Hor s e Vol l eybal l Wr it t en and Il l us t r at ed by Emma Gar f ein Dedicat ed t o TEs s a Whit eman
Bam! Jump! Receive! ?5 to 3 points!? Yells Coach Miller. ?Nnn Hhh? Goes Tessa?s horse. Tessa loves to play HorseBall. (It?s just volleyball, except, you're riding a horse, and the net is obviously taller and the space to play is bigger.) Tessa even has a stable at her house for her horse called Geronimo. She is on a team that plays on the world championship every four years, like the olympics, and this year, the match would be on national television . And as the best player on her team, everybody depended on her to guide them to success, like always. Tessa had this obsession where she would come to court and practice for two hours before everybody else arrived. Plus, her coach would come to her house and practice with her sometimes. So every day, all of her teammates would argue about who would be her partner, and who would have to play against her. Everybody looked up to her talent, and her coach, Coach Miller, was proud of her work ethic and successes. One day, when Tessa arrived to training, Coach Miller challenged her to a one on one game to practice while they were waiting for the rest of the team to arrive, thinking the match wouldn?t take too long. The game was hard fought, and went on and on even when her teammates started arriving. Her teammates didn?t try to start practice, and instead stood around the game watching them play their intense match. Coach Miller was so concentrated on beating his student that he didn?t stop the match to teach the rest of the team. Everybody was cheering out loud for Coach Miller, but really, they were screaming ?Tessa!....Tessa!? on the inside. The team knew they had to keep their cheers for Tessa on the inside, or they?d face the anger of Coach. They were tied 9 to 9, when suddenly, Tessa?s horse, Geronimo jumped high into the air and Tessa took advantage of the moment, hitting the ball hard to the ground scoring the last point. ?Yay!? ?Woohoo!? ?Go Tessa!? called her teammates. Tessa couldn?t believe it, she actually beat her coach who had won 7 championships in a row for his team when he was a player only five years ago!?I won! I won! I... woooohoooo!? Tessa yelled at the top of her lungs ?I did it!?. Then she galloped around the court on her horse yelling ?Yea! I did it!? repeatedly. Her excitement and surprise were genuine.
She had never felt this proud in her life, even though it wasn?t a championship but just a practice. Her team congratulated her, and kept on saying they were proud to be her teammates. So, during the rest of training, she couldn?t stop smiling. When she got home, and shared the news with her parents, they were super proud too. Not everybody was happy with the outcome of the match though. After Coach Miller ?s loss against one of his players, he couldn?t have felt more embarrassed and disappointed. In fact, he didn?t tell his wife anything about what happened and said it was a normal day for him when he returned home that evening.Everybody knows how good of a coach he is, but having someone less experienced than you, beat you at something you?re a pro at, really affects your ego, especially for Coach Miller.
So that night, Coach Miller struggled with some ugly emotions, eventually devising a plan that would rid him of his embarrassment. The championship was one week away so he knew exactly what to do. On the night of the championship, he would sneak into the stable by the stadium where all of the players?horses were kept on the before the big match. He would go to Geronimo and take of his horse shoes and hide them so he would be more vulnerable to the rocks that Coach Miller would leave on the floor of the stadium. He knew that a horse without horse shoes would be vulnerable to rocks. Luckily for Coach Miller, he was allowed to enter the stadium at all times since he was a coach. HIs plan was foolproof his head told him. His plan would give him the revenge for his embarrassing loss is what his heart told him.
During the week before the championship, everybody was stressing about how, according to them, little they had practiced and all stressed about their horses being ready for the big game. But that was everybody except Tessa, she was confident that she would help her team be successful in the championship. Ever since she beat Coach Miller, she had a boost of confidence that made her believe that her team would win and nothing would go wrong. And then, the night of the championship had arrived. Coach Miller was in bed sleeping with his phone in his pajama pocket on silent so when his alarm would go off at 2:30 am, he wouldn?t end up waking up his wife, because she might ruin his plan by telling him to go back to sleep. ?BZZZZZZZZ? ?BZZZZZZZZZ?
Coach Miller carefully sat up, put on the clothes he left ready, got his tools, and a bag of rocks. He snuck out of the front door with a smug look on his face, ready to get his revenge. ?Tip toe, tip toe? he went. Through his driveway he went, and into his garage. Coach Miller opened the garage door, got into his car, and drove out, forgetting to close the garage door. He was just so distracted by being so proud of his devilish plan. As soon as he arrived at the stadium stable. Coach Miller got out of his car and went to Geronimo, and unleashed his plan with pleasure. Coach Miller bent down, and began by removing the clinches, little by little the horse shoe came off, and by the time he was finished with all four horse shoes, it was almost sunrise. So he quickly put Geronimo back and ran into the stadium. In three hours, Coach Miller ?s team would start to arrive. On the inside, Coach Miller knew his plan was wrong, but he ignored this thoughts and that little voice down deep that was telling him he was wrong. He had already done his plan, and he certainly wasn?t going to undo it now. If it wasn?t for his humiliating loss, this plan would never have come to his mind. His ego had taken over.
