Free Switch Play! by Matt Christopher, Stephanie Peters, Daniel Vasconcellos Page A

passing and dribbling drills to start,” he said. “Then we’re
     going to work on something called switching. Switching is when a player changes positions with another player during a play.”
    He paused to make sure everyone was paying attention. “Now you all know theimportance of staying in your own position. If all the halfbacks crowd the left side of the field, then the right side isn’t
     being protected. If all the strikers go for the ball at the same time, then there’s no one to pass the ball to. And I don’t
     have to tell you what could happen if the goalie’s out of position!”
    The team laughed.
    The coach went on. “Sometimes, though, it’s a good idea to switch positions. Here’s an example. A halfback has the ball. He
     wants to pass to a striker, but all the strikers are covered and can’t get free. The halfback, on the other hand, has a clear
     field in front of him. It makes sense for him to keep control of the ball since he can bring it farther down the field, maybe
     into scoring range. So he switches with the closest striker by yelling that player’s name and ‘Switch!’ The striker then drops
     back to the halfback’s position and the halfback moves ahead into the striker’s spot. Any questions?”

    Bundy raised his hand. “When do they switch back?”
    “Never!” said Jason Shearer in a spooky voice. “You’re doomed to be a striker or a halfback for the remainder of the season!”
    “Mr. Shearer,” the coach said over the team’s laughter, “kindly —”
    “I know, I know,” said Jason. “I’ll kindly keep my jokes to myself.”
    “To answer your question, Bundy,” Coach Bradley continued, “the players switch back as soon as it makes sense. That may be
     when there’s a break in play, or when the ball changes direction toward the other goal, or when both players are close enough
     to each other to switch back to their usual positions.”
    He put a foot on a ball and leaned on his knee. “Let me stress again: It’s important to stay in your own positions. But switching
     can be very helpful.” He smiled. “I remember a time when I was playing in high school. A fullback on my team got the ball.
     He lookedto pass it to the halfback on his side of the field, like he was supposed to do. But the halfback had just collided with the
     other team’s striker. Both were down on the ground. Everyone else was covered, so the fullback started dribbling down the
     sideline. The halfback was still down when the fullback reached him, so the fullback switched with him and kept going.”
    The coach started chuckling. “The fullback crossed the center line and was about to pass it to the striker in front of him
     when the striker tripped on his untied shoelace and fell flat on his face! The defender had to leap over him so that he wouldn’t
     fall too. The fullback kept going until suddenly he was in front of the goal! He did what any sensible player would have done.
     He took a shot.”
    Ted had been listening to the story raptly. “What happened?” he cried.
    The coach sighed. “He missed and we lost the game. But the point is, he knew what he was supposed to do and he did it. And
     that’swhat this practice is going to teach you —what to do and when and how to do it. Are you ready?”
    Ted shouted “Yes!” along with everyone else. His mind was spinning.
    If I could do what that fullback did — but score instead of miss — I’d really wow the fans!

Chapter 3

    T ed could hardly wait to get the regular drills over with so he could learn more about switching. When it finally came time
     to practice switching, he found out it was pretty easy.
    The coach split the team into two groups of five and sent Bucky Pinter into the goal. He called the first group up and used
     them to outline the drill.
    “We’re going to go three-on-two. Stookie, Bundy, and Alan are on offense. Stookie, you go about midway between the center
     line and the goal you’re attacking. Bundy,