Howard was never the athletic type. In fact, he was always the fat kid. People made fun of him for his size. Howard wanted to change that. He wanted to be more healthy. He wanted to get into sports. He saw a flyer for soccer tryouts. Howard never played soccer, but he watched it on TV. Howard had one week to get ready before tryouts. He watched soccer games on his TV for two hours. He bought a soccer ball and kicked it around at home and at the park. He bought the book How to Play Soccer. He asked his dad to play with him, too. Howard felt like he was a great soccer player! He was ready! He went to tryouts. There were at least fifty boys trying out. Howard got nervous. They all looked like they knew what they were doing. They could bounce the ball on their heads, juggle the ball with their knees, and kick the ball far. The coach set up a game for the boys to play. Howard was on the "red" team. Someone passed the ball to Howard. Howard stopped in the middle of the field. "What are you doing, man?" his teammate asked. Howard took a deep breath and told himself he could do it. Howard got his head back into the game. He caught the ball with his foot and made a goal. He couldn't believe it; no one could. Howard made the team.
