Ward liked school. He never told this to anyone, not that he had anyone to tell, so he could appear like every other boy his age. But school wasn't bad to him. His younger brother was in the first grade with a nice teacher and his older brother was already in middle school. He still had his guard up but there was the odd occasion when he could peak through and enjoy himself. Yes, school was good.
One weekend life at home became even worse. With finger shaped bruises on his forearm and smaller sized ones on his baby brother's he decided he needed a longer relief from the torment. One Monday he picked up two permission slips from the front office, one for peewee soccer and one for the amateur team. He caught his mother in a good mood and she was more than willing to get him out of her view for a little longer each day.
It was a well-known fact around the St. Agnes orphanage that Mary Sue Poots did not like sports. It was also a well-known fact she didn't like being called Mary Sue but it was what the nuns had chosen and it was what she would abide by in the orphanage. The one thing the nuns were glad of was that the nearly ten year old girl would hang back by the porch when the boys streamed out into the yard to play soccer. They would have preferred it if she hadn't picked up the discarded comic books instead of something a little more ladylike but she was reading and at least that was something.
So when the little girl trudged back to the orphanage unusually early one Tuesday afternoon and handed them a permission slip to join the soccer team they were more than a little surprised. All the little girl had to do was mumble something about a fee to stay in the computing club before they quickly agreed with her decision, a signature was scrawled in the necessary place before the form was placed back in her school bag.
Fitz and Simmons' mothers got along from the moment they had met. Their children were both budding geniuses involved in the young achievers program, they both had moved from the UK in the last few years and they both had the tendency to embarrass their children with a few too many kisses while dropping them off at school. They were made to be best friends in the same way their children were.
They had cooked up the plan to get their children involved in some form of sport over cups of tea on a Wednesday afternoon. Rugby apparently wasn't an option in the states, they were too young for American football (both mothers also agreeing their children were far too delicate for this sport anyhow) and the baseball team was already full, so soccer quickly became their only option.
There were three teams in the elementary school. The most supported was the all-boys team for third to fifth graders. The second was the mixed gender team for the younger half of the school. The third, and most recently started, was a team catering for eight to eleven year olds of all genders. The only suitable choice for the inseparable duo.
Fitz and Simmons were first to arrive on the soccer field that Friday afternoon after the little girl had almost dragged her friend straight out after their last class to make sure they arrived promptly. Next was Skye, wearing a frown as she plonked down onto the grass a few feet away from them. A few minutes after that Ward jogged up, glancing around the empty field in front of him before sitting down at a measured distance from the other three.
Finally a man in his mid forties approached. He had a sports bag slung over one shoulder, a clipboard in his other hand and a boy to his side that had to practically skip to keep up with the older man.
"Afternoon, kids," He greeted while placing the bag down on the ground and they hopped up to stand in varying degrees of interest in front of him. "My name is Coach Coulson and I'm going to be your soccer coach for this season. Let's do a quick registration then I can tell you about what we're going to do in these sessions," He added while turning his attention to the clipboard.
"Grant Ward," He called, receiving a 'here' in response as the boy rocked slightly on the balls of his feet. Mary Sue Poots," Skye shifted uneasily. "Mary Sue?" Coulson repeated and glanced up to the group.
"I prefer Skye," The girl finally spoke and pressed her hands into her sweatpants' pockets. She had expected him to rebuff her name choice like all the other teachers had done but he simply nodded, drew a line through 'Mary Sue' and jotted down the replacement next to it.
His forehead creased slightly as he moved onto the next name. "Fitzsimmons?" He finally called. Fitz had to grip onto Jemma's sleeve to stop her stepping forward in eagerness.
"Fitz," The girl stated while lifting her hand up to point to the boy next to her.
"Simmons," He finished while motioning back to her.
This seemed to amuse Coulson enough to make the corner of his mouth tug up into a slight smile. "Leopold and Jemma?" He guessed while pointing to each of them in turn. Fitz's cheeks turned a little pinker at hearing the first name he disliked so much but nodded in time with Jemma.
Coulson turned back to his clipboard to make the correction then dropped the arm holding it down to his side. "This is Antoine Triplett," He said while resting a hand on the shoulder of the boy next to him who beamed down at the ground. "He's a transfer student from Franklin county and complained enough to get a second team started so if you're stuck here because of pushy parents you can direct your complaints to him," He added in a teasing tone.
A few giggles passed through the group before the man cleared his throat and switched the clipboard for his sports bag. "So before we start training, other than Skye, is there anyone else who has a nickname you'd like me to use?"
Fitz was considering volunteering a new name for himself when Simmons piped up. "He likes to be called Leo," She stated then glanced across to her counterpart and grinned back when she saw him smile in agreement.