..... ?Mmmmm candy,? mumbled Coach Miller. ?My horse is made of candy!? ?Hi coach!? said an unsuspectingly cheerful voice ?Wh? ..what?? Coach Miller sat up and looked around not noticing his team in front of him. ?The camera crew is here to record for the news, and, hey, why were you sleeping here Coach Miller... you have a nice bed at home, and what happened to your hair?? asked Tessa. ?Oh, hello Tessa? Coach Miller turned around and saw Tessa and the camera crew behind her. He suddenly realized he had fallen asleep. ?What time is it?? ?It?s 11:30,? said Tessa, looking at her phone. ?11:30! Oh no! Where is everybody?!? Coach said, now wide awake. ?Right in front of you coach,? Tessa giggled. ?Oh,? he said, suddenly realizing the many people in front of him.
Coach Miller got up, took his whistle out of his backpack and blew on it.
BEEEEEEEEEEEP!!!! The whole team was in deep conversation, not noticing Coach Miller, but when they heard the whistle, they immediately got quiet, turned, and looked at Coach Miller with their full attention. ?As you all know, the Championship starts at 12:00, so I hope you all had a good breakfast and a full night?s?sleep. And- just so you know, everybody else will start arriving any minute now, so I hope you?re ready!? said Coach Miller a little bit louder than he meant to, because he turned out to be yelling, so all of his students had moved a step back. Coach Miller was still groggy. Then he reached into his pocket and took out a pair of earplugs and put them on, knowing how loud the cheering would be, especially during the real match. Plus, he knew that his team had a special knack for making each other temporarily deaf with their own cheering.The whole team started to cheer excitedly, with a noticeable bit of nervousness. ?Everybody get your horses and put their gear on,? commanded Coach Miller, ?...and remember your helmets. Now get out there and do what we do. Let?s win!? As soon as Tessa finished putting Geronimo?s gear on, and mounted her trusty horse, she felt Geronimo being a little unsturdy since he had all of the muck from his stable in his hooves. ?Hmm? she wondered as she looked down at her horse?s feet. ?Maybe he had a big breakfast,? she thought, reassuring herself with an unrealistic thought. She was too excited to come up with a more realistic reassuring thought. When she looked back up, the other team was getting into position on the other side of the net, which refocused her on the match. ?Get into position everybody,? yelled Coach Miller. As soon as the team got into position, Tessa realized the stadium was suddenly full of people, and as far as she could see, no seat was empty.As soon as the opponent team saw Tessa, they got nervous. Tessa was talked about a lot by the other teams in their league. Gossip and rumors even went through the Horse Volley teams. They would talk about how they hoped they would never go against her team or how good she was. The opposing team had worried looks on their faces. This match was already set up to win for Tessa and her team.
Then the referee appeared at the side of the court and blew his whistle to start and threw the ball in the air. ?BEEEEEEP!!!? Both teams ran to receive the ball, and somehow, the other team caught the ball and passed it and Tessa volleyed it back. The ball kept flying back and forth for a long time. Then suddenly, when Tessa was running behind one of her teammates, Geronimo stepped on a rock and jolted a bit. Tessa stopped, looked down, at her horse again and shrugged. ?I?m too busy to get distracted, I need to concentrate on the game, focus Tessa! I?m on national television? She thought to herself. The game kept on going. The opponent team was better than Tessa expected, but that didn?t worry her. She had spent all this time working on her skill and tactic, so she was well prepared to play. After a few more minutes, the game was tied, and one more score would make the winning team. The other team served. The ball was coming toward Tessa, she galloped with her horse towards the ball, pulled on the reins and her horse jumped, but the ball was still in the air, too high to reach. A thought flew through her head saying ?Darn it, I jumped too early!? and as she landed, usually landings were easy to do, but this time, due to Coach Miller ?s rocks, Geronimo's hoof landed but slipped and lost his footing and was falling on his side on his side, ?what?s happening?? wondered Tessa as she looked around at the world moving in slow motion before her eyes. Then she felt something bounce off her helmet while, at the same time, she also felt her leg started to touch the floor. That is when everything went black? ?
