Bigot Ball

He kicked another one from the right side. It was a far distance and his right side was his weak side as well. It bounced off the left goal post. Frustrated, he jogged after it. It was 11:30 on a Saturday morning and Brett had been up since 7:00 practicing. His team had managed to make the state tournament and being one of the senior leaders, he wanted to give his team the best chance possible to get as far as they could. Maybe even win it all.

Brett put the ball in the same place and tried again. He knew he had to pull it back to his right a bit. He did so, but too far. The ball hit the side of the goal. He got it and put it in the same spot again. This time he knew how to get it in. He vaulted it with his foot and the ball met face to face with the back of the net. He did it twice more to make sure he could do it and it wasn't a fluke.

Pretty soon, his friend Alex showed up. He was going to go grab some food together. Alex was on the JV team; he wasn't the greatest player. Partially because he didn't practice, but he also wasn't as passionate about it as Brett. Alex walked onto the field. "You ready to go?" he asked Brett. "Almost, I just have take a couple more shots." Brett launched the ball towards the goal, it went in. "Nice," said Alex. "Thanks." Brett moved on. He took another shot from almost midfield. It hit the top crossbar of the goal and bounced back towards him. "Do you always do that when you take a shot?" Alex asked.

"Do what?"
"Right before you kick it, your arm comes out."
"I do it for balance. Don't want to fall over you know."
"Oh, well, I guess not."

Brett set up the ball to try the shot again. "It just seems kind of unnecessary," added Alex. Brett ignored the comment and kicked it. This time, it went in with ease. "Alright, I'm done."

As they walked back to the cars, Alex wasn't satisfied. "It's just, when I practice, I don't do that." Brett looked at him, "You practice?" "Of course I do," said Alex. Brett gave him a suspicious look. "It doesn't seem like it." "Just because I'm on JV doesn't mean I don't practice at all Brett. Give me a little bit of credit." He backed off, but Alex didn't. "You think that because you're starting varsity, you practice a lot more than I do?" Brett remained quiet. "I work just as hard as you do. I practice every day." Finally, Brett piped in.

"But I can't see it."
"See what?"
"The practice; I don't ever see you practicing and I also don't see it when you play."
"You think you're better than me."

Brett bit his tongue, hard. Alex stared at him. "Well, I am starting..." Brett said. Alex peeled away. He's the expert on soccer now Brett thought. He doesn't know the hours I put in. He doesn't know the things I've sacrificed. He left a ball on the field. He ran at it with frustration and kicked it. It veered right. Brett slowly begin jogging to get the ball and try again.