The Falcons

The Fairview school district was in a part of the city that people who were not from there did not often go, and the Fairview Falcons girls soccer team was much like the neighborhood; rundown and forgotten. Daija James played center back and she was as tough as she was mean, but she thought this might be her last year playing soccer. Soccer was the only thing she loved, the only thing she was good at, and the only thing she cared about, but she reluctantly came out for her junior year because she knew they were getting a new coach and she hoped something might change. Last year's coach was actually the boy's jv basketball coach, and just like her freshman year, they were terrible. All they had was heart, hustle, and determination, but they had no organization and little skill. Most teams beat them, but most teams just didn't want to play them. In the back of her heart, Daija knew this year would be no different.Ozgur Yavuz, immigrant from Turkey, surveyed his team for the first time, wondering if he had the right sport. Some of the girls were in tennis shoes, one was in blue jeans, and out of the twelve players who showed up for tryouts, only four of them had a ball, and one of those was made of rubber. This was a soccer team? He sighed, wondering how big a mistake he had just made, but he smiled and walked up to them.When a caring coach teaches a raw group of athletes how to play the game he loves, the resulting season is one the Falcons will never forget.