?Beep!.....Beep!......Beep!? Tessa slowly opened her eyes, adjusting to the bright light above her. She looked to her left and saw her parents sitting on white leather chairs using their phones, and then to the right and saw a doctor looking at an X-ray. ?What am I doing here, the match is still on? And who is this guy?? She wondered. The doctor turned his head and realized Tessa was awake. ?Oh good, you?re awake!? He said. ?You were asleep for a long time and now it?s the next day? In that instant, she realized the throbbing pain in her left leg and she couldn?t move it, the pain was like one hundred daggers stabbing deeply into her leg. Her eyes got watery. She almost felt like crying. Tessa took the blanket off of her leg and saw a long white cast, then she gasped. ?What happened!? She yelled in a squeaky voice. This surprised her parents and they looked at her daughter and smiled worriedly. ?Good morning sweetheart? said Tessa?s mom. A million questions zoomed through Tessa's head, but only a few came out ?What happened? Why am I here? What about the match? What about Geronimo?? The doctor looked at Tessa, ?You broke your leg so you're in the hospi-? ?What?!?! How will I play Horse Volley?? Tessa cried. ?Your horse is fine,? the doctor mustered. ?Fewf!? this news relaxed Tessa a little. ?And your team won the match,? the doctor added, ?I watched it on television in the break room, you were great!? ?Good? ? wait a minute, how did I win if I fell and the ball must?ve hit the floor and we would?ve lost? Tessa asked, but then she remembered that something hit her head.
The doctor took her phone out of her pocket and turned it on. Then she went on youtube and showed Tessa a video of her and her team playing Horse Volley at the championship yesterday. The doctor skipped the video to the end. It was in slo-mo, just like Tessa had felt it herself, she saw herself falling with Geronimo and she noticed the ball coming down and hitting her head and then she was on the floor. ?So that?s what hit me!? exclaimed Tessa ?I knew it!? ?Yup? responded her parents and the doctor unanimously. ?So I scored the final point?? Tessa asked. ?Yup. Your head shot win will go down in Volley Horse Championship history,? the doctor said. ?But how... the ball got to the to the other side and it would be super easy to catch,? Tessa wondered.This time only Tessa?s dad answered, ?the other team was so distracted looking at you unconscious on the floor that they didn?t notice the ball so it hit the ground without a scratch. Point, set, match!?
..... ?Cool? Replied Tessa. A little while after the doctor left, and Tessa ate the breakfast that the hospital provided, a camera crew came in, followed by a woman who was a news reporter. ?Hello Tessa,? said the lady in a fancy work dress. ?Ummm, hi, what are you doing here?? replied Tessa. ?We are here to interview you. What happened in your match was pretty remarkable,? responded the lady ?Ok...? Tessa turned around to look at her parents, they had the same confused expression as Tessa. Tessa then realized they were the film crew who were recording the match yesterday.Without another word, a microphone flew in from above right over Tessa?s head. Then a man holding a camera said ?we?re live in three, two, one...?
The lady started to speak, ?hello everybody, I am here today at the hospital with the famous Horse Volley champion, Tessa!? she said gesturing to Tessa. At that moment, Tessa realized she had recently woken up and her hair was a mess, so she quickly combed her hair with her fingers and said to the camera ?Um, Hi!? As quickly as she barged in here, the lady started talking again. ?So Tessa, how do you feel about the championship? What do you think about how things turned out?? Then the camera was turned back to Tessa. ?Ummm, proud I guess? ?Good, how do you feel about your injury?? The lady was talking so fast that Tessa could barely keep up. ?Sad,? Tessa didn?t have much else to add.?How sad,? the lady quickly and carelessly replied, ?and is there anything you would like to say to the people watching you live right now?? ?Umm, well, oh! I would like to thank my coach and teammates for all of their hard work they put in to get to the championship finals match. I couldn?t be happier,? replied Tessa. ?How sweet,? said the lady, ?anything else you?d like to add?? Tessa had found her voice, ?well, I have no idea how I got here and how I slept for so long...? This caused a small giggle from her parents. ?But the only reason I am so good at playing Horse Volley is because of my awesome coach, Coach Miller, so Coach Miller, if you?re watching this, you should know that I am very disappointed that I can?t play for awhile until my leg gets better, but my successes are all thanks to you? said Tessa and smiled.Little did Tessa know, that the cause to her pain was Coach Miller. She also had no way of knowing that, at that moment, Coach Miller was watching the news while eating his Cheerios, and when he heard Tessa thank him, Coach Miller felt a terrible pain and realization. His revenge wasn?t to hurt Tessa, in fact, he was barely thinking when he came up with his evil plan, it was his ego coming up with the whole plan. But the worst part was that Tessa was thanking him for everything in front of the whole nation, when Coach Miller actually made her get hurt. Then Coach Miller had a sudden urge to tell Tessa the truth and he started to have a conversation with his good self and his ego. ?You have to tell Tessa you hurt her!? said his good self. ?But if you do, everybody will think you are a bad coach!? replied his ego. ?But if I don?t, this will haunt my mind forever!? good self exclaimed. ?But if you tell her, she might tell everybody you did it and the team will quit,? retorted ego. ?If I don?t tell the truth, somebody will eventually figure it out someday and that will be worse!? replied his goodness.?You?re right! I should tell her, Tessa is a good person, she will understand? reasoned his entire conscience in unison.
