The day of the competition was just a week away and as the day drew closer, the team, the school and the fans alike, were excited, but also anxious and scared. Apart from the pressure of debuting in the competition for them, the news that the season’s competition was going to be played differently, instead of playing in a home and away format, where all the teams involved in the competition would play each other in a two-leg round, and at the end the team with the highest points wins the competition and takes home the league cup.

The team had gathered for training on a Saturday morning, which was a week and some days away from their big competition debut. Just before the training commenced, the coach, Mr. Bedford could see the pressure and nervousness on the faces of his players. The mood was dull and everyone was awfully quiet. He had to call them together for a prep talk.

“What’s happening boys? Why is the mood like this on a morning like this?” Coach Bedford asked.

“Coach, don’t you feel the pressure? Cause, we do feel it.” Fabregas, a team member responded.

“Oh that? I do feel it too, but feeling the pressure and being nervous is part of the game. We should work hard to show everyone that we are up for the pressure. let show those that said we aren’t yet ready for the big stage, that we are made for it. Sulking over the adjustment of the competition format or over thinking it, won’t solve anything. We have to raise our heads, work hard and do the impossible! Remember we are ‘The Wild Cats!’ we are supposed to be as strong as the tiger, as proud and fearless as the Lion 🦁 and as fast as the cheetah!”

“Yes sir!!” The players all shouted in response, as their spirits and mood were lifted.

“For God’s sake, we are ‘The Wild Cats’! We are the kings of the jungle!” Coach Bedford shouted in excitement as all the players responded in agreement with a cheer.

“Yes sir, we are! We are Wild and dangerous!”

“But sir, we still have the Golden Cats who have been the champions for a while now and are the holding champions, making them the Kings of the jungle.” Monday said to the coach.

“Monday….” Coach Bedford called out his name, and slowly walked towards him and placed his hands on his shoulder.

“Yes Coach.”

“Have you heard of the saying that “There can never be two kings in a kingdom” before?”

“Yes Coach.”

“There you have it boy!”

“They might be the Golden Cats, privileged and rich. Well, we are the Wild Cats. We might not be as privileged or rich, but we are Wild and dangerous. Not every cat can live in the jungle, especially not the Golden ones. We…. are…. the real owners of the jungle, we are the real kings of the jungle and we are here to take it, the crown!” Coach Bedford said.

“So, what do we say? Should we go for it?!” asked assistant coach Hilton.

“Yes Sir!!” they all responded.

“Good! But before we go back to training, allow me to explain this year’s competition format.” He said.

“This year’s competition will be played in a knock out format. The teams will be divided into groups of two with four teams each. Each team in each group will play a one-leg round against their group members and the top two in each group will advance to the next round, which is the semi-finals. In this round, the teams involved will play two leg-round, home and away to decide the finalist.” Assistant coach Hilton explained.

“Are we ready for this, boys!” Coach Bedford asked.

“Yes Sir!!”

“Well, before that, we still need to elect a captain and the vice-captain. All you need to do is to write the names of your preferred candidates and submit it to me after today’s training.” Assistant coach Hilton informed.

“Okay! I believe we are ready, but just before training, let’s say some words of prayer. Please pray for us, Ricky.” They all closed their eyes and bowed their heads as Ricky prayed.

After the prayers, they went into training. The boys trained together, carried out some drills and had lots of fun, with a lot of the pressure relived. Suddenly, they could see a bevy of beautiful girls walking towards them. They were ‘The Four Angels’. They walked elegantly in beautiful steps. Their uniforms were neat and well ironed, their faces glowed as that of a beautiful rainbow 🌈 as they walked and their beauty was so captivating. At the lead was Danielle, The Arc Angel, believed by the school to be their leader. They greeted the coaches as they walked by.

“Oh my God! Are my eyes 👀 seeing things or they are seeing right?” Victor, a team member asked.

“Are those not The Four Angels?”

“You sure ain’t seeing things bro, they are.” Replied Philly, another team member.

