Travel Team

The Walkers discuss logistics, wondering how it will be possible for there to be two travel teams. They brainstorm boys who could play on the team.

When Danny goes up to bed, he sneaks down to listen to his parents. He hears his mom emphasize that Richie must follow through on this plan. Richie tells her that he plans to.

Danny and Will hang up flyers around both schools calling for tryouts. Eight kids show up, seven from St. Pat’s and one from Springs. A parent volunteers to help Richie coach. Richie tries to give them a pep talk, even though it’s out of his character. He also outlines three rules: “One, if you’re open, shoot. Two, if somebody has a better shot than you, pass the ball, let him shoot. Three? Have fun” (83).

After the first hour of practice, Danny is not optimistic. Richie tells them that it’s only their first day and that it’ll get better.

When Richie drives him home, Danny asks why he’s doing this. Richie asks why he’s asking that, and Danny talks about how Richie doesn’t really like basketball anymore and that the only reason they play together is because it’s common ground between the two of them. Richie explains that he doesn’t hate basketball, even if he feels sorry for himself when thinking about what the car accident robbed him of.

Danny returns to asking why he wants to coach their team since they’re bad, and Richie encourages Danny to have fun. Danny gets out of the car, not yet realizing that Richie still hadn’t told him why he was coaching this team.

The new travel team keeps practicing, often early in the morning because that is when the gym is available. One morning, Ty Ross stops by, and Richie asks if he wants to play. He does, and he and Danny work well together. As they play, Danny still thinks that he should be playing for the other team, the Vikings.

After practice ends, Mr. Ross shows up, giving Richie a hard time for letting Ty play, even though Mrs. Ross said that he could. Mr. Ross insults Richie’s team, not wanting his team’s players to think that there is another option. He tells Ty that they’re leaving, and they go. 

Despite Danny thinking that Ty wouldn’t be allowed to hang out with him, Ty calls the next morning to ask about hanging out. He comes over that afternoon. When Danny asks about it, Ty explains that his parents fought the night before, and his mom told his dad that Ty could play with who he wanted to. Ty thinks that Danny’s team just needs a few more players, quietly confessing that he’d rather play for them.

On Tuesday night, the team waits for the girls travel team to finish practice. Danny points out Colby Danes, a tall girl who is a great player, to his father. When Danny says that he thinks she’s great for a girl, Richie responds, “She’s great, period” (98). He wonders if she would consider practicing with their team. He goes over to ask her coach, Ms. Perry, then her father, Dr. Danes. Then, Colby joins them for practice. The boys are skeptical, but Colby does so well that Danny asks when she’s coming back.

When he gets home for the night, Danny asks his mom how his dad is paying for everything. It leads him to wondering if Richie might be able to stay with them, but Ali refuses. He continues to tell her that Colby might join the team, which surprises her. They both wonder if Richie is trying to prove something to himself.

In an online chat that night, Tess asks about Colby. When he tells her that she’s on his “dopey team,” Tess tells him to stop feeling sorry for himself (103). She then asks if he thinks Colby is cute, which makes him smile. He responds in the negative. She tells him he is cute and reminds him: “Things will get better.” However, the chapter ends with the statement: “They were actually about to get worse” (104).

Danny and Will are at the movie theater when they run into Teddy Moran and his two friends. Teddy insults them for playing with Colby and says that they should get over not getting onto Ross’s team. Danny implies that Teddy made the team because his dad’s radio show sponsored it. This starts a fight, which continues until the owner of the candy store pulls Teddy off Danny. As they walk away, Teddy taunts him, saying, “Everybody in town knows the real truth about your old man except you” (109).

Danny is grounded and isn’t allowed to practice, watch TV, or instant message. His dad reports that he’s scheduling games and that Colby has officially joined the team. Richie also set up a scrimmage with the Vikings. The league is still considering his request for the team to join. Danny says that the scrimmage sounds like it’ll be a car wreck. He immediately feels bad saying this, knowing that a car accident ended his dad’s career, but Richie shrugs it off.

During the scrimmage, the team decides that their team name is the Warriors, like the Golden State Warriors. At first, their team takes the lead, but it doesn’t last. In the second half, Danny ends up guarding Teddy, who ends up hitting him with an elbow to the neck. When Teddy hits him again, Danny trips him. Ty falls and breaks his wrist.

Danny has been keeping track of his height on the wall behind a poster, hoping for a growth spurt for a long time. He sits down and remembers watching Mr. Ross leave with Ty. Teddy blamed him.

His mom comes in later, saying that Ty is in a cast, but he only broke one bone. Timewise, he might make it back to basketball before the tournament in the last week of February. When Danny asks if he can call Ty, Ali recommends giving him a few days.