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Post by afa on Sept 12, 2010 12:22:04 GMT -5
Soccer season hadn't exactly started yet, but Tim wanted to be on top of his game by the time try-outs rolled around. So, after going for a quick jog around the field, he decided to dig a ball out of the school's equipment room and kick it around a bit. Unfortunately, he didn't have anyone to practise with, but he figured he would still be able to polish up on his dribbling and kicking skills.
For some reason, the equipment room had become a monstrous mass of broken nets and smelly gear over the course of the summer, and it took him a full two minutes to stop coughing after the initial fog of pent-up sweat essence was released. Being the trooper he was, he forced himself to enter the small space, pushing aside piles of miscellaneous things in order to reach the only-slightly-deflated soccer balls in the far corner. Not wanting to have to go back into the room for any reason whatsoever, Tim grabbed the whole bag, eagerly scrambling past an entanglement of badminton rackets in his haste to be free. As he re-emerged into the light, he was considerably more cobwebby than he'd been initially, but he still felt quite triumphant. Maybe later, he would try to clean up the space. He caught another glimpse of the chaos as he closed the door. Then again, maybe he wouldn't.
Brushing himself off, Tim made his way back out to the field, glad to see that no one had taken it over while he'd been fighting off the evils of unwashed practise jerseys. With a sigh, he dropped the bag of soccer balls to the ground, sorting through it in order to find a relatively good one. None of them really met his expectations, so he lowered his standards - it was easier than returning to the equipment room in an attempt to track down an air pump. As soon as he'd pulled a relatively firm ball from the collection, he stood, raising his arms in a stretch. "Finally," he murmured, beginning to move it down the field.
ooc it's not the best :3 but it's a start!
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Post by benjamin on Sept 12, 2010 20:49:23 GMT -5
 So I put out my hand and I asked for some help
(We tore down the walls I built around myself )
I WAS STRUCK BY THE LIGHT AND I FELL TO THE GROUND - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -Ben groaned as his alarm clock sounded. So much for a needed nap after classes. Okay, so he'd still got about two hours worth of nap time in, but now he had to go exercise. He rolled out of bed, grabbing his cleats and his gym bag. The nice thing about having his single room was that he didn't need to bother with changing in the school locker rooms. They were notoriously disgusting. He only went in there if it was absolutely necessary. And that was extremely rare. He rubbed a hand over his head, finding a pair of blue and white soccer shorts and a basic gray t-shirt. He stuffed his cleats, water bottle, towel, and random other odds and ends into his duffel bag, tossing the strap over his shoulder.
He made sure he had his phone and his keys, and walked out of the room, locking the door. He stuck his iPod headphones into his ear, trotting down the steps of his resident hall and outside. He made his way to the soccer field, knowing that today's practice could very possibly turn into hell. It usually did. Ben hoped that all the cuts were final, and they'd actually have the entire full team together as well. Not that he minded showing off slightly to the newbies who tried out. But, it was all for the best in the end. He saw another team mate on the field already, smiling softly. Good kid.
He stopped by one of the benches, dropping his duffel bag down. He sat, pulling his cleats out of the bag and pulling them on. He dropped his iPod into one of the pockets, and setting his water bottle on the bench. He stood, going into his routine stretches. He'd learned the hard way before and made stupid mistakes because of a lack of stretching beforehand. He finished his stretches, walking over toward the other boy, picking out a ball to do some drills. "Hey. Ready for this?" He chuckled, dribbling the ball over to one of the cones courses the coach had set up. He weaved his way in between them, going over the drills in his head.