So he ran out of the house with championship trophy, leaving his confused wife behind. He got into his car and drove to the hospital to see Tessa. ?Hello Tessa!? said Coach Miller out of breath from running down the hallway. ?Oh, hi coach! I?m sorry I can?t play,? replied Tessa turning the TV off. ?I have something to tell you in private,? he whispered, setting the trophy on the table next to Tessa. ?Ok sure, but I can?t stand up so..?. she turned to her parents ?could you excuse us please?? ?Ok? replied her parents and they left the room. ?So about your leg... I was the one who did it? he blurted out. ?How, you weren?t in the court to push Geronimo? argued Tessa?No, I took the horse shoes off of Geronimo, then I put rocks on the floor,? Coach then went on to explain his plan, and how bad he felt about how it all turned out.
?But why!? exclaimed Tessa ?Because I was jealous after you beat me in our one on one match,? Coach responded meekly. ?But coach, it was probably only a one time thing, probably just luck, nothing to worry about!? Tessa said. ?I know, but my ego took over after that, so I really wasn?t thinking before I acted. Plus I had no idea you would get hurt. I definitely didn?t want you to get injured. To be honest, I don?t know what I wanted. I was so mixed up because I was embarrassed about getting beat by you that I couldn?t think straight. I?m sorry.? explained Coach Miller. Tessa was confused for a second about his ego, but then she replied, ?it was terrible of you to sabotage me, but at least our team won. So I guess it wasn?t as bad, I mean if we would?ve lost, that would be terrible.? Coach Miller let out a breath of relief, ?but you have to promise not to tell anybody about this! Not even your parents!? he whispered. Tessa was unsure of this promise and replied ?Ok, but under one condition, you have to confess to the team. They deserve to know.? Coach Miller reluctantly smiled and walked out of the room and thought, ?I knew Tessa would forgive me, I mean, we won the match and she?s such a great spirit.? As soon as Coach Miller got home, he was greeted with his angry wife, ?why did you just walk out on me during breakfast? You spilled all your Cheerios and ran out the door! And then you came back after and hour and a half! Explain yourself.? ?I?m sorry honey, it was urgent? he sheepishly replied. ?Well, there is a mess on the floor and you are going to clean it all up!? yelled his wife and stomped to their bedroom. Coach Miller turned and saw a stain on his white carpet, covered in Cheerios, invaded by ants. ?Ugh!? he grunted. While Coach Miller cleaned his sticky mess, he was lost in thought. ?It was very stupid of me to sabotage Tessa. My ego is very dum, I should?ve known! A sabotage would mean being a bad coach. Worse, it means I would be a bad person. I have to trust my good self and do what?s right by my team. Always.? By the time Coach Miller was done, his carpet was sparkly clean. So he sat down and watched TV with a huge weight lifted off of his back. Back at the hospital, Tessa was also stuck in thought. ?I would?ve never expected Coach Miller to have hurt me! Think of the bright side though: I won the championship!? She looked at the big golden trophy that Coach Miller left next to her ?But at least Coach Miller will learn his lesson by telling the team. And I will go back to practice as soon as my leg heals, and I will have time to train to go to the next championship in four years.? Then Tessa smiled, turned on the TV, and sighed, content in knowing that she?d been able to make an impact on her coach.
Abou t t h e HS Em pat h y Book Pr oject The grade 5 Literacy Group students published and illustrated these empathy picture books as keep sake gifts for their High School buddies. The grade 5 Literacy Group students conducted several empathy interviews with their High School buddy. These interviews were designed to help the grade 5 students to understand key components of their buddy?s identity, which were captured in these picture books. Prior to the interviews and picture book project, the grade 5 students investigated ?what makes a great story? by closely reading several award-winning picture books. They learned about plot, character development, author ?s craft, and literary devices. The grade 5 Literacy Group students even inquired about a literary device of their choosing, developed a lesson plan for their High School Senior, and then taught the concept through an interactive small group mini-lesson to that senior. Those literary devices made it into these picture books as our students know that, properly employed, they enhance a great story. The grade 5 Literacy Group students should be commended for the energy and enthusiasm poured into these final products. Our hope is that our Nido High School Seniors appreciate the pieces of ?their identity?that our students crafted into their picture books.
Abou t t h e Relat ion sh ip Emma met Tessa in a HS class room for an interview. Emma would communicate through videos via email and face to face to ask questions to help her in creating this picture book for Tessa. Tessa is in 12 grade and this picture book is a gift for her graduation. Emma made a book about Tessa based on the answers to her questions, like that Tessa likes horses and volleyball.