Making Amends

“Let’s go Tigers, out the car! Grab your stuff. Coach is waiting!” Adam yelled to be heard over the rain.

He handed each 12 year-old-girl their game-day snack pack filled with apple juice, fruit rollups, and two granola bars before they sprinted towards the soccer field. “Let’s show those Lions what we’re made of!” He stopped his daughter - the last in line, kneeling down to her level with an attractive smile, “I’m proud of you, Amy! Have fun and leave it all on the field.”

“Stop telling me to have fun,” Amy shrugged her father’s hand off her shoulder. “You know what’s fun, Dad? Winning’s fun.” She snapped, snatching her snack pack to go join her teammates. Her father stood up to watch his daughter run away. He never knew the right thing to say.

“She’s just nervous” Beth said, walking up to grab her snack pack. Beth rode to the game separately, with her father Brian.

“You’re right, kiddo. How about you? You ready?”

“I’m actually pre-”

“Come on, Beth! Everyone’s waiting for our pump up!” One of the girls yelled from the sideline.

“You’ll do great, Beth. Here take your snacks, better not leave them waiting! Have fun!” He nudged her towards the swarm of 15-year-olds. Their lanky arms wrapped around each others’ backs in a large circle, swaying back and forth. Cindy, the team captain stood in the center of the girl gang.

“Who are we?” Cindy yelled, her hands cupped her face as she leaned backwards.

“TIGERS!” The team replied in unison.

“How do we feel?” Cindy continued, her face turning red now

“HUNGRY!” The team replied, swaying faster and faster

“What do we eat?” Cindy screamed, the veins in her neck visible.

“LIONS!” The team yelled, jumping up in excitement. The exploding circle making its way to their sideline to put on their shin guards, paint black paint on each others’ faces, and put on the burnt orange away team jerseys.

Turning back to the trunk, Adam grabbed the clear plastic bin filled with the half-time snacks, extra water, and medical supplies.

“Easy there, Superdad. Don’t you ever need a break?” Brian said sarcastically, grabbing the other half of the bin. “I mean, picking up the entire team? You know, you don’t have to parent every kid?”

“Just happy to help. Have plenty of time these days. Let me know if Beth ever wants to come along. The girls have a great time on the drive.” Adam said, smiling towards Brian as they made their way to the Away team sideline, the bin stretched between them.

“No, thanks. We use the drive time to game plan strategy and make sure she’s focused.” Brian refused to make eye contact as they placed the plastic bin next to the girls mountain of belongings to the side of the aluminum bleachers.

“Alright everybody, gather around,” Coach Carter called the girls over, “Let’s get ready to get out there.”

“Beth, come here for a second.” Brian called to his daughter “Give me that snack pack, here’s the organic one we brought from home.”

“Daadd,” Beth whispered through clenched teeth. “Are you serious? Everybody else has normal snacks, It’s not that big of a deal.”

“Yes, I’m serious. That way you won’t crash during the 1st quarter like everybody else. If we want to beat the Lions, you need a perfect game today. Everything adds up.”

Beth threw the old snack pack at her dad’s feet with furrowed brows, jogging to the coach’s huddle without grabbing the organic snacks. Brian found his daughter’s gear pile and placed the organic snack pack on top before making his way to the Coach’s huddle standing a few feet away. He listened to Coach, nodding along with the rest of the parents as Coach emphasized teamwork and doing their best. That no matter what happens, he’s proud of them and it’s been a great season.

“Break!” The team yelled in unison, returning to the bleachers to get final sips of water and last-minute stretching in.

“Beth, remember what we talked about in the car. Your coach has good intentions, but he’s all wrong” Brian whispered, unsuccessfully, to his daughter. The nearby girls and parents side-eyed the pair. “This is your game. You’re the best one on the field, do whatever it takes to win.”

“I get it, Dad,” Beth snapped, eyes shifting to the eavesdroppers, “You’re embarrassing me”

“Just the men I was looking for,” Coach Carter said walking up to Adam and Brian. “A couple of the refs are delayed with the rain, we need two volunteers to keep score and time. You guys up for it?”

“Sure thing,” said Adam.

“Is there anyone else?” Brian asked. Glancing towards Beth and down towards the laminated note cards he brought, “I’m not sure I’ll have the time to keep time”

“I’ll keep time, you can keep score. Scoring’s easy. You’ll be able to coach Beth and keep score,” said Adam.

“Great, thanks guys! Huge help. The ref’s stations at midfield under the canopy. You can sit out of the rain” Coach ran back to the field as the two dads walked to midfield.

—

“God, he’s just so exhausting,” Beth said to Amy

“He just cares,” Amy replied, staring after her dad walking away. “I think it’s sweet.”

—

The dads readied their station and the girls took their place on the field. A coin toss gave kickoff to the Lions, dressed in white jerseys. The Tigers placed themselves on their half of the field. With a whistle, the Lions were off. The teams were evenly matched. This was the final playoff game to decide who would compete against the Knights in the Championship game. The feud between Lions and Tigers runs deep. Both schools were in Cedar County, so the neighborhood got split in half. The girls all knew eachother from elementary and middle school, before being split for high school.

“Beth, focus up! It’s game time!” Brian said as the Lions first break got them near the Tiger’s goal. A hasty shot and Beth caught the ball. “Great save, Beth!”

“Keep it up, Beth! No fly zone today!” Coach said.

The game went back and forth, each team getting a few breaks to other team’s goals. Despite a few shots taken, most of the game took place in the mid-field, neither team showing an advantage. Desperation rose on each side of the field as the first half neared the end with zero points on the scoreboard.

