The Soccer Bully
Ren English Readers · Level A2
"Are you going to try out for the team, Ren?" Sora asked.
"Yeah. I loved soccer back home. Shunsuke and Ken were really nice. I'm a little nervous, but I want to play with them," Ren said.
"Good luck. You'll be a great soccer player," Hana said. "Sorry, I can't watch. Sora and I have to go to cram school. Tell me how the tryouts go."
"I will," said Ren.
He waved goodbye to Sora and Hana. Momo walked with Ren.
"Are you going to watch?" Ren asked Momo.
"Yes. They always have cram school. They are studying every day to get into a good high school. My singing class is tomorrow. I like watching soccer, so I'll cheer you on," said Momo.
"Thank you." Ren smiled. Going to the soccer tryouts alone was scary.
Shunsuke and Ken waved from the soccer field. Momo went into the stands and sat down. She took out a bag of chips and started eating.
Ren looked at the field. "I can do this." He took a deep breath.
"Don't worry. After the tryouts, we'll go for ice cream," said Momo.
"Let's get karaage instead," said Ren.
"We can get both," said Momo.
"Sounds good." Ren stepped onto the field. There were over thirty people. Some students were running. Others were kicking the ball into the net or doing passing drills. Everybody was smiling.
"You made it." Shunsuke ran up to Ren. "I was worried."
"Sorry, Shunsuke. I had to finish some homework, but I'm here," said Ren.
"My friends call me Shun," he said.
Ren smiled. "Thanks, Shun."
"Come on. I'll introduce you to the coach," said Ken.
Ken and Shun took Ren to a tall man. "Coach, this is Ren. He wants to play soccer," said Ken.
"Hello, Ren. I'm Coach Suzuki. Have you played soccer before?" he asked.
"Yes. I played in London. I was pretty good." Ren's face was red.
"Okay. Let's see how you play." Coach Suzuki blew on a whistle. "Everybody, come here. We'll get started."
All the students in the field came to the coach. Ken, Shun and one more student stood beside him.
The Coach pointed to the three. "These are last year's members of the soccer team. They are your Team Leaders. They will help you learn what you need to do. Now we'll separate into three groups of ten and check how well you play."
"What do we do, Coach?" someone asked.
"You'll practice shooting, kicking and passing," said Coach. "We'll practice running at the end."
Everybody groaned.
Coach laughed. "Running is very important for soccer. We'll run a lot every day."
Ren made a fist.
"What's wrong?" asked Shun.
"I'm not a good runner," said Ren.
"Don't worry. Running is very difficult. I can't run that much every day," said Shun.
"How much can you run?" asked Ren.
"I ran over five kilometres yesterday." Shun put his hand on Ren's shoulder. "It's okay if you can't run a lot. Just try your best."
"I'll do my best," said Ren.
"Come on. Let's see what you can do," said Shun.
"Why is he here?" said a new voice.
Ren turned around. "Yusuke, right? How are you?" he asked.
Yusuke crossed his arms. "I don't want to play with any amateurs. Soccer is a serious game."
Coach crossed his arms. "Enough with the attitude, Yusuke. Everybody has a chance."
Yusuke looked away from Ren.
"Let's start with passing," said Coach. "Split into teams of five and pass the ball. Team Leaders, pass the ball to the first player. Okay?"
Ren nodded.
"The goal here is to control the ball while passing it to the other side. Good luck." Coach blew on the whistle.
Shun kicked the ball to the first person in line. That boy took the ball easily and sent it across the field. The person on the other side took the ball and passed it back.
"I'm next," Ren thought. He ran onto the field, but missed the pass. He made a fist.
"Good try, Ren," said Coach. "Get back in line and try again."
"Okay!" Ren said. His face was red. He got back in line.
"See. I knew you were terrible," said Yusuke. "You should give up," he said to Ren.
"That was the first pass," Ren said. "I'll do better next time."
Yusuke shook his head. On his turn, he passed the ball to the other side.
"Good work, Yusuke," said Coach.
Yusuke smiled.
Ren watched the ball. "I can do it!" he whispered. He ran onto the field. He stopped the ball, kicking it back to the other side.
"Good control, Ren," said Coach. "Try going faster next time."
