Chapter 3

It was another usual afternoon at the middle school, as Ted was coaching a soccer match out on the field. It was a somewhat overcast day, yet the weather was rather hot and muggy, so the sun wasn't out too much. The soccer match was a scrimmage, and it was a mixed-gender match, meaning both boys and girls were playing on the opposing teams. But most of the students were playing half-heartedly, and weren't putting their all into the game, like Ted would do when he was their age.

Speaking of age, Ted was now 24 years old, and he still looked the same, albeit with minor differences: His brown hair had grown out a little more, and he had a stubbly beard. He was still small in stature and build, and he was dressed in a dark green coach shirt, grey sweatpants, and white running sneakers with black socks. He had a whistle around his neck, and his phone had a timer on it right now, which is what he was using to keep track of the game time.

"Come on, you guys!" Ted yelled, trying to get the players out of their half-heartedness. "Give me some hustle out there - you look like you're sleepwalking! If this was a real game, we would 0 to 300 right now!"

The students who didn't want to be exercising just let out groans in response, and continued to meander around the field, occasionally kicking the ball to each other. But there were those few students who were taking the game seriously, and that made it a little bit bearable for Ted to be coaching them. One male student who took the game seriously, Louis, stole the ball and dribbled it down the field, shooting it into the goal with no problem. The goalie, meanwhile, was on his phone, and not paying attention to the scrimmage game.

"Rowley, if you don't get off your phone, you're getting detention!" Ted yelled, which caused the goalie to quickly put away his phone. "Nice work on the goal, Louis!"

The goalie, Rowley, quickly picked up the ball and threw it back into play, to which a female student, Brenda, caught the soccer ball and dribbled it down the field. She was another player who took the game seriously, and she dodged it pass several apathetic students, who put up little to no resistance.

"Come on guys, I'm gonna be having you doing laps if you don't get it from Brenda!" Ted yelled. "Keep up the good work, Brenda!"

After a couple more minutes of the game, Ted blew the whistle, ending the scrimmage. The students then went off the field and near the bleachers, while Ted stood up on them, so all the students playing could see him.

"Alright, this would normally be the part where I say 'good job' to all of you, but this was just a terrible practice," said Ted, his tone somewhat disappointed. "Only a few of you are actually interested in playing, while the rest of you are just here for the extra credit! You all need to be working and playing hard if you want to win a game - it's a team effort here! Back when I was your age, my teammates and I practiced and play together, till we knew how each other played inside out! Only then were we able to win, and let me tell you, none of us were fooling around and not paying attention!"

"Oh yeah, if you're such a good player, why don't you show us how it's done?" Rowley asked, his tone ridiculing, while other students also voiced their agreements.

Ted didn't take to this challenge, and he replied in an authoritative tone, "Rowley, go and run twenty laps around the field before you leave!"

Letting out a groan of annoyance, Rowley started running his laps, while Ted ordered the rest of the students, minus Brenda, Louis, and a few other students who took the game seriously, to also run twenty laps before they left. As for Brenda, Louis, and the students that weren't running, Ted let them go for the day. Once everyone was finished with their laps, and had left the field to go hit the showers, Ted was left to clean up.

"Darn students, not taking the game seriously," Ted said to himself, as he picked up the practice equipment left out on the soccer field. "Wasn't like this back when I was a kid - we actually played and enjoyed ourselves, not stand around bored and looking at our phones. Nowadays, kids don't even want to do sports - probably the parents to blame for that, wanting to push their kids to become a famous athlete and make lots of money, or attend their alma matter college through a sports scholarship. Glad to know there are a few who actually enjoy playing - makes my teaching job a little more tolerable."

Ted then saw that the soccer ball had been left near the goal, and he got the urge to kick it into the net, like he had done many times in his career. Despite the injury he sustained three years ago, he could still play soccer, though he did it rarely, and not during practice. But there was nobody around, and practice was over for the day, so he was alone. After a quick glance just to be on the safe side, Ted ran forward and kicked the ball, sending it sailing into the net! A small smile formed over his lips - after all these years, he still had it! He then went over to pick up the ball from the net, and-

"Nice shot." said a male voice, which suddenly made Ted let out a yell of surprise, and quickly whirl around.