( W O R D S ? !) 461
( S T A T U S ? !) finished
( O U T F I T ? !) heree
( N O T E S ? !) none yet
( C R E D I T ? !) this lovely code was made by dear joey AKA xoxsilvermoonox of the lovely CAUTION 2.0 don't steal this or else I will send my rabid heffalumps and woozles after you!! (: the lyrics are by papa roach |
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Post by afa on Sept 13, 2010 18:59:26 GMT -5
[/b]" he shrugged, smiling sheepishly. As usual, none of his summer plans had really worked out.. instead of trying to stay in shape, get a job, do something productive, whatever, Tim had spent the whole time hanging around with his friends and his family. You couldn't quite call that a waste, but he was already feeling the burn and he hadn't even been here for fifteen minutes. " I'm Tim, by the way," he introduced himself. He had a feeling he should know his companion, but it really had been a long summer and last year felt like a distant memory. Besides, Jackson was a large school, and it seemed that students were always coming and going. Feeling more refreshed, Tim started on the cones again, turning his focus back to the drills. As exhausting as it could be, he loved practise. It gave him something to do on otherwise boring days, and took his mind off of school. Coming to Jackson had been a bit of a shock; back home, he could simply return to his house at the end of the day and not have to think about lessons or classes or anything, but here, a student could easily spend their entire year on-campus. It was positively suffocating at times. Especially being in Martinetti Hall, with the staff building their closest neighbour and the school not too far off. Though, hearing stories about the goings-on in the more removed dorms made him feel kind of thankful that he was in the calmest one. ooc yeah, a bit short. ;D[/size][/ul] |
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Post by benjamin on Sept 14, 2010 11:11:29 GMT -5
So I put out my hand and I asked for some help
(We tore down the walls I built around myself )
I WAS STRUCK BY THE LIGHT AND I FELL TO THE GROUND - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Ben loved going to practices, no matter what the coach threw at the team. He loved being active, the camaraderie of the team itself even. It was just nice to be outside doing something he loved, rather than sitting inside doing homework. He watched the coach and his teammate set up courses as he stretched, going over possibilities of what they’d be doing today. He was hoping he could vie for a captain position this year, but he didn’t know if he’d get it, seeing as that position was usually reserved for the seniors. But he planned on keeping himself in remarkably good shape and put in the effort to at least get considered. He gave a small wave back to the other boy as he walked over. The rest of the team started to filter in, but none were dressed in practice clothes yet. Poor guys. They had to suffer the locker room.
He nodded as the boy spoke. He knew the feeling. He had done some small things over the summer, but not enough to where he was at his best. But that’s what the practices were all about. Getting your known skills finer and more solid. “Same. Hopefully Coach won’t kill us today.” He chuckled, knowing that was pretty much a pipe dream. He looked over the field again. At least maintenance had actually kept the field in good shape this year. Last year it wasn’t as well maintained. He looked back over as the boy introduced himself. The name sounded familiar. “Name’s Ben.” He refrained from giving his last name, only because of the reputation he had built up at the school. A lot of the bigger sports jocks had it out for him because of it.
Ben trotted over to the cones, doing some of the old routine drills. He dribbled toward the goal, kicking the ball up off the top of his foot, leaping up slightly and shooting the ball into the goal, his leg extended sideways. He had mostly practiced some tricks over the summer. He retrieved his ball, bouncing it off his knees, making sure he kept his breathing and concentration level. He paused for a quick breather, watching the rest of the team slowly file out onto the field. He bent down, picking up his soccer ball and making his way over the where the rest of the team was. He was already starting to sweat, and practice hadn’t even started. It made him wonder what the coach was going to put them all up to. He listened as the coach started to explain the days tasks, paying close attention.
( W O R D S ? !) 543
( S T A T U S ? !) finished
( O U T F I T ? !) heree
( N O T E S ? !) none yet
( C R E D I T ? !) this lovely code was made by dear joey AKA xoxsilvermoonox of the lovely CAUTION 2.0 don't steal this or else I will send my rabid heffalumps and woozles after you!! (: the lyrics are by papa roach |
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Post by afa on Sept 15, 2010 17:42:07 GMT -5
Tim had always had a knack for being the first to practise, and it looked like this year wouldn't be any different. He nodded to a few of his old team mates as they walked past. Last year, they'd all worked well together, but he hadn't really mingled with any of them outside of sports. Probably because he'd been the somewhat shy, new kid, when many of them had known each other previously. Hopefully he'd be able to tap into his more confident self this season; he was definitely planning on being generally more social, at least. He laughed along with the boy, rolling his eyes. "Yeah, right. I'll bet he's back there planning our funerals," he joked, nodding in the direction the coach had gone. He had to grin, though; intense practises were the best kind.
"Nice to meet you," Tim smirked. He didn't offer a handshake, since his palms were smeared with dirt, sweat and anonymous equipment room grime. Plus, a lot of people seemed to find such gestures archaic and stuffy, and Tim didn't want to come off as some sort of weird, prep-type person. He grabbed his water bottle, gulping down the cool liquid as Ben returned to kicking around the soccer ball. He raised an impressed eyebrow at the move his new team mate did. As far as he could tell, the Jackson soccer team wasn't actually half bad - they'd won a few games the year before, and took themselves rather seriously, which was always important where organized sports were concerned.
