Over the Net

Chapter 1

The gym was filled with the sounds of bouncing volleyballs and talking girls. Half of Allie's team was on one side of the net, and half was on the other.

Allie caught one ball as it sailed over the net. She stepped behind the line a few feet. Then she tossed the ball straight up into the air, about an arm's length in front of her. She stepped forward and swung her right arm forward to serve.

Just then, Coach Anderson blew her whistle. “Okay, girls, that's enough,” she said.

Allie's serve hit the net. “Whoops!” she said under her breath.

“Okay, everyone!” called Coach loudly. “We're going to split up and work on skills. Hitters and setters, get to the net. Other players, go to the other side and get ready to receive. Go!”

Allie sighed. She was a hitter, but she had never been very good at it.

Her favorite part of volleyball was blocking. She loved to jump as high as she could, spread her hands out, and watch the ball hit them before it fell to the floor on the other side of the net. She especially loved the loud
smack
sound it made.

Spiking was her least favorite part of practice. She felt like everyone expected her to be the best at it, just because she was the tallest.

Allie felt like she was letting her team down when she didn't slam the ball to the floor on the other side of the net. It was even worse when she hit the ball into her team's side of the net and the other team scored a point.

Allie stood nervously at the back of the line of spikers. She looked up at the clock on the wall. It was 4:40.

At least I'll only have to do this for twenty more minutes
, she thought.
I can handle it for that long.

Soon, it was Allie's turn to hit. She took a deep breath.

Lizzie, the setter, pushed the ball up with her fingertips. It soared into the air and toward Allie. Allie took two hard steps to the net and jumped straight up.

She swung her right arm forward to hit the ball. But she didn't hear the loud
thunk
she wanted. Allie felt the ball hit the last two fingers on her right hand. Then the ball teetered on the edge of the net. Finally, it fell to the floor on the other side.

Allie tried to hit the next one, but it hit the net on her side. Lizzie called out, “It's okay!” But Allie could feel her face burning with embarrassment.

After taking a deep breath, Allie stepped up to try again.

Luckily, Coach Anderson blew her whistle. Practice was over.

“Huddle!” the coach shouted, like she did at the end of every practice. The team gathered around.

“Okay, team,” Coach Anderson said. “Good work today! We'll have practice tomorrow as usual. Our match against Cooperville on Monday is at home, just like it says on the schedule. Also, summer league sign-ups will start on Monday. Anyone who is interested in playing on the freshman team next year needs to be in summer league.” She smiled and added, “That's it. Have a good night!”

Allie's stomach dropped. She wanted to play next year. But how could she join the summer league or play on the freshman team when she couldn't even spike?

Chapter 2

Allie barely tasted her dinner that night. After putting her dishes in the dishwasher, she went to her room and closed her door. She sat down at her desk and opened her algebra homework, but she wasn't really looking at it.

She just kept thinking about what Coach Anderson had said. The coach had said that anyone who wanted to play next year had to play summer league.

Of course Allie wanted to play next year! Volleyball was Allie's favorite sport in the world. She loved it. But she wouldn't even make it through tryouts for the freshman team if she couldn't spike the ball.

After a while, Allie managed to stop thinking about volleyball. She was even able to finish her algebra homework. As soon as she finished, she called her best friend, Kate.

“Hey,” said Kate. “How was practice?”

“Awful!” exclaimed Allie. “I am such a bad player! I still can't spike the ball, and we're more than halfway through the season. Coach said today that we need to sign up for summer league if we want to play next year. I really want to play, but what's the point? I'm the tallest player. It's embarrassing if I can't spike the ball!”

Allie stopped talking. She was almost in tears.

Kate sighed. “Allie, calm down,” she said. “You're not a bad player. You know that! There is just one part of the game you need to work on. We've talked about this so much. I just wish you'd believe that you're good at volleyball.”

“I know,” Allie said. “Me too.”

“Look, you have a coach for a reason, right?” asked Kate. “She's there to help you get better. So tomorrow after practice, why don't you just ask her for help?”

Allie wanted to tell Kate she thought that was a bad idea. But she stopped. She frowned and thought for a minute. Maybe Kate was right. Maybe Allie just needed to ask for help.

“Are you still there?” Kate asked.

Allie smiled. “Yeah, just thinking,” she said. “I think you might be right. I'll talk to Coach Anderson tomorrow.”

“Great!” Kate said. “I'm glad to hear that you're not giving up. You're no quitter, Allie! You'll be a great spiker before you know it.”

“Yeah, maybe,” Allie said. She just couldn't stop thinking about that day's volleyball practice and the two spikes she'd messed up.

Chapter 3

The next afternoon, practice was terrible again. Allie practiced hitting, but she couldn't get anything over the net.

Just as she was starting to think she'd never be more embarrassed, she heard a familiar voice. “Come on, Allie! You can do it!” someone yelled.

Allie's stomach dropped when she realized who was yelling. It was Nikki, Allie's favorite varsity volleyball player.

Nikki was a junior in high school. She was the best hitter on the varsity team — maybe in the whole state.

Allie had been to all of the varsity team's home matches. She'd watched Nikki hit the ball straight down to the floor over and over again. Nikki was amazing.

So when Allie was messing up every single hit of her own, Nikki was the last person Allie wanted to be watching. She felt her cheeks burning.

Luckily, just then, Coach Anderson finally blew her whistle. She called the team in for the end-of-practice huddle.

“Great work today, girls,” said Coach Anderson. “Have a good weekend. Remember, our match on Monday is at home. See you then!”

Everyone started to head to the locker room, but Allie hung back. Then she walked across the gym to Coach Anderson's office. She knocked on the half-open door.

“Come in!” called Coach Anderson.

Allie pushed the door open. “Hey, Allie!” Coach Anderson said. “What's up?”

Allie looked down at the floor. Standing in the doorway, she quietly said, “Coach, I was wondering if you could help me with my hitting. I really want to play on the freshman team next year, and I'm afraid I won't make the team if I can't learn to spike.”

She looked up, hoping to see Coach Anderson's reaction. To her surprise, she saw Nikki sitting in a chair against the wall. Coach Anderson smiled at Allie.

“Oh!” exclaimed Allie. “I didn't know you were busy. I'm really sorry!” She started to back out of the office. “I'll just talk to you next week,” she added.

“Wait, Allie! I'm not busy,” exclaimed Coach. “Nikki's just here visiting.”

“I had to bring some stuff down from the varsity coach,” explained Nikki. “You know, for summer league sign-ups and stuff.”

“Oh, yeah,” said Allie. She smiled and tried to stop feeling embarrassed.

“To answer your question, Allie, I would be more than happy to help you with your hitting,” said Coach Anderson. “I am very proud of you for asking for help. And I'm very happy that you want to keep playing next year.” She paused and looked at Allie.