Free Go for the Goal! by Fred Bowen Page A

awesome.”
    “What about Ms. Littlewood?” Josh said. “If she hadn’t assigned that research project, we wouldn’t have found out about the 1999 Women’s World Cup Team.”
    “I don’t know what you guys are talking about,” Berkeley said. “But never mind. Let’s get started.” Berkeley looked over the boys’ heads. “Where’s the rest of the team?”
    “It’s just the three of us,” Josh explained. “We figured this would be a fun thing to do together.”
    Berkeley again reviewed the safety rules of the park as the boys stepped into their climbing harnesses and fastened all the clips. “It’s a double-clip system. There’s no way you can fall. There should only be one guy on an element at a time. Stay away from the diamond and double-diamond courses.”
    “We did the blue course last time,” Josh said. “Which course should we try this time?”
    Berkeley thought for a moment. “Follow the green course. It’s got a long zip line in the middle. I think you guys will like it.”
    The three boys scrambled up the wide log ladder leading to the large platform that looked like a tree house. Josh looked out from the platform. The October leaves were beginning to fall. They sifted through the cool air and settled silently on the ground.
    “There’s the first element on the green course,” Evan said. “I’ll go first.”
    “I got second,” Aidan called.
    Josh smiled. “I guess I’m last.”
    The boys started off, climbing up rope ladders higher into the trees and across bridges made of swinging logs. After about twentyminutes they stopped on a platform and caught their breath.
    “Here’s the zip line Berkeley told us about,” Josh said. A long cable stretched tight from their platform to another one some distance away.
    “It’s so far across, I can hardly see the other platform,” Aidan said.
    Josh glanced at Evan. “You still want to go first?”
    “No problem.” Evan attached his harness to the zip line, took a deep breath, and grabbed onto the top knob that moved along the line. “Here goes nothing,” he said as he pushed off the platform.
    “Yeeoooowwweeee!”
    As soon as Evan swung onto the far platform, he turned and called back, “Berkeley was right—this is great!”
    A minute later, Aidan was with Evan, and Josh stood alone on his platform, staring at the long silent wire. He attached his harness to the zip line, grabbed onto the top knob, and stepped off.
    The speed of the zip line surprised Josh.The trees and branches rushed by in a blur of color.
This is a lot faster than the blue course,
he thought. Josh tightened his hands on the top knob. He didn’t mean to, but he triggered the brake system. The knob pressed against the wire and he came to a stop about ten yards short of the platform. Josh, still attached to the wire, dangled in the air. His heart jumped.
    Don’t look down
, he thought.
Remember what Berkeley said: “There’s no way to fall.”
    Josh stared at Aidan and Evan. They looked awfully far away.
    “You can move forward by pulling on the wire!” Evan shouted. “Hand over hand, like this.” Evan and Aidan reached their hands over their heads and demonstrated how it was done.
    Josh looked at the zip line above his head and began to pull at it with his hands. Slowly he began to inch forward. Closer … closer … closer to the platform. Evan and Aidan cheered him on.
    “Come on, you can do it.”
    “Keep pulling.”
    As he neared the platform, Josh let go of the wire. His teammates, still clipped to a safety line, were leaning out from the platform with their hands extended. Josh reached for them, and Evan and Aidan grabbed his wrists and pulled him up. The boys traded high fives. Josh stood there for a moment, looking around at the trees—the red, yellow, and orange fall leaves—and his teammates. He thought about how the United season had turned around, how the United had really become a team.
    Josh let his breath out in a rush and said, “I guess