After hydrating himself, Tim went back to running drills, hoping his muscles weren't too unaccustomed to the required movements. It would suck to pull something on the very first day. As the coach re-emerged, Tim joined the group of boys congregating around him, pushing his hair back from his face. He would probably need to get it cut, soon - it was being more difficult than usual. That was one of the problems with attending boarding school: you had to take care of that sort of thing on your own. No mother to shake her head at your shaggy 'do, no sister to tell you you looked like a girl... Tim gave up on trying to tame his curls, focusing instead on what the coach was saying. It sounded like a shit load of practise drills, followed by a quick game if they were lucky. He made eye contact with Ben, who was nearby, and muttered, "the slave-driving begins." The coach shot him a look, but Tim returned it with an innocent smile.
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Post by benjamin on Sept 18, 2010 20:14:57 GMT -5
So I put out my hand and I asked for some help
(We tore down the walls I built around myself )
I WAS STRUCK BY THE LIGHT AND I FELL TO THE GROUND - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Whenever Ben was on the soccer field, his whole demeanor changed. He wasn’t trying to be someone else, he wasn’t trying to impress anyone special. He knew the only person here that he really needed to impress was his coach. And the coach already knew he was a good player. What he was really aiming for the next two years was to push himself to the max for any scouts that came to the games. He chuckled along with Tim. The coach was notorious for pushing his players, but at least the guy was fair. He rotated the lineup during games regularly, making sure everyone had equal field time. “Think he’ll give us a choice of caskets then?” A large grin spread over his mouth as he said this.
It made the practices easier when they got to tease the coach. And the guy was a good sport about it, and usually teased back. Ben kept up bouncing the ball on his knees, his eyes watching the sphere rise and fall. He made his way down to about half field before trying another move he’d been working on over the summer. He dribbled the ball down to the goal before kicking it up and kicking it into the goal by somersaulting in mid air. He was really glad he had worked on his fitness levels over the summer. Just as much as he was excited to try out his tricks against opposing teams.
Jackson only had one or two big rivals, but they didn’t have a lot of tricks. They had basics, albeit extremely good ones. One of the other teams played dirty though, and they never got called on it. So if he played his cards right, Ben was hoping some of his tricks could prove that the other guys were rats. He knew the coach was going to crack down a little harder than usual this year. They wanted to reach to nationals, and the team had the will to do it. It was just the matter of skill level. Ben had even debated offering any of the under classmen some extra lessons. He had his own faults, but he was good enough to be a tutor for soccer.
He wiped a bead of sweat off his cheek, his breathing returning to normal. He snickered as he heard Tim’s comment. And he saw the coach’s expression. He waved a hand, a large grin covering his lips. “Yeah. Let’s see if he can catch us though.” He laughed, sprinting out to the field, half the team behind him. He loved teasing the coach a little too much. But the poor guy put up with it only because Ben was a valuable player. He made sure the laces on his shoes were tight, and did a couple more stretches while he waited for everyone to get into their positions for the drills.
( W O R D S ? !) 586
( S T A T U S ? !) finished
( O U T F I T ? !) heree
( N O T E S ? !) none yet
( C R E D I T ? !) this lovely code was made by dear joey AKA xoxsilvermoonox of the lovely CAUTION 2.0 don't steal this or else I will send my rabid heffalumps and woozles after you!! (: the lyrics are by papa roach |
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Post by afa on Sept 25, 2010 15:33:10 GMT -5
Tim smirked, rocking a bit on the balls of his feet as he glanced innocently in the direction of the coach. Truth be told, he wasn't the best soccer player, but he made up for it with enthusiasm and hard work - a fact which their coach seemed to appreciate. Of course, that didn't mean Tim wouldn't joke about him just as much as the rest of the team; it was practically part of the daily routine. It wasn't often that you found a coach who got on well with his team as well as pushing them to their maximum potential. "I think that'd be fair. And I want to choose what gets written on my tombstone, as well," he replied thoughtfully. He wouldn't want something boring like just his name and dates of birth and death.. he'd want it to say something more. Nothing too mushy or inspirational. And nothing cliche. Probably something funny. Everyone thought it was disrespectful to put jokes on people's graves, but Tim wouldn't have a problem with it at all. Graveyards were depressing enough already without all those tear-jerking messages and whatnot.