“What are they doing here? I can’t imagine them being here for any reason.”

The girls 👭, walked on to the pitch towards Fedrick who was face down lacing his boots 👢 with Cat seated close to him as they chatted, so, they both didn’t notice the girls coming until,

“Hi Fedrick.” Danielle greeted with a beautiful smile and drew the attention of the Fedrick and Cat.

Fedrick was shocked and surprised to see Danielle and her friends, so were the boys as they watched on.

“Hey Danielle, what are you doing here?” Fedrick asked.

“Well, I’m here to see you, or don’t you want me here?”

“No…no, I’m really happy to see you, just that I’m surprised to see you too.”

“Umm……. girls, forgive me but I think we should excuse them.” Cat said to The Angels.

“Yeah, Sure.” They agreed and followed him. They joined the other boys.

“Well, I didn’t get to give you my answer the other night at the camp and I didn’t get your number, that’s why I am here.” Danielle said to Fedrick.

“Okay….?”

“So, can I have your phone?” She requested for his phone letting her hands out.

“Oh, yes.” Fedrick scrambled around to find his phone for a while and finally found it in his small zip bag.

“Here it is.” She took the phone 📱, typed in her phone number, called her line with it and handed it back to Fedrick.

“Now I have gotten your number and you have mine, we can keep in touch.”

“Yeah, I will make sure to call you.” Fedrick said.

“About that your offer of a drink with you, if it’s still on the table, then my answer is yes.” Danielle said with a beautiful smile.

“Yes, about that…. siii… I don’t think that drink will be possible anymore.”

“Because of the upcoming competition, I can’t drink with you.” Fedrick said to her.

Danielle was disappointed and the smile on her face died on hearing this.

“Oh, that’s okay, I under….” Fedrick cuts in.

“But, I can have dinner with you. Instead of a drink, let’s eat something nice together. All me, my treat.” He said with a beaming smile.

“Sure, I’m up for that.” She said with a cheerful smile.

“So, what about we do this after your first win. You treat me to a meal after your win, we can use that to celebrate 🎉 too.” She suggested.

“Then you will have to come watch me on that day.”

“When is your first match?”

“Not sure yet. We will be receiving a draft of our fixtures later today.”

“Okay…. Well, it doesn’t matter anyways because I will still be there to watch you.”

“Then it’s a deal.” Fedrick said and stretched his arm out for a hand shake. But Danielle had other ideas. She walked closer to him and hugged him, and the other boys were stunned.

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“What the….!” Cat shouted in a low voice.

“Are they a thing?” Tank, a team member asked.

“Well, we can’t say for sure. All we know is that they like each other.” Answered one of the Angels.

“Wish you all the best Fedrick and see you after your win.” Fiona whispered with a low sweet voice into his ear.

As the warm air from her mouth blew into Fedrick’s ear, he could feel the warm blood that flowed like a river through his veins. Her warm hug 🤗, was like that of an angel.

“Take care, bye Fedrick.” She waved with a beaming smile as she walked away and the angels flowed suit.

Immediately, the boys ran to Fedrick, they asked a lot of questions which Fedrick didn’t have answers to.

“Bro, you are the man!”

“how did you do it?”

“You are lucky Fedrick.”

“Is she your girlfriend, Fedrick?”

“Man, are you two a thing?”

“Bro, could you help get me one of the Four angels?

“Too many questions and request at same time, who I’m I answering first?” Fedrick complained.

“What are you all doing?! Return to training now!” Assistant coach Hilton ordered and they immediately obeyed.

They trained for a long while, and at exactly 6:30Pm, the coach asked them to gather around.

“you all have trained very well today, and I am proud of that.” Coach Bedford commended. “Now, just before we retire for the day, we must decide on our captain and Vice. I believe you all have made up your minds on who to vote for. Make sure you are sure of your decision, because whoever you select as your captain, could go a long way in helping us in the competition.”