"Okay, Coach," Ren said. He got back in line.
"You got lucky," said Yusuke.
Ren shook his head. They practiced passing until Coach blew his whistle.
"Everybody, come here," he said. "Your passing was okay. We'll try to score a goal now. Shun, pass the ball to Ren. Ren, try to score a goal. Masa, get into the goal."
"Okay, Coach," Ren said.
Shun ran down the field. Ren raced with him. Shun passed the ball to Ren, but he missed it.
"Good try, Ren. Next time, keep your eye on the ball," said Coach. "Next three. Ken, pass to Yusuke."
Ken and Yusuke ran down the field. Ken passed to Yusuke. He shot the ball. Masa caught it.
"Good try, Yusuke," Coach said. "Next two."
"That's how you do it," Yusuke said to Ren.
Ren glared at Yusuke.
They continued shooting practice. The second time Ren shot the ball, it went wide of the net.
"You have to aim for the net," said Yusuke.
The third time Ren shot the ball, Masa jumped for it, but it bounced off the goalpost.
"Excellent work, Ren. You almost had a goal," said Coach.
"You got lucky," said Yusuke.
Coach blew his whistle. "Good work, everybody. Take five minutes to rest."
Ren was breathing hard. He was slow. What's more, his kicks didn't have much power. His legs felt heavy. He went to the side of the field to get a drink. Momo waved to him in the crowd. Miwa was sitting next to her. Ren waved back. "I can do it," he whispered.
Yusuke tapped Ren on the shoulder. "You're slow," he said.
"Maybe, but I'll get faster," said Ren.
"You should go home. Soccer is difficult for some people," Yusuke said. "The team doesn't need slow players."
Ren glared at Yusuke. "I'm not going anywhere. I love soccer, and I want to play."
Yusuke glared back at Ren. "Don't get in my way."
Ren shook his head.
"You okay, Ren?" Ken asked. He looked at Yusuke. "Don't worry about him. You did pretty well out there."
"I missed the pass," said Ren.
"Everybody does that sometimes. But you got it past Masa. He's a great keeper," said Ken.
"Thanks, Ken," said Ren.
Ken looked up at Momo and Miwa. "Is Momo your friend?" he asked.
Ren nodded.
"Are you dating?" Ken asked. He rubbed his nose.
"No. She lives near me. When I first came to Japan, she showed me around. Why? Do you like her?" Ren asked.
Ken's face turned redder. "Maybe, but don't tell her, okay?"
"Okay," said Ren. "She likes food. We're going for ice cream and fried chicken afterwards. Do you want to come?"
Ken nodded.
Coach blew his whistle. "We'll try a five-on-five game. Get into your teams," he said.
Ren and Yusuke put on red vests over their gym clothes. They were on the same team. "Let's have fun," Ren said to Yusuke.
Yusuke ignored him.
Ken passed the ball to Yusuke. One member from the yellow team blocked Yusuke and tried to take the ball. Yusuke went around him.
"I'm open!" Ren ran forward.
Yusuke tried to go around the second yellow team member, but couldn't. One of them took the ball from Yusuke.
"I was open!" Ren shouted.
"Wasn't wasting the ball on you," Yusuke shouted back.
Ren raced quickly towards the yellow vest with the ball. Out of breath, he saw Ken take the ball from the yellow vest.
"Go, Ren!" Ken shouted, sending him the ball.
Ren turned around. He hurried towards the goal. Two more yellow team members ran towards him. He saw Yusuke.
"Yusuke!" Ren kicked the ball to him.
The ball went wide, rolling towards the side.
"I'm over here, you fool!" Yusuke shouted. "See! You can't do anything right." He rushed to get the ball.
Ren clenched his fist. "Maybe he's right," said Ren softly. "I keep making mistakes."
The game wasn't over. A yellow team member got the ball. Ren saw Momo cheering. Ren opened his fist. "Not yet!" He ran towards the ball.
He was slow, but he got the ball from the yellow team, passing it to Ken.
"Thanks, Ren." Ken spun around a yellow team member and kept the ball.
"Wow," thought Ren. "I want to be that good."
Ren ran to the side. Ken shot it back to him.
"Go!" Ken shouted.
