Little Heroes

Brody took to the field pumped and ready to take care of business in the bantam division city wide soccer championship. Today, the two tops teams with identical records would put it all on the line for the trophy and for the bragging rights for another year. This was Brody’s final year in the Bantam Division and he wanted that prize that had escaped for him for the past two years. He was on a mission.

Brody was taller and bigger than most of the kids his age. On the field, the other players found him intimidating. Brody, while always displaying sportsmanship, had learned to use that intimidation factor to his advantage. The truth be told, Brody was not a very good soccer player. And he was well aware of it. Brody was awkward, couldn’t run very fast and was really not that strong. And his skills with the ball were minimal at best. But he was a smart player who understood the game well, and he had learned very quickly to compensate for his shortcomings. In fact, Brody had become so good at hiding his inabilities that he quickly became recognized as one of the top players in the league. Everyone liked Brody and wanted him on their team.

Brody’s team won the kick-off and were immediately on the offensive. His position was halfback and he played it well. He knew what area of the field was his to cover and he rarely strayed from it. The ball came into Brody’s area and he was on it and already moving up the field. Knowing the other team’s players would catch up to him easily, Brody waited until they were almost on top of him before making an abrupt stop. The two opposing team players went by him as he stopped, turned sharply and headed across the field laterally. Spotting one of his forwards on the move, Brody moved the ball up field in that direction. It wasn’t a great pass but then again, it didn’t have to be. He kicked the ball way ahead of his teammate who would chase it down and move to strike on the net. To the unsuspecting eye, Brody was an awesome player. Unfortunately, Brody’s teammate chasing down the ball was Daniel. He kicked at the ball while falling at the same time and forcing the ball out of bounds. The other team would now take possession. Daniel was younger and smaller than Brody. In fact, Daniel looked like a scrawny, sickly kid and he frequently tripped over his own two feet. He was not well liked on the team as he routinely made mistakes and no one really wanted to pass him the ball. No one but Brody that is. Daniel never wanted to play soccer. He never wanted to play any sports. He was quite content reading his books about whales and dolphins and looking at pictures of underwater animals. But his parents mandated that he play at least one sport in the summer time. So Daniel chose soccer. He was aware that not many on his team liked him and he often heard the remarks they made about him after he screwed up a potential scoring opportunity. And he screwed it up almost always. He never understood why Brody kept passing him the ball and wished some times that Brody wouldn’t pass to him at all. But nothing like that ever phased Brody. He ran over to Daniel, helped him up, patted him on the back and said, “Good try Daniel”.

The game was close throughout the first half and both teams were tied at one goal apiece. Brody played his position well and spent the second half, being in the right place at the right time. He made passes to open players, prevented lose balls from escaping the offensive zone and evened joined in on a rush or two. As an opposing player came down the field with the ball, Brody went up to challenge. The other player put on a burst of speed down the sideline and Brody was well aware that he needed to take away the outside lane because he knew he did not have the ability to stay with this speedster. As he moved to take away the outside lane, Brody anticipated the other player would try to cut to the middle for some open field. Brody waited for it. He was patient and never tipped his hand. As soon as the other played made his cut, Brody stepped up, took the ball and headed up the field. He saw, Kyle streaking up the middle with a chance to split the defence and lofted the ball in that direction. Kyle was the leading scorer in the league and he was also fast. Kyle chased down the ball and was the first to get control of it. Brody’s pass had been placed perfectly allowing Kyle to use his speed to split the defence and send a rocket into the top right corner of the net. With just under two minutes to go in the game, it looked like Brody was finally going to get that trophy.