For some reason, Tim didn't find it odd that he was thinking about his tombstone during the middle of soccer practise, though his mind easily returned to more sports-related thoughts as he took the ball down the field again. He saw Ben do some sort of fancy move out the corner of his eye, and raised an eyebrow, impressed. Obviously, this kid had a serious interest in soccer. Either that, or he was just naturally gifted to the extreme. Either way, Ben's strengths seemed to include goal-scoring, which was always important. Tim himself was more of a defensive player. This basically meant less of the actual doing of backflips and more of the intercepting them. Studying Ben would certainly help his game, though. He bounced the ball around a bit, then practised a few good, solid kicks, enjoying the feeling of being active.
Tim sniggered at Ben's reply, quickly following the other boys out into the field and preparing himself for the practise ahead. Though they all knew it would be tough, there was definitely an excited vibe present. They hadn't been half-bad last year, and with new players coming in the possibilities were endless. In fact, they probably had a chance at some serious wins this year, if they played their cards right. Tim was certainly prepared to put in the work required. He may not have been planning on persuing soccer as anything more than a fun hobby, but he knew that, to some of the guys, it might end up turning into a career. He certainly wasn't going to jeopardize their chances of being scouted out by slacking off. As he waited for the drill to begin, he stretched out his legs slightly, jumping up and down a bit to loosen up his muscles. He grinned at one of the guys next to him, recognizing him from the year before. Then, as the drill began, he turned his attention to the ball, preparing for the supposed torture ahead.
ooc AHH! Sorry it took so long, and sorry it's absolute crap! D:
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Post by benjamin on Sept 30, 2010 11:49:00 GMT -5
So I put out my hand and I asked for some help
(We tore down the walls I built around myself )
I WAS STRUCK BY THE LIGHT AND I FELL TO THE GROUND - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Ben had a feeling that the team was going to be a lot more fun this year. The guys that were returning knew how everything went, and the new kids seemed very interested in learning. His hands rested on his hips as he stood there, feeling his muscles relax. His legs were still a little sore, but that was to be expected. As much as he practiced over the summer, his muscles weren’t the same as when he was actually on the team. He chuckled as Tim spoke again. Pulling jokes with the coach made the practices more bearable. And the guy was cool enough to prank them back. He even gave them some lenience’s. He took a sip from his water bottle before tossing it over to the benches. Now it was actually time to practice. This was one of the first practices though, so it wouldn’t be as bad as the others.
He jogged to his position on the field, dribbling the ball through the cones course the coach had set up. He made sure he kept his eyes focused on the ball, never letting his focus wander off. He passed it to a teammate, jogging down the field. He held up one arm, shouting down the field. “Pass it up!!” He had the leadership skills to go for the captain position, and hopefully the coach would agree. A smile plastered over his lips. He had missed this. Being out with the team, getting exercise and having fun. He stopped for a few minutes, watching everyone else. The team looked good so far. Maybe nationals would actually happen. That’d be a new high for Jackson.
Ben switched into the goalie’s position when the coach told him to, bracing himself against the drill. He wasn’t the best goalkeeper. He liked being out front, more in the action. He was a pretty aggressive player, but he never broke the rules. He made sure his aggression was only focused on the benefits. In his entire soccer career, he maybe got one card against him, and it was a minor infraction. He dove sideways, catching one of the balls as it headed toward the goal. He grinned at the kid who had kicked it. “Nice, work on the curves though. Get it around the goalie.” He tossed the ball back out onto the main field, switching out with the actual goalie.
He nodded at the coach, who nodded back and started to call out names to play a small scrimmage match. The teams were obviously down players to make it a legit game, but the team was good enough to be able to play with limited players. He lined up at his position, waiting for the whistle to blow. As soon as it did, he rocketed off down the field, making sure to keep in touch with his teammates. Ben managed to get the ball away from the other team, dribbling a little ways then passing to another guy. After about twenty minutes, the coach told them to take a break to get some water. Ben jogged over to where he’d thrown his water bottle, taking a long sip. He rubbed a hand over his forehead, trying to get rid of some of the sweat.
( W O R D S ? !) 543
( S T A T U S ? !) finished
( O U T F I T ? !) heree
( N O T E S ? !) sorry it took so long!
( C R E D I T ? !) this lovely code was made by dear joey AKA xoxsilvermoonox of the lovely CAUTION 2.0 don't steal this or else I will send my rabid heffalumps and woozles after you!! (: the lyrics are by papa roach |
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