Switch Play!

Text copyright © 2003 by Catherine M. Christopher

Illustrations copyright © 2003 by Daniel Vasconcellos

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means, including
information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may
quote brief passages in a review.

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First eBook Edition: December 2009

The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious.
Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental
and not intended by the author.

Matt Christopher® is a registered trademark
of Catherine M. Christopher.

ISBN: 978-0-316-09470-2

Contents

Copyright

Soccer ’Cats Team Roster

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

For my great-grandson,
Travis Chamberlain Howell

I
t was a hot day on the soccer field, but that’s not why Ted Gaddy was steamed. For the past minute, he’d been watching his
fellow Soccer ’Cats cheer for his sister, Lisa. Both he and Lisa played the position of fullback. Both were good players,
but Lisa had a special move that no one else on the team could do.

Whenever the ball bounced over the sideline near her, it was her job to throw the ball back into play. Most players did the
usual two-handed, over-the-head throw. Not Lisa.
She was short and couldn’t throw it very far that way. So she learned to do a front handspring throw-in. She actually would
do a flip while holding the ball! When she finished the flip, she’d let go of the ball. It usually flew high and far into
the air, way over most defenders’ heads.

This move was her secret weapon. She didn’t do it all the time. But when she did, it was a real crowd-pleaser. Today, Lisa
flip-threw the ball to striker Jerry Dinh, who then made a goal. Even though Jerry was the one who had scored, it was Lisa
who got most of the applause. As usual.

Ted knew he should be happy. His team was ahead of its opponent, the Panthers. His only sister — his twin, no less — had made
it happen. But all he could think of was how no one had ever cheered for him the way they were cheering for Lisa.

The Panthers and the ’Cats got into position to restart the game. At the whistle, the Panthers’ center striker toed the ball
to his teammate. The teammate quickly passed it back and the attack was on.

’Cats halfbacks Dewey London and Bundy Neel double-teamed the Panther with the ball. The Panther tried to pass the ball to
his teammate. Amanda Caler, the third ’Cat halfback, jumped between them and stole the ball. Suddenly, the ’Cats were the
ones on the attack.

Great
, thought Ted, kicking at the grass.
Now we have to stand around again, waiting for the ball to come to our end.

Usually Ted liked his position at fullback. He liked knowing that he helped prevent the other team from making a goal. But
today, most of the action had been in front of the Panthers’ goal. He, Lisa, and the other two fullbacks, Alan Minter and
Brant Davis, hadn’t gotten much action.

He watched Bundy battle for control of the ball with a Panther striker. Bundy won and
kicked the ball back into Panther territory. The ’Cats fans applauded loudly.

I bet if I played halfback, people would clap for me, too
, Ted thought sourly.
Or striker
, he added to himself as Stookie Norris scored a goal, his second for the game. Once again, cheers rang out from the stands.

But fat chance of that happening. It’d take a miracle for me to find myself in front of any goal but this one!

Stookie’s goal was the last one of the game. When the ref blew his whistle a minute later, the ’Cats had won, 3–1.

After he’d shaken hands with the Panthers, Ted sat on a bench and took off his shin pads and cleats. As he was putting on
his regular sneakers, Lisa sat next to him.

“Another win! Yahoo!” she crowed as she changed her shoes.

Ted was about to say something when one of the Panthers stopped in front of them. She was grinning.

“Hey, Lisa! When are you going to teach me how to do that flip-throw?” she asked. “It is so cool!”

Lisa grinned back. “Maybe when the season’s over,” she said. The girls laughed and the Panther walked away.

Ted rolled his eyes.

“What’s that look for?” Lisa asked.

“Nothing,” said Ted. He slid from the bench and started walking. “Let’s just go home, okay?”

Silently, Lisa followed him. Ted could feel her eyes on his back, but he refused to turn around.

Let her see what it’s like to be ignored
, he thought meanly.

T
wo days later, Ted showed up at practice still in a bad mood. He hadn’t said much to Lisa since the game, and she’d given
up trying to talk to him.

Coach Bradley called everyone together. “Okay, we’ll do the usual passing and dribbling drills to start,” he said. “Then we’re
going to work on something called switching. Switching is when a player changes positions with another player during a play.”

He paused to make sure everyone was paying attention. “Now you all know the
importance of staying in your own position. If all the halfbacks crowd the left side of the field, then the right side isn’t
being protected. If all the strikers go for the ball at the same time, then there’s no one to pass the ball to. And I don’t
have to tell you what could happen if the goalie’s out of position!”

The team laughed.

The coach went on. “Sometimes, though, it’s a good idea to switch positions. Here’s an example. A halfback has the ball. He
wants to pass to a striker, but all the strikers are covered and can’t get free. The halfback, on the other hand, has a clear
field in front of him. It makes sense for him to keep control of the ball since he can bring it farther down the field, maybe
into scoring range. So he switches with the closest striker by yelling that player’s name and ‘Switch!’ The striker then drops
back to the halfback’s position and the halfback moves ahead into the striker’s spot. Any questions?”

Bundy raised his hand. “When do they switch back?”

“Never!” said Jason Shearer in a spooky voice. “You’re doomed to be a striker or a halfback for the remainder of the season!”

“Mr. Shearer,” the coach said over the team’s laughter, “kindly —”

“I know, I know,” said Jason. “I’ll kindly keep my jokes to myself.”

“To answer your question, Bundy,” Coach Bradley continued, “the players switch back as soon as it makes sense. That may be
when there’s a break in play, or when the ball changes direction toward the other goal, or when both players are close enough
to each other to switch back to their usual positions.”

He put a foot on a ball and leaned on his knee. “Let me stress again: It’s important to stay in your own positions. But switching
can be very helpful.” He smiled. “I remember a time when I was playing in high school. A fullback on my team got the ball.
He looked
to pass it to the halfback on his side of the field, like he was supposed to do. But the halfback had just collided with the
other team’s striker. Both were down on the ground. Everyone else was covered, so the fullback started dribbling down the
sideline. The halfback was still down when the fullback reached him, so the fullback switched with him and kept going.”

The coach started chuckling. “The fullback crossed the center line and was about to pass it to the striker in front of him
when the striker tripped on his untied shoelace and fell flat on his face! The defender had to leap over him so that he wouldn’t
fall too. The fullback kept going until suddenly he was in front of the goal! He did what any sensible player would have done.
He took a shot.”