The other team was desperately moving the ball up field as the time ticked off the clock. Brody noticed one of his teammates out of position and adjust himself accordingly. He was all alone now covering two positions and the other team recognized it and headed in Brody’s direction. Brody knew his job was to guard the other player already in his zone. But if he did that, the ball carrier had too much open field and would get close to striking on the net. But if he moved to challenge the ball carrier, he would leave the player in his area unguarded. For a moment, Brody didn’t know what to do. But out of the corner of his eye he saw Kyle streaking across the field with considerable speed towards the other team’s player moving the ball. Instantly Brody turned and ran as fast as he could towards his own net. Just as he did, Kyle was approaching the ball carrier who was forced to kick the ball up field towards the open player Brody had been guarding. With a bit of a headed start, Brody was able to chase down the ball first. His anticipation had paid off. He wielded around and kicked the ball as hard as he could. He didn’t care where it went as long as it went in the opposite direction of his net. They were out of danger and the clock was ticking towards the end of the game.

One of Brody’s teammates chased down Brody’s wild kick and was moving up field. He made a few sneaky moves and found himself moving towards the other team’s net with only a few players left to get around. Kyle was also up field and moving fast. Nobody noticed that scrawny kid named Daniel who was also forward and right in the thick of the action. Kyle kept moving and calling for the pass. It finally came. But before it reached Kyle who was now positioned to score, Daniel stepped up to kick the ball. But he tripped over it instead. The ball squirted out behind him and was fielded by the other team who moved it down the field as quick as they could. They came with speed and with numbers. They overwhelmed Brody and the two remaining players on the defensive and scored. With just under thirty seconds to play, the game was tied. Several of Daniels’s teammates leered over at him and one even shouted, “Way to go Daniel!” The game ended in a tie and now a shoot-out would decide the champions.

Along the sidelines, Brody tapped Daniel on the shoulder and said, “Don’t worry about it. We all make mistakes. We’ll beat them in the shoot-out. The coach reiterated Brody’s words of encouragement and for a moment, Daniel felt somewhat relieved. As the coach chose the players for the shoot-out, Daniel hoped that he would be one of them. He wanted to score just once so that his teammates might like him. But he wasn’t picked. Only the best five were going to get the opportunity to be heroes. The coach first picked Kyle, then Brody and then three others to shoot. Kyle was of course, an automatic choice since he was the league’s leading scorer. And course Brody was picked because everyone thought he was also one of the best. But Brody had only scored three goals that year. But he was usually involved in making the great plays that led to the goals by others. It was time for the shoot-out to begin.

First up was Kyle. He made no mistake and fired a rocket into the net. The other team’s player missed. Brody prepared for his shot. He knew exactly what he was going to do. Everyone thought that because he was big that he would kick it hard and high. But he really wasn’t a very good shot. He took a few more steps farther back than usual and waited for the referee’s whistle. When he heard it, he ran as fast as he could towards the ball and brought his foot back as if to wind up and blow the ball by the goal keeper. He did exactly the opposite. As the goalie moved to his left anticipating a high and fast ball, Brody tapped the ball along the ground towards the right corner. It just slowly rolled in to the net for an easy score. Everyone thought Brody was brilliant. Every player after that scored but since Brody’s team had one more goal they were crowned champions.  After the celebrations and awards, there were hot dogs and drinks for the kids and lots of fun events. There was even the annual shoot-out competition. Brody decided to enter the competition for the first time.

Kyle usually won this competition and was expected to do so again this year. Nine players entered the competition including a scrawny, sickly looking kid named Daniel. He was eliminated after the first round. One by one each player was eliminated until there were only two left. They were Kyle and Brody. Kyle had just blasted kick after kick into the net while Brody had to use every trick he had to keep fooling the goalie. But he was now out of tricks. Kyle was kicking first. He blasted another rocket that beat the goalie easily. But it hit the top cross bar and bounced away. Kyle had missed. Brody had decided to just aim for a corner and kick it as hard as he could. As he was about shoot, he heard a voice yell out, “Come Brody, you can do it!” It was Daniel urging him on. Even after being eliminated in the first round, he was still there to cheer his teammate on. Brody kicked the ball as hard as he could. It wasn’t a great shot but it was good enough. He scored!