“Now cast your votes in to that box.” He said to them pointing towards a small box on the table.

The players, one after the other, walked to the box and placed the piece papers they had their votes on. They all placed their votes and then coach Bedford asked assistant coach Hilton to count the votes.

“Please, coach Hilton, take the box to my office and count them and please be quick with that.”

“Yes Coach.” He responded as he picked up the box from the table and walked out of the dressing room.

“Before Coach Hilton comes back with the results, I will like to let you know that we have received our fixtures and schedules for the competition. We are in group one.” He informed and showed them a sheet with the competition’s schedules.

Group 1

Group 2

Ball Breeders

Brothers Tribe

Might Kins

Kings and Princes

Net shakers

Speed Stars

Wild Cats

Golden Cats

FIXTURES 1

The Wild Cats Vs. Ball ⚽ Breeders.

Might Kins Vs. Net Shakers.

The Golden Cats Vs. Brothers Tribe.

Kings and Princes 🤴 Vs. Speed Stars✨.

FIXTURE 2

Might Kins Vs. The Wild Cats.

Net Shakers Vs. Ball ⚽ Breeders.

Kings and Princes 🤴 Vs. The Golden Cats.

Speed Stars✨ Vs. Brothers Tribe.

FIXTURE 3

The Golden Cats Vs. Speed Stars✨.

The Wild Cats Vs. Net Shakers.

Might Kins Vs. Ball⚽ Breeders.

Brothers Tribe Vs. Kings and Princes🤴.

“These are the fixtures and schedules for this year’s competition, our first opponents are the Ball Breeders. I have heard a lot about them, and believe me when I say they are good, but we are better!” Coach Bedford said.

“No matter how good they are, I believe we can still be able to get something we can do better than them. Something they are not so good at doing.”

“Do you mean, their weakness?” Asked Monday.

“Yes, that. We need to find their weakness.”

“I have been studying and asking questions about them, and I found out that they have very poor team performance. They like to dribble, make driving runs and score solo goals, but hardly do they play as a team. They have got the best dribblers and they are quick with their feet, so we need to give them close marking. We will close every little space and make it hard for them to dribble through, but we must be extra careful not to give out penalties. Is that understood?!”

“Yes sir!!” They Shouted in response.

“We must stay close to them….” He continued as he walked straight to a white board in the dressing room, on which he drew some figures and signs as a means to elaborate or explain the game plan and tactics to his players.

“a man to man marking, we must make it hard for them to play. We must not let them get into good positions to shoot and when they do get that opportunity, close them down immediately. Try not to get beaten on a one Vs. one situation. I know it won’t be easy, because they are good dribblers, but you must stay focus and keep your eyes on your man at all times and when we are on the ball, you make sure to keep focus, keep the ball, make short passes, find Fedrick or Cat in good spaces and play them through for the goal. If you have the opportunity to shoot on goal, do not hesitate and just go for it.”

“Remember, we must be clinical on goal 🥅 if we want to win this match. I’m I clear?!” Coach Bedford asked.

“Yes Sir!!” They all responded.

Almost immediately, coach Hilton walked in with the results of the votes for the team’s captain and vice-captain.

“Well, it’s time for Coach Hilton to announce to us the person who you all have elected to be your captain. So please, coach tell us who the elected captain is.”

“After counting the votes, two persons came out with the highest votes for the captain, but amongst these persons, one of them was a vote better than the other. These two persons are Lionel Fedrick and Frederick Cat.” Coach Hilton stated.

“Now, I will announce to us all who our new captain is. Our new captain is…….?” He went silent for a moment as a way of keeping everyone in suspense.

“…. Frederick Cat!” He announced as the players shouted in joy.

“Hold on, hold on. Fedrick, being the candidate with the second highest votes, he is automatically the Vice-Captain.” He added.

