Lacrosse Face-Off Read Free Page B

laughed until the coach held up a gloved hand. “Lacrosse is an aggressive game, so be prepared to check and be checked.
     But be warned: if you illegally bodycheck an opponent, the ref will give you a one-, two-, or even three-minute penalty. Three
     minutes is a long time to run a team short sided, folks. The other team can score a whole lot of goals if they have one less
     player to worry about.”
    Coach Hasbrouck instructed them to pair . off and practice body checks. Garry looked to see if Michael wanted to partner up,
     but Evan had already claimed him. So instead Garry practiced the move with another sixth-grader, a stocky but surprisingly
     quick boy named Christopher. They knocked each other back and forth for ten minutes, trading places as ball carrier and checker.
    Finally, the coach called everyone together and told them it was time to scrimmage. He divided the team into two squads of
     ten and assigned each player a position.
    Garry was an attacker, along with Michael and a sixth-grader named Carl. Carl looked nervous until Michael slung an arm around
     his shoulders and said, “Don't worry, kid, just feed me the ball and I'll take care of everything.” Michael pointed a finger
     gun at Garry and added, “Same goes for you, Wallis. Thename of the game is put-the-ball-in-the-net, and I'm the one who does that best!”
    Behind the attackers were three midfielders, seventh-grade boys Garry was still getting to know. Behind them were the three
     defenders. Todd was with this group, on the left. Jeff was in goal.
    Coach Hasbrouck called the two center attackers together for the face-off. Michael and his opponent lowered their sticks to
     the ground and crouched down over them, their helmets nearly touching. The coach put the ball between the centers, took a
     step back, and blew his whistle.
    Michael exploded into action. He flipped his stick over, clamped the ball, and raked it away from his opponent in one smooth
     motion. Carl ran in and scooped up the loose ball. He immediately passed it to Michael, who sprinted downfield toward the
     oppositegoal. Garry hustled after him, ready to help out as needed.
    But Michael didn't need help. Cradling the ball in the pocket, he cut left, dodged around a midfielder, and used his body
     as a shield when a second player tried to stick-check the ball loose. Suddenly, he was in the attack area to the right of
     the goal. He slashed his stick downward and threw. The hard white sphere hurtled past the goalie and swished into the net.
    “Yes!” Michael cried, pumping his gloved fist above his head. He pretended to lick his finger and chalked up a tally mark
     in the air. Then it was back to center field for another face-off.
    Once again Michael pulled the ball away from his opponent, but this time it was the other team that captured it. The right
     attacker threw it to his center, a sixth-grader named Conor. Conor started to run downfield, butMichael bodychecked him before he had gone two steps. The bump came as a surprise to the attacker, and he stumbled. The ball
     popped free. Michael was about to scoop it up when Coach Hasbrouck blew his whistle to stop the play.
    “Okay, boys, let's try to keep the body checks to a minimum for this scrimmage,” he called. “I don't want anyone getting hurt
     before our first game. Focus on your passes and on working the ball around the field instead.” The coach tossed the ball to
     Conor and jogged to the sideline. His back was turned, so he didn't see Michael roll his eyes in disgust.
    But practically everyone else on the team saw it. And Garry was close enough to hear Michael mutter, “Just what I always wanted:
     a team of wusses, coached by the head wuss himself.”

6
    F or the rest of the week, the coach followed a similar format for practices—warm-ups followed by drills, and then scrimmages.
     Midway through Wednesday's practice, he showed them the proper technique for a poke check, holding his stick parallel to the