Later, as Brody was leaving for home with his parents, he saw Daniel and his parents heading for their car. “I’ll be right back Mom, I just have to say bye to Daniel.” And off he went. “Hey Daniel, wait up”, Brody shouted. Daniel and his parents turned and waited for Brody to catch up. “I think you forgot something Daniel” Brody said, handing Daniel the Shoot-Out trophy. “But this is yours Brody. You won it”. “But you tried just as hard as I did Daniel. And I probably wouldn’t have scored that last goal without you cheering for me. So we both won it so we both can share it” Brody replied. Brody spun around and ran back towards his waiting parents. He turned around and yelled back to Daniel, “See you at the Awards Banquet next Saturday”. Brody never saw the look on the faces of Daniel's parents. Nor did he see the look in Daniel’s teary eyes at holding his first trophy ever. And Brody did not notice the group of coaches who were standing nearby talking, and who had witnessed what had just transpired.

The Banquet hall was already abuzz from all of the players and their families. The kids were running around like a pack of wild animals while the parents just chit chatted with each other waiting for the ceremony to start. First there would be a dinner, then the handing out of the awards and then a dance for the kids. Brody was excited as he walked in. It was almost time for dinner to begin. He looked around for some of his friends wondering where he was going to sit. He knew that somebody would save a few seats for him and his parents. Just then he heard a voice calling his name. He looked over and it was Daniel. He had saved a few seats for Brody and his family. After dinner the coaches started handing out the awards to all who were chosen. Daniel didn’t receive any award. But he never expected to. Then there came the moment for the MVP award. It was the most prestigious and had been won by Brody’s teammate Kyle, three years in a row. One of Brody’s coaches from a previous year had been selected to hand out the award. He first explained as is done every year, what the MVP trophy is all about. He then went on to say the following…

“For the past few years, one player's name has been submitted over and over again for recognition. This young man has been given consideration every year for the MVP award because of his dedication to the game, his sportsmanship, his attitude towards the concept of team, and for his ability to make the players around him better. And each year he has fallen just a few votes short of winning this award. But this year he could not be denied. When this player’s name was submitted for consideration for MVP, he received unanimous support from the committee. I am proud to announce that this year the league’s Most Valuable Player is…Brody Schuyler!”

Brody was stunned. He heard the cheers and applause. He felt Daniel slapping him on the back in congratulations. He saw his parents clapping and smiling with pride and yet, it all seemed out of focus. He finally pulled himself together to get up and receive his award. As he did, Daniel stood up and kept clapping. Then Daniels parents stood up. Then his parents stood up. And as Brody walked toward the stage to claim his trophy, everyone was standing and cheering. The coach shook Brody’s hand and they both stood and posed for a few pictures. Before letting go of Brody’s hand, the coach leaned down and whispered into Brody’s ear. “Maybe this trophy will make up for the one you gave to Daniel. Well done!”

Brody and Daniel became the best of friends and remained so all through high school. Ironically, Brody lost interest in playing competitive soccer but helped Daniel, who became good enough to make the high school team every year. And Daniel helped Brody study for tests and improve his grades. By the end of high school, that scrawny and sickly looking kid had bulked up and filled out to a strong young man. In his final year, Daniel was offered a full soccer scholarship to the University of Southern California where he was part of two NCAA championship teams. He also graduated with honours, receiving a degree in Marine Biology and moved to Costa Rica to work with Green Peace in their efforts to study and protect marine life from extinction. Brody graduated university also with honours, and returned home to open his own accounting firm. They remain close friends to this day.

Many people wait all of their lives for that one life altering event that will define them and point their compass in the direction of their destiny. Perhaps it is those lesser moments of life that define us and help us choose our path towards our fate. Perhaps it begins with congratulations even when one has faltered. Maybe it is a trophy earned that is given away to someone who has yet to come into their own. Perhaps it is the right person, at the right time there to witness your good deeds. Maybe it is in accepting a seat from an outcast when one is already saved by those more popular. We search throughout our lives looking everywhere for the answers that we believe will guide us. Perhaps we are the answer and have just been asking the wrong questions.




~Rob Mason