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    Basketball Small Fry
    Basketball Small Fry
    Basketball Small Fry
    Ebook113 pages1 hour

    Basketball Small Fry

    By G. Thomas Baer

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    Basketball Small Fry – Synopsis
    The setting of the story takes place in a small Indiana town. The main character, Mike Daniels, wants more than anything to make the freshman basketball team. Although he has some excellent basketball skills that were gained on a grass and dirt court during elementary school, one fact works against him—he is only four feet eleven inches tall. A broken wrist during tryouts relegates him to serve as team manager during his freshman year. As a sophomore, he earns a spot on the team but his troubles are far from being over. Another member of the team, John Reardon, who is over six feet tall, becomes his antagonist. John is always making fun of Mike's height and continually hogging the ball during games. When Mike becomes starting point-guard, he decides to take matters into his own hands by keeping the ball away from John. His actions and John's selfishness result in both boys being benched by the coach. Reconciliation must occur between the boys as well as between the boys and their coach before they have any hope of playing once again. If this happens, there is an outside chance that they might get an opportunity to play in the championship game.

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherG. Thomas Baer
    Release dateMar 21, 2014
    ISBN9781310447976
    Basketball Small Fry
    Author

    G. Thomas Baer

    G. Thomas Baer is Emeritus Professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at Illinois State University where he has taught for over 35 years. During his tenure, he has served as Elementary Education Coordinator, Department Chair, and instructor of elementary education courses specializing in reading instruction. Before teaching at the university level, he was an elementary and junior high teacher who coached basketball and football.

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      Book preview

      Basketball Small Fry - G. Thomas Baer

      BASKETBALL

      SMALL FRY

      Dr. G. Thomas Baer

      Copyright 2013 G. Thomas Baer

      This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales, or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, without permission in writing from the author or publisher.

      First Ebook Edition: March 2014

      Smashwords Edition

      Smashwords License Statement

      This ebook is licensed for your personal enjoyment only. This ebook may not be re-sold or given away to other people. If you would like to share this book with another person, please purchase an additional copy for each reader. If you're reading this book and did not purchase it, or it was not purchased for your use only, then please return to Smashwords.com and purchase your own copy. Thank you for respecting the hard work of this author.

      About Basketball Small Fry

      The setting of the story takes place in a small Indiana town. The main character, Mike Daniels, wants more than anything to make the freshman basketball team. Although he has some excellent basketball skills that were gained on a grass and dirt court during elementary school, one fact works against him—he is only four feet eleven inches tall. A broken wrist during tryouts relegates him to serve as team manager during his freshman year. As a sophomore, he earns a spot on the team but his troubles are far from being over. Another member of the team, John Reardon, who is over six feet tall, becomes his antagonist. John is always making fun of Mike’s height and continually hogging the ball during games. When Mike becomes starting point-guard, he decides to take matters into his own hands by keeping the ball away from John. His actions and John’s selfishness result in both boys being benched by the coach. Reconciliation must occur between the boys as well as between the boys and their coach before they have any hope of playing once again. If this happens, there is an outside chance that they might get an opportunity to play in the championship game.

      Thanks to

      Jessalyn Grace

      Proofreader Deluxe

      Contents

      1 - Basketball Tryouts

      2 - Championship Game

      3 - The Incident

      4 - Summer Vacation

      5 - Football Manager

      6 - Sophomore Basketball

      7 - Lost Opportunity

      8 - The Conflict

      9 - Benched

      10 - The Meeting

      11 - Second Chance

      About The Author

      1

      Basketball Tryouts

      In the week before basketball tryouts, Mike was already getting nervous. He had lost his appetite and was having difficulty falling asleep at night. This was a new experience for him because he usually fell asleep within a few minutes of going to bed. As he lay in bed, his thoughts drifted back to when he first stepped foot into Central High School. He couldn’t get over how big it seemed. The waxed halls appeared to stretch on forever like the rails of the Monon Super Chief. Guarding the halls were rows of tall lockers standing at attention. The high ceilings made the school seem bigger and helped echoes travel effortlessly through the halls.