After a hasty slide tackle from the Lions, Cindy from the Tigers’ team rolled her ankle. Limping off the field, Adam ran over to grab his med kit, leaving Brian to man the timekeeping station temporarily.

“Come on, girls! Somebody needs to make a play!” Coach Carter said as the girls retook the field.

Amy took the call, sprinting for a fast break while the other team was warming up. A dodge past the unaware midfielders, she barreled towards the defensive line. A quick pass towards Linda in centerfield. Amy ran past the defender, receiving the quick pass back from Linda. Without touching the ball, she wound up for a power shot on the goal.

The ball flew through the air. The Lions goalie’s eyes trailed the ball, she jumped arms outstretched. Her fingers faintly grazed the ball as it flew into the top right corner of the net. A cheer from the girls!

“Did you see that, dad?” Amy asked, searching the referee station at midfield. Eyes tracing the sideline, she found her dad tending to Cindy. Her smile faltered, and the game went on.

“Great shot, Amy!” Coach Carter cheered. “Let’s go defense! Half’s almost over.”

With a whistle, the game was back on. The girls were fighting now. The Lions were determined to score before the half, the Tigers were determined to maintain their lead.

Another slide tackle from the Lions, kicked the ball towards their star offensive player. A big break, she sprinted down the field. Past the midfielders. Past the defensive line. A one on one showdown between Beth and the attacker.

“Beth! You got this!” Coach yelled.

The attacker shot. The ball rocketed. The crowd inhaled.

“Beth!” Brian yelled, dragging Beth’s eyes from the flying ball, “Remember your form!”

Eyes locked back onto the ball after the half-second distraction. She dove for the ball too late, missing the block. The first half ended with a blow of the whistle.

The girls left the field for halftime. Adam and Brian joined their daughters on the sideline.

“Great goal, kid” Adam said.

“You didn’t even see it” Amy replied.

“I’m sorry, I was wrapping Cindy’s ankle.” Adam said

“Honestly, why do you even come?” Amy asked

“Beth, you have to keep your eye on the ball” Brian said.

“I would’ve if you hadn’t yelled at me!” Beth replied

“Alright girls, get some water.” Coach said. “Scores zero zero, let’s show them who’s boss. One half to go.”

A whistle ended halftime. The girls took the field. A fast kick off. The teams are ferocious now. The Lions immediately make their way downfield. A pass to centerfield. A pass back. The Tigers defensive line is turned around. Two Lions are facing down Beth. They pass the ball back and forth, stretching Beth between them. She can’t cover both and they shoot the goal in.

Down two to one, with nearly a full half remaining. The Tigers are upset. The remaining half progresses, Amy gets a break with the ball, but misses the tie-making shot. Two minutes left in the half, the girls are drained. Beth dives to block a haphazard shot, scraping her knee. The ref blows a whistle to stop the play of game.

Adam sprints over with his med kit to bandage Bath up. While bandaging, he misses Amy yelling downfield. She can’t find more water to refill her bottle. Adam’s wrapping Beth’s knee when Brian runs over.

“Beth! We need more energy, quick on your feet!” Brian said.

“Dad, shut up!” Beth snapped “I know how to play!”

A whistle marks the end of the break. Two minutes left. Adam and Brian headed back to the referee station.

“My late wife would’ve known what to do. She was always the coach, she knew how to work with Beth. I haven’t figured out how to fill her place since she passed.” Brian said.

“Do you think she wants you to?” Adam asked. “Maybe she just wants you to be there?”

“Yeah, maybe” Brian replied.

“I didn’t know your wife died,” Adam said “Mine too. Ever since, Amy’s always mad at me too. I try to do everything her mother did. I carpool, I make the snacks. But it’s never enough.”

“She’ just a kid.” Brian replied. “You know, maybe she just wants you to be there, too?”

“Yeah.. maybe you’re right.”

“I have an idea.” Brian said. “What if we swapped roles? You keep score, I’ll keep time. Then you can watch the game better and I can stop being coach?”

“Let’s do it.”

The Tigers are down one goal. Amy takes the charge. She snatches the ball, fights her way downfield. The Lions are all over her. She’s passing back and forth with the other forwards. They inch their way downfield. Amy takes a shot from farther than she’d like. It soars above the goalie. The top right corner of the net is slammed as the ball rockets in.

Tie game. One minute left. This is it.

The Lion’s goalie returns the ball downfield. The kick is too far. Beth catches it. She makes eye contact with Amy. Beth nods. Amy takes off downfield.

Brian stands up, arms cupping his face to yell. Then sits back down. Adam’s staring intently at his daughter run downfield.

“Do your best, Beth.” Brian whispers to himself. “You got this.”

Beth drop kicks the ball. It soars downfield, right in front of Amy. There’s one defender. They steal the ball.

“Amy! Don’t let them take it from you!” Adam yells across the the field.

With renewed vigor, Amy charges the defender from behind. Catching up, she slide tackles the ball away. Springing to her feet, she’s wide open now. Facing down the goalie, she notices the goalie squat down in anticipation. Dribbling forward, Amy winds up a power shot. The goalie dives towards the top right corner expecting another signature corner shot, but Amy pulls the kick at the last minute. She still has control of the ball.

While the goalie’s in the air, she kicks the ball to the bottom left corner. The goalie thuds to the ground on the wrong side of the net as the grounder kick rolls into the net.

“Let’s gooooooooo” Adam cheers. “Great play, Amy! And a hat trick!” Amy locks eyes with her dad as the Tigers pick her up cheering.

The whistle signals the end of the game. They’ve done it. The Tigers are going to the Championship game.

“You did it, Beth”

“Thanks Dad! I can’t believe it” Beth replied “ I wish mom could’ve seen it”

“Maybe she did.”