CHAPTER 8

TAKING THE FIELD

Dominic watched his teammates pass the ball back and forth, but even when he was wide open, he never got the ball. He was frustrated, but after skipping out on practice yesterday, Dom understood why they wouldn’t pass to him. They thought he was a goof-off.

Next time he was open, Dominic waved his arms and shouted, “Over here!”

But Seth had the ball. He looked right at Dominic, then passed to another teammate.

I have to do something to prove myself, Dominic thought. But what?

Just then, a nearby Warriors’ player stole the ball from the one of the Rockets. Dominic saw his opening. Nobody — not even the players on the other team — were paying much attention to him.

I’ll use that to my advantage, he thought. No one will see me coming.

Dominic darted forward and stole the ball back from the opposing player. Almost immediately, three Warriors swarmed him.

Finally, Dominic thought. He pretended he was about to dribble to the goal, but just when the other players near him started to run forward, he put his foot on top of the ball, pulled it back toward him, spun around, and headed in a different direction.

Dominic had a head start toward the goal, but soon two Warriors were beside him again. Dominic did another fake, pretending to go toward the sideline, but then he turned and darted forward with the ball. The other players were left in his dust. Now there was nobody between him and the other team’s goal.

Dominic was only ten feet from the goal, but the goalie was waiting for him, ready to keep him from scoring. Remembering the fakes Grandpa had taught him, Dom pretended he was about to kick the ball directly into the net. But at the last minute, he spun and kicked as hard as he could into the far upper corner of the net.

Dominic watched as the ball hit the net, hardly able to believe he’d just tied the game.