Free Lacrosse Face-Off by Matt Christopher

1
    E leven-year-old Garry Wallis stood at the .edge of the playing field with seventeen other middle-school boys. He gripped his
     lacrosse stick tightly in one hand. The fingers of his other hand drummed against his leg, the only sign of his nervousness.
    Garry had been interested in lacrosse ever since he'd done a school report on the sport in fourth grade. When he'd researched
     the subject, he'd learned that lacrosse had been invented by Native Americans and was part of the religion of many tribes.
     They called it “the Creator's game” and featured it inseveral myths about creation. Long ago, the fast-paced sport was used to train warriors for battle by developing their strength
     and endurance. Sometimes, instead of actual battles, games were played to settle arguments between warring tribes. And once,
     lacrosse helped a tribe capture a British fort. The soldiers had become so interested in a match, they hadn't noticed how
     close the players had come to the fort until it was too late!
    The spring after he'd written the report, he'd asked his mother if he could play lacrosse instead of baseball. She'd agreed
     to let him join the local Lightning Division team. He'd played for that team for the last two years. He loved the game and
     was pretty good at it too. But this year he was in sixth grade, and that meant he had to move up a level, to the Junior Division.
     Now he'd be playing with and against sixth- and seventh-graders. One quick glance at histeammates reminded him that many players at this level would be bigger, stronger, and faster.
    With a few exceptions, of course, including his older brother, Todd. Todd had never played lacrosse before. He was more of
     a sit-inside kind of kid than a get-out-and-play sort. His idea of competition was dueling with monster-and-magician trading
     cards, a game he'd been obsessed with for months. He'd collected such a huge stack of cards that he had to hold them together
     with a big rubber band.
    Garry was pretty sure Todd wouldn't have joined the lacrosse team this year either, if it hadn't been for their last visit
     to the doctor. Each year Mrs. Wallis brought her sons for their annual checkups. There they were measured and weighed and
     had their hearts, and lungs listened to, their blood pressure taken, and their ears, eyes, and throats examined.Usually they were declared fit and healthy and sent on their way.
    This year, however, the doctor frowned when she looked over Todd's chart. “Todd,” she asked, peering over her glasses, “do
     you exercise regularly?”
    Todd shrugged. “I have gym class twice a week at school,” he answered.
    “Hmmm,” the doctor said.
    “What is it?” Mrs. Wallis asked anxiously.
    “Todd has gained twelve pounds since his last visit,” the doctor replied.
    “Well, he is a growing boy, after all!” said Mrs. Wallis.
    “Er, yes, but the trouble is, he's growing
sideways,
not up. He's only gotten one inch taller in the past year.”
    Garry snuck a glance at his brother. Now that the doctor mentioned it, Todd
was
looking a little pudgy.
    The doctor scribbled something on a pieceof paper as she kept talking. “It is possible that Todd's weight gain is just the beginning of a growth spurt, of course.
     But what if it isn't? I'm going to give you a prescription that should help. I'd like you to get it filled as soon and as
     often as possible.” She handed the paper to Garry's mother.
    Garry looked over her shoulder to see what the doctor had written. There was only one word, but it was underlined three times
     and had a big exclamation point after it:
Exercise!
    Mrs. Wallis took the doctor's advice seriously. That night, she told Todd to choose some kind of physical activity to do regularly.
     After much hemming and hawing, he chose lacrosse. “You drag me to all of Garry's games anyway,” he said. “I might as well
     get this exercise stuff over with then.”
    And so now here they were, the Wallis brothers together on the same