Free Over the Net by Jake Maddox

Chapter 1
BAD PRACTICE
    The gym was filled with the sounds of bouncing volleyballs and talking girls. Half of Allie’s team was on one side of the net, and half was on the other.
    Allie caught one ball as it sailed over the net. She stepped behind the line a few feet. Then she tossed the ball straight up into the air, about an arm’s length in front of her. She stepped forward and swung her right arm forward to serve.
    Just then, Coach Anderson blew her whistle. “Okay, girls, that’s enough,” she said.
    Allie’s serve hit the net. “Whoops!” she said under her breath.
    â€œOkay, everyone!” called Coach loudly. “We’re going to split up and work on skills. Hitters and setters, get to the net. Other players, go to the other side and get ready to receive. Go!”
    Allie sighed. She was a hitter, but she had never been very good at it.
    Her favorite part of volleyball was blocking. She loved to jump as high as she could, spread her hands out, and watch the ball hit them before it fell to the floor on the other side of the net. She especially loved the loud smack sound it made.
    Spiking was her least favorite part of practice. She felt like everyone expected her to be the best at it, just because she was the tallest.
    Allie felt like she was letting her team down when she didn’t slam the ball to the floor on the other side of the net. It was even worse when she hit the ball into her team’s side of the net and the other team scored a point.
    Allie stood nervously at the back of the line of spikers. She looked up at the clock on the wall. It was 4:40.
    At least I’ll only have to do this for twenty more minutes , she thought. I can handle it for that long.
    Soon, it was Allie’s turn to hit. She took a deep breath.
    Lizzie, the setter, pushed the ball up with her fingertips. It soared into the air and toward Allie. Allie took two hard steps to the net and jumped straight up.
    She swung her right arm forward to hit the ball. But she didn’t hear the loud thunk she wanted. Allie felt the ball hit the last two fingers on her right hand. Then the ball teetered on the edge of the net. Finally, it fell to the floor on the other side.
    Allie tried to hit the next one, but it hit the net on her side. Lizzie called out, “It’s okay!” But Allie could feel her face burning with embarrassment.
    After taking a deep breath, Allie stepped up to try again.
    Luckily, Coach Anderson blew her whistle. Practice was over.
    â€œHuddle!” the coach shouted, like she did at the end of every practice. The team gathered around.
    â€œOkay, team,” Coach Anderson said. “Good work today! We’ll have practice tomorrow as usual. Our match against Cooperville on Monday is at home, just like it says on the schedule. Also, summer league sign-ups will start on Monday. Anyone who is interested in playing on the freshman team next year needs to be in summer league.” She smiled and added, “That’s it. Have a good night!”
    Allie’s stomach dropped. She wanted to play next year. But how could she join the summer league or play on the freshman team when she couldn’t even spike?

Chapter 2
QUITTING?
    Allie barely tasted her dinner that night. After putting her dishes in the dishwasher, she went to her room and closed her door. She sat down at her desk and opened her algebra homework, but she wasn’t really looking at it.
    She just kept thinking about what Coach Anderson had said. The coach had said that anyone who wanted to play next year had to play summer league.
    Of course Allie wanted to play next year! Volleyball was Allie’s favorite sport in the world. She loved it. But she wouldn’t even make it through tryouts for the freshman team if she couldn’t spike the ball.
    After a while, Allie managed to stop thinking about volleyball. She was even able to finish her algebra homework. As soon as she finished, she called