The owner of the voice was a man in his fifties, and he had a bald head, somewhat wrinkled pale skin, a grayish-black beard, and green eyes. He was of an average height, a somewhat stocky build, and he wore a dark blue dress suit, a grey and black tie, and black dress shoes.

"Man, give a guy a heart attack!" said Ted, turning back to pick up the soccer ball. "You shouldn't sneak up on people like that!"

"Sorry about that - bad habit, sneaking up on people," The man replied. "I've been trying to quit doing it, actually."

"Where did you come from anyway?" Ted asked. "I didn't see anybody."

"I was watching you from near the bleachers, and I didn't want to look like I was spying on you and your students," The man replied. "I came to speak with you about an offer."

"Whatever you're selling, I'm not interested in buying."

"No, I'm not selling anything - I have an offer for you that you might be interested in."

"Oh yeah? And who are you?"

"My name is Coach Dudley, and I'm the head coach for The Crusaders, a mixed-gender team of athletes. I was wondering, if you would be willing to join us for the competition we're participating in. Tell me, have you ever heard of the Deca Sports League?"

"I've heard of it, but I've never really paid it much attention, so I don't know anything about it. You mind explaining to me what it is?"

"Of course," The man, Coach Dudley, replied. "The Deca Sports League, or DSL for short, is a sporting event, that's held every year for ten weeks. Four teams of five athletes are picked to compete in the DSL, which is comprised of ten random sports, one in the middle of every week. Depending on how the athletes do in that particular sport, their team is awarded points for coming in a certain place, with three points for first, two for second, one for third, and zero for last. The team with the most points at the end of the ten weeks, and sports, wins the trophy, and also has bragging rights until next year."

"I see - so it's kind of like the olympics, but on a lesser scale," said Ted, before asking, "But, why bother to recruit me, when you don't even know me?"

"Well for one, we need five members on the team, and we only have four," Coach Dudley replied. "One of our original members left, and he didn't inform us of why he made that decision. Also, I've read up on you, and of your athletic past, Ted. Yeah, I know you are - you were on half of the 'dynamic duo' of soccer."

"That was in the past, and this is the now," said Ted, his tone somewhat angered. "The sports world turned its back on me, so I decided to turn my back on the sports world. I have no desire to go back to it, especially after what happened between me and… my former best friend."

"His name is Casey, right? Yeah, I read about him as well - you guys were inseparable back then, that is until the accident. I am very sorry about your soccer career being destroyed - I've seen many good athletes go down and out that way. But like you said, that was in the past, and this is the now. And now, I think you're ready for a comeback."

"You would add an athlete, who's still on the injured list, onto your team?"

"Doesn't seem like you're on the injured list now - you made a perfectly good shot into that goal. And I really think you would enjoy joining up with The Crusaders - they're quite talented athletes, the four of them. And with you being our fifth member, I think we would have a real shot at winning."

"When were The Crusaders formed?"

"Three years ago."

"And have you won a DSL in that time?"

"No, we came in either second or third place, but never last. But again, if you were on the team, we would have a real shot at winning. So, what do you say? Do you want to join The Crusaders, and make a comeback?"

Ted was quiet and in thought for a minute or two, before he replied, "I thank you for your offer, Coach Dudley, but you've come out all this way for nothing - I'm sorry, but I won't join your Crusaders."

"Oh, okay, I understand," said Coach Dudley, his tone somewhat disappointed. "Let me at least leave you with my card, in case you change your mind. Today's Monday, and tryouts are on Saturday, so you have four days to decide. But, I really hope you do change your mind, and decide to join up with us. Anyway, it was nice to meet you - have a good day."

Coach Dudley reached into his pants pocket, pulled out his wallet, opened it, and took out a business card, which had his name and phone number on it. He handed it to Ted, who put it in his sweatpants pocket, and then started walking off the soccer field. Ted continued to clean up on the field, and once he had gathered all the equipment, he started taking it into the school.

He may have been done with the sports world, but Ted was soon to find out, that the sports world wasn't done with him.