      When the day of tryouts finally arrived, Mike asked his mom, Do you think my size is going to hurt my chances of making the basketball team?

      Mike Daniels wished he were taller. In grade school, it hadn’t been too bad because a lot of boys had been his size. As he entered high school, however, it seemed most everyone else had grown. With seventy-five boys in his ninth-grade class, what were the odds of him being the smallest? As luck would have it, Mike turned out to be the shortest of them all. It wasn’t fair.

      Just try your best. I’m sure you will do just fine, his mother answered.

      Mike’s mother was a kind and warm person. Mike knew that she had assumed a heavy burden when his dad had been killed in a car accident. Mike had only been ten years old at the time. His mother eventually returned to teaching and moved him and his sister to Crystal Lake, where his mom taught kindergarten. Although she worked a lot and didn’t understand sports very well, she always asked Mike and Suzy about their activities and supported Mike in his efforts to join the basketball team.

      I wish Dad were still alive, Mike said. "I miss practicing with him. He always taught me the best moves.

      We all wish that. Some children have their fathers for a lifetime and learned less than you did from your dad—in sports as well as other areas of life.

      I know, Mike said. I just wish he could see me when I make the team. I know that he would have been proud of me.

      Your father will be proud of you, Mike, his mother answered, wiping at the mist forming delicately in her bright blue eyes. He will be proud of you, she whispered to herself, but Mike heard her.

      Mike headed back to school feeling much better about himself and his chances of making the basketball team. He suddenly realized that his mother never did answer his question about his size hurting his chances of making the team. He shrugged. She had listened to him and made him feel better. That was all the answer he needed.

      Mike ran into John Reardon, one of the few boys at Central he was beginning to dislike.

      Hi, John, Mike said as they both headed toward school.

      What do you say, Pip-Squeak, John replied. When are you going to start growing?

      Pip-Squeak was just one of the many names that John had for Mike. Others included Shorty, Tom Thumb, and Elf.

      Are you going out for the basketball team? Mike asked, ignoring John’s question. He knew that any response from him regarding his size would only bring further comments. Mike was in no mood for that conversation.

      You bet, John answered. You’re looking at one of the starting forwards on the team. It’s a done deal.

      You’re rather sure of yourself, aren’t you? Mike asked knowing full well that John probably was destined to be a starting forward on the team.

      John was a foot taller than Mike and weighed a solid one hundred and fifty pounds. He was a popular student at Central and the starting quarterback on the successful freshman football team. In addition to his athletic skills, he was handsome in a rugged way. John had deep penetrating brown eyes and black hair that always seemed uncombed, yet styled.

      If you got it, you got it. With that last comment, John entered Central and went his separate way.

      The school day seemed to last forever. The clocks in algebra, English, history, and mathematics appeared to slow down as the day wore on. Mike began to wonder if the final bell would ever ring. He thought how terrible school would be if all days were like this one.

      When the last bell finally signaled the end of the school day, Mike flew down the hall toward the locker room.

      Mr. Daniels, a voice rang out.

      Mike stopped dead in his tracks. He knew there was to be no running in the halls, and he had broken the rule.

      Please come here.

      Mike turned. Yes, Mr. Sanders.

      May I ask where you’re going in such a hurry?

      Mr. Sanders was a principal who commanded respect. Everyone knew who ran the school: six-feet, six-inch Mr. Sanders, who hovered over everyone in Central.

      But Mike also knew that he was fair and consistent in his treatment of students. Mike was particularly amazed by Mr. Sanders’ ability to remember each student’s name, first and last, after only one meeting. Unfortunately, this was one of those times that Mike would have preferred to remain anonymous.

      To basketball tryouts, Mike said, hoping that Mr. Sanders wouldn’t delay him long.

      I strongly suggest that you proceed in the proper manner or you might not reach your destination on time, Mr. Sanders said in a tone that meant business.

      Mike covered the remaining distance to the locker room slowly and carefully. He was halfway down the hall when Mr. Sanders called out, Mike, good luck!

      Mike’s heart almost stopped when he entered the gym with Tim Allen. He had expected a lot of boys would

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