Title of the work: “Practicing for the future”.
Author: Janet Mora
2 Characters:
- Coach
- Zack (ten year old boy).
SETTING: A Saturday morning at the baseball field.
INTRODUCTION: Zack is practicing with the bat. The coach throws him the ball. Near them is the home team warming up for the season finale.
ACT I
Coach (shouting): Come on Zack!
You can do it!
Zack (a little exhausted by the sun): Coach, let’s rest a little bit please!
The coach makes a hand gesture and leaves the field to get some water. Zack sits in the stands to cool off and watch the home team practice.
Zack: I wish I was as good as them! I don’t know what’s wrong, I practice and practice and I can’t get anything right!
Zack continues to stare disconsolately at the home team. The coach enters the field again and shouts to him that it’s time to resume practice.
Coach: Come on Zack, we have to keep practicing, lately your performance has been very weak.
Zack: That’s not it coach. I practice every day, in fact, lately I’ve been staying up late at night to try to improve my bat speed.
Coach: No wonder you’re tired! You’re not sleeping well at night, you need to rest!
Zack: But if I rest I won’t be as good as them! (Pointing to the home team).
Coach: (with a strict tone) If you DON’T rest, you won’t be as good as them. While we sleep, our body replenishes all the energy spent during the day.
Zack (breaking down in tears): Don’t scold me, Coach, please. I thought that if I didn’t sleep I could use those hours of sleep to improve my practice. I’m afraid I won’t be as great as them!
Coach (reflective tone): We have to take care of our body. Just as we work hard at every practice, we have to rest. Training every day with a lot of discipline, dedication and responsibility will guarantee you success and in this way you can become bigger than them! Of course, never stop believing in yourself, because the faith we have in ourselves is what will take us on the path to achieve our dreams.
Zack wipes his tears with his sleeves.
Coach (changing to a cheerful tone): Well, well, that’s enough training for today, let’s stop crying and go watch our home team practice!
Zack: Thanks for understanding me coach.
We watch as Zack and the coach approach the practice.
THE END.