Coulson nodded as he zipped open his bag and pulled out a roll of red cones. "Anyone else?" He questioned as he began walking along the field, dropping a cone every yard.
"People usually call me Tripp," Antoine answered, his hands crossed behind his back in a position that wasn't uncommon for him.
"Short for Triplett?" Jemma guessed. Coulson tried to look like he was solely focused on placing the cones in five lines but he couldn't resist taking the occasional glance upward to watch the little group talk amongst themselves.
"Sort of," Tripp answered with a slight smirk playing on his lips. Jemma's head tilted slightly in curiosity and the little boy glanced down to the ground with that same smile. "Don't worry, you'll see why soon." He assured her.
They were reasonably quiet as Coulson laid out the remaining cones then strolled back to them and collected the bag. "We'll be meeting every Monday, Wednesday and Friday during the soccer season," He explained while picking up the first ball from the container and gently tossing it at Skye. "We have matches every other Saturday and our first one is in three weeks," He continued, balls thrown to Leo and Jemma then Grant and finally Tripp. "We're going to practice dribbling skills today. Dribbling is when you lightly touch the ball with the tip of your foot so you can walk or run with it. What I want you to do is dribble the ball around the cones and back again," He instructed before the children wandered off to their own line of obstacles. "Start off slow and when you feel comfortable with the ball you can begin increasing the speed,"
Coulson realized what he was in for within the next few minutes. He had guessed the kids might not have been the most experienced player but seeing two of them stopping every time the ball did, one of them accidently kicking it thirty yards clear of the furthest cone, another being so gentle footed he barely nudged the ball and the other clumsily playing pretend as his favourite soccer star… it was a little bit of a wakeup call, to say the least.
Tripp was attempting to kick his ball back behind him then turn around when he did just what his name said he would. His feet went from under him and in less than a second he was a pile on the floor.
Coulson's heart was in his throat but he quickly forced it down as he dropped the bag and stooped down beside the boy who smirked slightly as he rubbed his side. "I'm fine, Coach," He said then looked up to see his four teammates crowding round. "See why they call me Tripp now?" He asked, not even a hint of resentment in his tone.
Coulson sat back on his feet and let out a relieved sigh. "Alright, let's try this a little differently," He finally said while patting Tripp on the back then standing. He ran a focused eye over the children then nodded to himself. "Leo and Jemma stand here," He instructed while pointing to a spot the two youngest kids quickly took up. "And you three just there," He added while motioning to a patch eight yards from the other two. He dropped a ball down at Leo's feet then gave him a reassuring smile. "Now just dribble that down to Skye,"
The boy bite his lip, staring down at the ball as if willing it to cooperate with him this time, before setting off with it at his feet. Maybe it was the new structure or maybe it was just Tripp falling on his butt moments before but the eight year old was definitely a little looser as he slowly but surely dribbled the ball over to Skye.
"Alright, now Leo you go behind Grant and Skye can dribble it down to Jemma," Coulson stated, his muscles tensing slightly for the pass. The ball swerved a little too far right but Skye managed to knock it back to the centre before starting her path down to the only other girl on the team. His breathing was still a little pitched until the ball was deposited by Jemma's feet and she pushed it forward.
It was a miracle Coulson hadn't keeled over with a heart attack by time the hour of training had drawn to a close. After ten minutes of slowly getting the team to speed up their dribbles to the others he decided they were ready for another challenge. The cones were placed back down as they dribbled in the group before finally splitting off again for the final fifteen minutes.
They all seemed covered in a satisfactory glistening of sweat and puffed just about enough for the workout as they dropped down onto the grass, now all of them sitting noticeably closer. It appeared Coulson was prepared for every situation as he handed out bottles of water then collected up the cones and balls. "So, will I see you all here Monday afternoon?" He asked, perfectly masking the hope tingling in his fingertips.
He received tired but genuine smiles and nods as they took their final sips of water. The bottles were dropped off in his bag, 'thank you's were murmured and the group dispersed. Grant jogged back toward the gym to pick up his younger brother, Leo and Jemma sauntered toward the parking lot in search of one of their mothers and Skye and Tripp wandered to the front of the school. Tripp unlocked his bike, got briefly tangled in the chain, then hopped on it and waved goodbye to Skye as she began a walk in the opposite direction. Fitz's mother picked him and Jemma up and drove them home for tea and a sleepover at his house.
Coulson wandered back to the staff room to dump the sports bag by his locker, collect the work he needed to take home then strolled to his car with one of the most peaceful smiles he had possessed in a very long time.
I've had this idea for months and I've been slowly adding to it when I've got a free hour or two so I've got the rough outline of how this is fic will go already but suggestions are always welcome. May will be introduced in the next chapter and there may be some other familiar characters making an appearance so keep an eye out and keep reading!