Alastair spends a lot of time driving for his job. Sometimes the days are long and there is nothing to see. Other days are more fun, full of great views or funny instances. On one particular day however, Alastair saw some goal posts in a back yard, and after reversing to take a better look, he noticed that there was a huge net around what looked like a football pitch, and some floodlights around the whole place. Intrigued, he got out of the car and approached the guys that were cutting the grass.
After a few minutes of chat, it was discovered that this was the venue for a competitive six a side league, and that the season had just begun. Alastair began telling them that he was good, and that he should be allowed to join their team, and so it was agreed that he could play one game for them to see if he was good enough to play for the season.
That Saturday, brimming with confidence, Alastair arrived with his fan club of one, Laleinia. "I'll probably only score 4," he thought. He wasn't in the starting line up, that was expected, but when given his chance, he knew this would be easy. The chance came about half way through the first half.
As soon as he stepped on the pitch, cottonmouth took its hold, and all of Alastair's energy disappeared. He hadn't ran in a while. Changing pace and direction was a thing of the past, and it showed! He did have one shot though, having got around the defender nicely, he curled it out for a throw in. Subbed at half time.
Alastair managed to get on again late in the second half, thanks to an injury for one of his teammates. Again, he had one attempt, a volley that went over the net that surrounded the whole pitch. Quite a feat, considering he was 5 yards from the goal. What a miserable night that was, as he knew there was no way they would want him back.
A week went by, and needless to say, he didn't get a phone call telling him when the next game was. He needed to play again, to make it up to himself. He was 100% sure that he was decent, but based on the last weeks evidence, he should never have played, ever. There was only one thing for it, something he had seen many times but never done himself. Stooping low, Alastair went by the house, and catching them totally off guard, asked when the next game was. It was obvious that they didn't want him back, but didn't know how to say it, so he got his second chance.
The team was split in two, obviously the good players were on one, and the "scrubs" on the other. Alastair was in team two.
But then something great happened. That week, Alastair scored 6 (against the team that finished 2nd overall). The week after he got 4 (against the eventual winners). This continued week after week, until Alastair (known to everyone there as "Alex") won the top goal scorer award with 31 goals in 8 games! The scrubs did really well, and eventually made it to the playoffs, finishing higher than the A team. Winning the whole thing? That was never going to happen, but beating the A team was all they really wanted.
That Saturday, brimming with confidence, Alastair arrived with his fan club of one, Laleinia. "I'll probably only score 4," he thought. He wasn't in the starting line up, that was expected, but when given his chance, he knew this would be easy. The chance came about half way through the first half.
As soon as he stepped on the pitch, cottonmouth took its hold, and all of Alastair's energy disappeared. He hadn't ran in a while. Changing pace and direction was a thing of the past, and it showed! He did have one shot though, having got around the defender nicely, he curled it out for a throw in. Subbed at half time.
Alastair managed to get on again late in the second half, thanks to an injury for one of his teammates. Again, he had one attempt, a volley that went over the net that surrounded the whole pitch. Quite a feat, considering he was 5 yards from the goal. What a miserable night that was, as he knew there was no way they would want him back.
A week went by, and needless to say, he didn't get a phone call telling him when the next game was. He needed to play again, to make it up to himself. He was 100% sure that he was decent, but based on the last weeks evidence, he should never have played, ever. There was only one thing for it, something he had seen many times but never done himself. Stooping low, Alastair went by the house, and catching them totally off guard, asked when the next game was. It was obvious that they didn't want him back, but didn't know how to say it, so he got his second chance.
The team was split in two, obviously the good players were on one, and the "scrubs" on the other. Alastair was in team two.
But then something great happened. That week, Alastair scored 6 (against the team that finished 2nd overall). The week after he got 4 (against the eventual winners). This continued week after week, until Alastair (known to everyone there as "Alex") won the top goal scorer award with 31 goals in 8 games! The scrubs did really well, and eventually made it to the playoffs, finishing higher than the A team. Winning the whole thing? That was never going to happen, but beating the A team was all they really wanted.
