.”
    “Is he wearing red shoes?” Mr. Bradshaw asked.
    Josh and Aidan laughed and then returned to surfing through the site, takingin everything—the schedules, the pictures, the uniforms—in almost reverent silence.
    Finally, Josh turned and smiled at Aidan and his dad. “Playing for the United is going to be
so
cool!” he declared.

Chapter 2
    T
weeeet!
Coach Hodges blew her whistle long and loud. In midstride, the United players stopped their drills. “All right, water break,” Coach announced.
    “Finally,” Josh said. The sweat was pouring down his face as he turned the tiny spigot at the bottom of the big orange jug and filled his water bottle. “This thing is so slow,” he said, wiping his forehead with the back of his arm. Before the bottle was even half full, he yanked it back and took big grateful gulps.
    “Move over,” Aidan said, pushing his own bottle under the spigot.
    Instead of drinking his water, Aidan dumped it over his head and let the coldwater splash onto his sweaty hair and down his back. He wiped his mouth with his wet T-shirt. “Tough practice,” he said in a low voice. “Especially for the first one.”
    “It’s not too bad,” Josh said. “It’s just the heat. It’s August. It’s not going to be hot much longer.”
    Aidan looked over at Evan, who was in the water line. “Hey, Evan, are practices always going to be like this?”
    “What do you mean?”
    Josh picked up on Aidan’s question. “You know, just drills. Not many breaks. It seems like Coach never lets up.”
    Evan shot a phony smile at the other United players in line and then said a little too loudly, “What’s the matter? Can’t you take it, rookie? This isn’t rec league, you know.” His teammates chuckled.
    “We can take it,” Josh answered, feeling annoyed. “We were just asking.”
    “If you can’t take it,” Evan continued, “Coach’ll find somebody else. She got rid of two guys last year. Cut ‘em after a couple practices.”
    “Really?” Aidan blurted out.
    “Sure,” Evan