Ren ran forward. A yellow team member ran to him. He tried to take the ball. Ren stopped it first. The yellow team member slid on the ground.
"I did it," Ren thought. He moved to the right, away from the yellow team.
"I'm open," Yusuke shouted.
Ren passed the ball to Yusuke with his weaker foot. Yusuke shot it at the goal, but the keeper caught it.
"What was with that pass? My grandma could do better," Yusuke shouted.
"Sorry." Ren didn't feel good anymore.
The five-on-five ended with no score. Ren sat on the ground, panting. His eyes were heavy. "Can I do this?" he thought. "I'm not helping the team."
Yusuke put his hands on his hips. "I knew you were a bad player. My father always says that slow players hurt the team."
Ren didn't say anything. Yusuke was right.
Coach blew the whistle. "It's late. Everybody did well today. Remember, this is a team sport. It's important that we work together. We'll continue the tryouts tomorrow."
Everybody started to leave the field. Momo and Miwa came down from the stands. Ken and Shun stood in front of Ren. He was bent over, out of breath.
"Good work today, Ren," Ken said.
"Yes, your passing was really good," said Shun.
"Thank you," said Ren.
Momo ran to Ren. "Wow. You did well today, Ren," Momo said. "I was impressed."
Ren smiled. "Thank you, but I need to get faster."
"That comes with time," said Ken. "Look at Masa. He's not very fast."
"Yes, but he's the Keeper," said Ren.
"That's true, but he still has to run. We'll practice some sprints tomorrow. That will help you get faster," said Ken.
"Maybe." Ren clenched his fist.
"Do you want to go get some ice cream with Miwa and me?" Momo asked. "I don't want fried chicken today, and the new ice cream store, Thirty-Three, opened last week."
"We call it Robin's Basket back home," Ren said, looking at the field and the soccer ball. "Thank you, but I'm going to practice a bit longer. Everyone controls the ball better. I want to improve," Ren said.
"Don't work too hard," said Ken. "Rest is important."
"It's getting dark," said Miwa. "The sun is going down."
"I have twenty minutes," said Ren. "I'll meet you at the ice cream store."
"We'll help you practice," said Shun.
"Really?" Ren said. "But you're much better than me. Even Yusuke is better."
"Yes, but you are trying really hard," said Ken. "Remember, soccer is about teamwork and having fun."
"I think so too," said Ren. "Winning is okay, but having fun is better."
"We'll all go out for ice cream afterwards," said Momo.
"Can Ken and I come?" asked Shun.
"Of course," said Momo.
Miwa giggled. "He's turning red."
Ren, Shun, and Ken went out onto the field. "I'll kick the ball to you. Stop it. Then kick it to Ken while running," said Shun.
"Got it," said Ren.
Shun tapped the ball. Ren ran up to stop the ball. He missed and fell forward onto the ground.
"Are you okay, Ren?" Momo asked.
Ren got up and brushed the dirt off his knees. "I'm fine. Let's go again."
Ken sent the ball to Ren. He stopped it this time, but was very slow in kicking it to Shun.
"Better. Let's keep going," said Shun.
They passed the ball back and forth. Then tried some dribbling, passing the ball up the field. Soon, the sun was gone. It was very dark, and too hard to see the ball.
"It's late," said Momo. "We should go get some ice cream before the store closes."
"Good idea," said Ren. He picked up the soccer ball. "I'd better take this back first." He bowed to Shun and Ken. "Thank you for helping me."
"No problem. You're getting better, Ren," Shun said. His face was red. "You don't have to bow to friends."
"Sorry. Everything in Japan is new to me," Ren said.
"You're a good player," said Miwa. "How are you as a ghost hunter?"
"What do you mean?" asked Ren.
"Well. I heard about a ghost in an old building near here. Do you want to check it out?" Miwa asked.
"It will be difficult to hunt ghosts and practice soccer," said Ren. "I'm slow now, but I'll get better."
Shun and Ken laughed. "You are slow, but that's okay. Let's talk about this over ice cream," Shun said.
They left the field, laughing.
Nobody saw Yusuke step out of the shadows near the far goalpost. He hit the post with his fist. "He kept making mistakes. Why doesn't he give up?"