The players were happy with the election and its outcome, especially Fedrick, who was almost in tears. He couldn’t believe that he was made a vice captain, a title he could never had imagine he would hold, especially being that it hadn’t been too long he enrolled in the school. He was so overwhelmed, eventually he shed tears of joy. The captain and his vice were given the opportunity to say some words of thanks to their team;

“I really want to thank you all for putting your trust in me and making me the captain of this team. I promise, I will work to my best to see that we bring back home the trophy 🏆. I will lead to my best, giving my all for the team and make sure to lead by example.” Cat addressed as they all clapped and cheered him on.

“You know, if I was told that I would one day be a part of a team like this, I wouldn’t believe it, not to talk of being a Vice captain….” Fedrick started, as tears rolled down his cheeks.

“….. of the team. It is like a dream to me and I am overwhelmed, I can’t believe it. I’m speechless, I really don’t have anything else to say but to say thank you to you all for this opportunity, for taking me not just as a team mate, but as a family and I promise to give my all.”

They were all moved by Fedrick’s speech, led by the new captain, they all walked to him and embraced him warmly.

“Okay, we have been consistent in training, you all have done well. Go home, have a lot of rest, also train and exercise more on your leisure times at home. There will not be training on week days, because of the ongoing exams, you need time to study for your exams too. Our first match will be on Sunday 5:00 pm, so we will have a chance to gather together one more time for training before the big day. We all should be in school on Saturday for training and remember to always pray. We might have trained well, but God is the ultimate. Is that understood?!” Coach Bedford addressed the team.

“Yes Coach!!” They all shouted in responds.

“Good, please pray for us before we leave for our various homes, Coach Hilton.” He requested.

“All eyes close and heads bow as we go to god in prayers.” Coach Hilton commanded as they obeyed.

“Our heavenly Father, it’s us again, your children ….”

They prayed for a short time and after the prayer, they all left for their homes. When Fedrick got home, there was a lot to tell his mum and dad. He told them of his appointment as the Vice-captain of his team and how he couldn’t hold himself from shedding tears.

“I always knew you would stand out, it was just a matter of time. You deserve everything you are getting now, my son. You worked very hard every day to make it here.” Fedrick’s mum, Mrs Lionel said to him as she moved around the house, from the kitchen to the dining trying to setup the table for dinner.

“Fiona!” she called out.

“hey young lady, down with the phone and come help me set the table for dinner.”

“Just a minute mum, I just need to get…. (she paused as she typed on her phone very fast.) this message…. Sent.”

“Get done with that and come help me setup the table.”

“You should go help your mum, Fiona.” Mr. Lionel commanded.

“But Dad, I’m busy with something very important at the moment. Can’t Fedrick help mum set the table? moreover he is busy with nothing. He is just seating there warming the couch, that’s all he ever does.”

“Hey! don’t speak so awfully of your brother, and moreover we are having a chat, so he is not actually doing nothing.” Mr. Lionel rebuked her.

“Now run along and go help your mum set the table.”

“But Dad….”

“Fiona, do you want to be grounded for disobeying me?” she shakes her head from right to left in response.

“Good, now run along.”

Fiona got up from the couch where she was seated, reluctantly dropped her phone and walked to the kitchen.

“Silly girl.”

“Now, Fedrick, when is the competition starting?” Mr. Lionel asked.

“Well Dad, it’s on Sunday after the church service, by 5:00pm.” Fedrick responded.

“I hope you all will be there?”

“And why won’t we? How on earth I’m I not going to watch my boy play?” Mr. Lionel answered letting out a light smile, he placed his hands on Fedrick’s should as he reassured him.

“We will be there cheering you on, my son.” Fedrick could feel his dad’s warm hands on his shoulder and his words gave him confidence.

“Hey handsome looking young men, please come to the dining, dinner is served.” Mrs. Lionel called jokingly as she walked from the kitchen to the dining table with a plate of dessert on her hands.

Dinner was delicious and spicy, especially as Mrs. Lionel prepared the families favourite soup, Bean soup. After eating they chatted and talked for a long time. It was a wonderful night with the family.