Thank you keiman and kei and daisygirl101 for beta reading and helping me improve!

I do not own Chicken Little. Chicken Little is owned by Disney. I only lay claim to Chauncey Cheetah, Chester Cheetah, Chelsie Cheetah, and Chip Cheetah.

Chapter 8

After school concluded the next day, Chicken Little and his friends went home to complete their homework assignments. Chauncey Cheetah had already completed his homework for the day. Therefore, he headed to the gymnasium to begin his training.

Once he got there, the coach was waiting for him, along with a donkey that he was not familiar with. Nevertheless, he guessed the donkey was the head coach of the boys' basketball team.

"Good afternoon, Chauncey Cheetah! I would like to introduce you to the head boys' basketball coach. Mr. Doug Donkey," the coach greeted.

They shook hands before the cheetah turned his attention to the donkey.

"Hello Chauncey. I was told you needed to improve your basketball skills. Am I right?" Doug Donkey asked.

"Yes. I want to improve on not only my shooting, but everything else as well," the cheetah explained.

"Very well. Let's get started, shall we?" Doug Donkey suggested.

Chauncey nodded enthusiastically.

After the coach got them a good basketball, Doug handed the ball to the tall cheetah.

"Okay Chauncey. The key to the game of basketball is obviously getting as many points as possible," Doug Donkey explained.

The cheetah nodded, understanding.

"I would first like you to take a shot from full court," Doug Donkey said.

The cheetah obeyed without question, and calmly sank the shot.

Doug stood there in astonishment before he said, "We'll work on your shooting at the end. For now, let's work on your dribbling, passing, ball-handling, and other skills needed to play basketball."

Chauncey did exactly as he was told and began to dribble the ball. Doug stood in front of him, instructing him to keep the ball in his possession and not let him get a steal.

The cheetah struggled to not lose the ball at first. He would either dribble the ball off his foot or get caught off guard when Doug stole the ball right out of his hands.

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Unwilling to give up, the cheetah kept trying until he succeeded in keeping the ball in his possession.

The donkey was astonished at how quickly Chauncey got the hang of it.

Soon the cheetah was dribbling two basketballs at once. No matter what Doug tried to do, he just could not get any of the basketballs out of Chauncey's possession. Every time he tried to do so, the cheetah would do some extraordinarily crafty moves to ensure his dribbling continued while he prevented the donkey from stealing either ball from him.

After dribbling for a good half hour, Chauncey was instructed to practice his passing, footwork, and many other skills needed to play a good game of basketball.

Doug could only watch in awe at the performances of the tall, fast cheetah. Had he finally found a new leader of the boys' basketball team? Could Chauncey Cheetah be the perfect replacement for the injured Brett Bear?

The donkey continued to watch the cheetah pull off some ridiculous crossovers and passes he had never seen before. Doug had watched many professional basketball games, and he had never seen any of the players pull off such moves Chauncey had.

After two hours, Chauncey's practice was complete.

"You've done well, Chauncey. I think you would make a great leader on the team this upcoming season. Basketball try outs are in two months," Doug Donkey stated, impressed.

"Thank you, Mr. Donkey. I'll try my best to work hard and get better at everything," Chauncey declared.

"In all honesty, I don't think you can really improve much. Other than a few mistakes at the beginning, you got the hang of it in less than five minutes. You pulled some things off I've never seen even the best basketball players in history do before," the donkey elaborated.

The cheetah could not help but smile. "Well, there's always room for improvement, no matter how good you are at something. Everybody makes mistakes, even me. However, I will make sure to make as few mistakes as I can when try outs begin. If I make the team, I'll make sure we win the championship."

"Spoken like a true leader," the donkey beamed. "With how skilled you are, you shouldn't have any trouble making the team this year."

"I appreciate it. Despite my height, I do not think I want to play center like you might be thinking," the cheetah said.

"Why not? You are the tallest student at the school. No one is even within a foot of your height," the donkey stated.

"I'd like to play shooting guard because I'm best at shooting. Sure, I can do everything else, like blocking shots and such, but I have played shooting guard the whole time I've played the sport," Chauncey explained.

Doug was left in silence for a moment. He nodded in comprehension.

"I will consider making you our starting shooting guard if you do well in try outs. Should anyone get injured over the course of the season, I may have to ask you to play another position if you're up to the task," Doug Donkey explained.

"I'd be up for anything to ensure we win it all this year," the cheetah smiled, hazel eyes filled with determination.

"That's the spirit! Again, you did a great job today. I think all the other basketball players will be impressed to see you do what you do when you play basketball. As I said, I have never seen anything like it. Never," Doug stated.

"Thanks again! I'll do whatever I can to make sure I do as well as possible," the cheetah said.

The donkey nodded with a smile. "Well, I have to go grade some papers now. If you would like to do some more training and practice before try outs, please don't hesitate to stop by my classroom after school."

"Sounds good! I'll see you later!" Chauncey exclaimed.

"See you later Chauncey. Have a nice day," Doug stated, grinning.

"You too!" the cheetah exclaimed as they waved to each other and the cheetah left the gym.

Chauncey smiled as he made his way to the front door of the school. Perhaps this first year of middle school would be a great one for him and his buddies.

"I promise, Mr. Donkey, that this year will be our year," the cheetah thought.