Split Decision
Other Books in the
Spirit of the Game Series
Goal-Line Stand
(Book 1)
Full-Court Press
(Book 2)
Second Wind
(Book 3)
Stealing Home
(Book 4)
Cody’s Varsity Rush
(Book 5)
Three-Point Play
(Book 6)
Ultimate Challenge
(Book 8)
ZONDERVAN
Split Decision
Copyright © 2005 by Todd Hafer
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the non-exclusive, non-transferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, down-loaded, decompiled, reverse engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of Zondervan.
ePub Edition November 2009 ISBN: 978-0-310-87055-5
Requests for information should be addressed to
Zonderkidz, 5300 Patterson Ave., Grand Rapids, Michigan 49530
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Hafer, Todd.
Split decision / Todd Hafer.- 1st ed.
p. cm. - (Spirit of the game series ; bk. 7)
Summary: High school freshman Cody Martin relies on his Christian faith to help him decide what sport to play during the spring season and, more important, to give him the courage to confront a friend who may be taking performance-enhancing drugs.
ISBN-10: 0-310-70796-X (pbk.)
ISBN-13: 978-0-310-70796-7
[1. Christian life—Fiction. 2. Sports—Fiction. 3. Steroids—Fiction. 4. High schools—Fiction 5. Schools—Fiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.H11975Sp 2005
[Fic]-dc22
2005016787
All Scripture quotations are taken from the
Holy Bible, New International Version
®
(NIV
®
). Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.
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Cover design: Alan Close
Interior design: Susan Ambs
Art direction: Laura Maitner–Mason
Photos: Synergy Photographic
Contents
A Word to Athletes and Parents about Steroids and Performance-Enhancing Supplements
To the life and memory of Tim Hanson,
a true athlete, a true friend.
I
love sports. I have always loved sports. I have competed in various sports at various levels, right through college. And today, even though my official competitive days are behind me, you can still find me on the golf course working on my game, or on a basketball court playing a game of pickup.
Sports have also helped me learn some of life’s important lessons—lessons about humility, risk, dedication, teamwork, and friendship. Cody Martin, the central character in the Spirit of the Game series, learns these lessons too—some of them the hard way. I think you’ll enjoy following Cody in his athletic endeavors.
Like most of us, he doesn’t win every game or every race. He’s not the best athlete in his school, not by a long shot. But he does taste victory because, as you’ll see, he comes to understand that life’s greatest victories aren’t reflected on a scoreboard. They are the times when you rely on a strength beyond your own—a spiritual strength—to carry you through. They are the times when you put the needs of someone else before your own. They are the times when sports becomes a way to celebrate the life God has given you.
So read on, and may you always possess the true Spirit of the Game.
Toby McKeehan
C
ody felt Bobby Cabrera’s forearm crash on his head as he released his layup attempt. After ensuring that he landed safely back on the court, he turned to face the familiar foe who cheap-shotted him, just as he had done when the two were seventh and eighth graders.
Cabrera sneered at him. “Watcha gonna do, Martin? Your big bodyguard Porter ain’t around.”
“Don’t need a bodyguard,” Cody answered dryly.
A referee stepped between the two of them, staring down Cabrera first, then Cody. “You want me to T you both up?” he asked.
“No, sir,” Cody said. “It’s just that he committed a flagrant foul.”
“I’ll call the game, son,” the ref admonished.
“Yes, sir,” Cody said. He bowed his head in a show of contrition, then stepped to the foul line for his free throw.
Cody completed the three-point play, extending the Grant High School freshman team’s lead over East High to six points. He glanced at the game clock as he ran back to take his position on the lower-right side of the Eagles’ 2–1–2 zone defense. Only fifty-eight seconds remained.
I can’t believe Coach Clayton has us in a zone
, he thought.
If Cabrera hits a couple of threes, they’ll be right back in this.
As if on cue, Cabrera stopped three feet from the top of the key and launched a line drive jumper. The ball hit nothing but net.
Fortunately for Grant, it was just the bottom of the net. Cody doubted that Cabrera’s shot ever had enough height to have a chance of going in.
Well
, he mused as he gathered in the rebound and waited to be fouled again,
I guess Coach knows what he’s doing after all. Come to think of it, I don’t remember East hitting an outside shot all day.
Cody hit the first of his free throws, but the second one orbited the rim once, then curled out. Cabrera slid into the lane for the rebound, then wheeled 180 degrees and charged downcourt. Cody trailed him, knowing that his southpaw opponent would veer to his left. Cody accelerated to his left before Cabrera did.
When Cabrera did veer, Cody was ready. He poked the ball free from Cabrera’s left hand, spoiling a chance for a breakaway layup. Cabrera smacked his hands together in disgust as the ball rolled across the left sideline near the Grant bench.
“That’s good D there, dawg,” Coach Clayton called out. “Way to anticipate!”
East inbounded the ball, and once again the Grant five packed themselves into the zone defense. Cabrera fired from the baseline this time. His shot rattled in, but the ref closest to the play indicated that his foot had been on the three-point line, rather than behind it. The Angels still trailed by five, and now the clock was ticking down to the game’s final thirty seconds.
Cody inbounded the ball to Greg Gannon, the starting point guard, thanks to Terry Alston, the class’ best athlete, making varsity. “Don’t shoot, Gannon,” Cody admonished. “Take the air outta the ball!”
“Ha!” Gannon replied cryptically.
The Angels were in a half-court trap, but as soon as Gannon crossed the backcourt foul line, they swarmed him.
“You got help behind you!” Cody called.
Instantly, Gannon flipped the ball back over his head. Cody corralled the ball and darted to the left side of the court. He saw Cabrera coming to cut him off near half-court. Cody jump-stopped, then faked a football-style pass downcourt. Cabrera bit on the fake, just as Cody knew he would. The East guard leaped into the air, both hands over his head, as if he were a stickup victim.
Just as Cabrera’s feet touched the well-polished hardwood, Cody sprang up, looking for Brett Evans on the left wing. He fired a two-handed overhead pass to Brett, who, in turn, relayed a touch pass to his twin brother, Bart, near the top of the key. Bart panicked as he saw Cabrera charging toward him, and he quickly released an ill-advised shot from well beyond his range.
Fortunately, Grant center Matt Slaven, six feet two inches and growing like the national debt, slid into position to collect the rebound, as the ball glanced off the front of the rim.
DeLong, East’s center, bear-hugged Slaven like a long-lost relative, drawing the foul. Slaven swished his first charity toss, but the other one bounded high off the heel of the rim. DeLong snared the rebound and smoked an outlet pass to a streaking Cabrera.
Cabrera pulled up five feet from the three-point arc on the left wing and lofted a high-arcing jumper. The ball glanced off the glass backboard and dropped neatly through the hoop. Cody was sure Cabrera hadn’t meant to go glass, but scoreboards didn’t care about intentions. The game now stood at 48 to 45, with just four seconds remaining. Cody hustled to the baseline to collect the ball from the referee. This time, there was no fake half-court press from East. The Angels went into a full-court, man-to-man press, with Cabrera leaping like a crazed aerobics instructor in front of Cody as he tried to inbound the ball. Bart set a pick for his brother along the baseline. Brett used his brother’s body to shed his defender and dart toward Cody. Cody flipped him the ball—then Brett batted it, volleyball style, right back to Cody. Coach Clayton had put this press-busting move into the Eagles’ arsenal only days before.