“Big World Idea" "Bend It" (THEME) Izaac always wanted to be on the “Benders" soccer team. When Izaac was very little, w he would watch his older brother Zach play on the team and over time become a local hero. The Benders were undefeated and had won countless championships. Zach was on track for a scholarship to the state university. Izaac was always envious of Zach and wanted to be just like his brother. Izaac's father was the coach of the team and he begged his dad to let him on the team, even though he was a year younger than the rest of the boys. His father agreed but told Izaac that he would have to work twice as hard to keep up with the older boys. His dad also told him that he would be even harder on Izaac so the other boys on the team wouldn't think he was playing favorites. Soccer practice was tough! Every day, the team practiced long and hard. Weeks of practice were endured and many times Izaac felt like quitting. He was sore and tired and often wondered why he had wanted this so badly. Often, he knelt down on the soccer field feeling like he was going to throw up. Of course, the other boys didn't feel too badly for him, since they had been through the same thing. The Benders trained hard for the state championship and they knew they would face some “nasty" competition. The big day of the championship arrived, and Izaac watched with nervous excitement as his team won the first game of the competition. The second game, Izaac got to play for a few minutes and even made an epic block, but was benched for most of the time because he just wasn't as good as the other boys ~ yet. Izaac didn't get to play much but felt really proud to be part of the team. The Benders went on to win the championship and Zach was the hero again. For the first time though, Izaac didn't feel jealous of Zach. He wondered why... - Created by JEN DALTON © 2015 (Classroom 11) 2