It was now a Wednesday evening, and Ted had returned home from teaching P.E. After taking a shower and having a frozen dinner, he was now reading the sports news on his laptop, when he saw an article involving Casey. He hovered the mouse icon over the link for a few seconds, before clicking on it, so he could actually read the article. It said that Casey had left behind his soccer career to join the DSL, and he had been recruited by a group called Team Thunder, an all-male team of athletes. There was also a picture of him posing with the other four members of Team Thunder, the five striking dramatic poses, in what looked like the brightly lit hallways of a stadium.

Casey had changed over the three years that had been separate, and he was now 24 years old as well. His black hair had grown spikier, and he looked like he had a condescending, and prideful, attitude about him. He was also dressed in a blue tracksuit with white lines, which were the colors of their team, and grey sneakers. Underneath the picture of the team were their names, including Casey and his teammates.

The next team member was Charlie, and he was 28 years old, with short, smoothed, light blonde hair, a blonde goatee, tanned skin, and brown eyes. He was of a medium height and normal build, and he was also dressed in a blue tracksuit with white lines, and grey sneakers. He had a no-nonsense attitude about him, like he didn't suffer fools gladly, and wasn't one for joking around.

The third team member was Brandon, and he was 26 years old, with short brown hair that was somewhat spiky looking, tanned skin, and brown eyes. He was of a large height and athletic build, and he was also dressed in a blue tracksuit with white lines, and grey sneakers. He looked to have a jock-type attitude about him, like somebody who would rally the troops, and get his teammates active and ready to go.

The fourth team member was Flores, and he was 27 years old, with short, smoothed, black hair, a black stylish goatee, fair skin, and green eyes. He was also of a large height and athletic build, and he was also dressed in a blue tracksuit with white lines, and grey sneakers. He looked quiet and distant, like he was thinking out something, or strategizing a game plan.

The final team member was Jarod, and he was 30 years old, with blonde hair cut into a stylish faux-hawk haircut, a stylish goatee, fair skin, and bright blue eyes. He was also of a large height and athletic build, and he was also dressed in a blue tracksuit with white lines, and grey sneakers. He looked like he also had a condescending, and prideful, attitude about him as well, similar to how Casey looked in the picture.

Ted couldn't believe it; his former best friend had not only been recruited by a highly skilled, and highly popular, athletic team, but he was also competing in the DSL! For a few seconds, Ted was angered by this, but then he remembered Coach Dudley, and how he wanted to recruit him to The Crusaders, who were also competing in the same event. This was a perfect opportunity; now he could get back at Casey for ending his soccer career, and also show him that he wasn't out of the game anymore! For three years, he had lain dormant and alone, but now, this was the time for his comeback! Hopefully, Coach Dudley hadn't found any recruits for The Crusaders, so that the offer was still available.

Going into his bedroom, Ted found the business card on a shelf, and he called the number on his phone. After a few seconds of it ringing, the phone was picked up, and a familiar voice answered it.

"Hello?" Coach Dudley asked.

"Coach Dudley, it's Ted - the guy you tried to recruit on Monday," Ted replied. "I want in, and I also want to join your Crusaders team. Is there a spot still open?"

"Why yes, the spot's still open, and that's great you want to join," said Coach Dudley, his tone pleased. "Again, the tryouts are on Saturday, at 10:00am, and their being held at the Major League Sports Center in Tampa, Florida. Look for an area with a large green banner, that has a golden 'C' on it, with two swords, and a yellow and green checkered shield - that's our logo. Find the area, and we'll fill you in on how it works."

"Got it," Ted replied. "I'll catch a flight down to Tampa tomorrow, and then I'll be able to get there in time."

"Okay, good luck getting here, and welcome to The Crusaders."

The phone call ended, and Ted went back to his laptop. He clicked off the article he was reading, and pulled up the website for the airport. He now needed to buy a ticket for a flight to Tampa, and after he did that, he would need to pack for his trip. Scratching his chin, which started to itch a little, he also decided that a shave and a haircut were in order; he wanted to go back to what he looked like when he was younger, to show that he was making a comeback. Though he was joining up with the DSL just to defeat his former best friend, he still wanted to make a good first impression on his new team when he arrived.

He had no time to lose - first tickets, then pack, and then a shave and a haircut! Tomorrow, he would be off, to the tryouts for the DSL!