Welcome back, team! on Quidditch Pitch

Captain Saul Pierce

June 03, 2009 11:37 PM

Pecari Quidditch Try-Outs by Captain Saul Pierce

The majority of Saul's team had signed up again. The last two, Saul was certain, hadn't done so merely due to an oversight. So on the morning of the try-outs, he was sure to grab both Kyler and Raoul to make sure they knew about it. Both being boys, he was able to get into their rooms and make sure they were awake, too. No amount of grumbling or complaining was accepted.

All seven of his team from last year, and the new kid, Mike Song, and their first year trainee, Jose, would be at the try-outs this morning. Jose also got the wake up treatment, but that was because Jose was his cousin and that made it fun to wake the kid up.

Once everyone was gather out on the Pitch, Saul clapped his hands together to signal that the social chatting should come to an end. "Okay, everyone. We've got seven spots and eight people. I'm just going to call it that Elly is Seeker, and Caedance and Mere are Beaters since nobody's contesting those spots. Mike's asking for Keeper, Raoul's the returning Keeper, so that's really the one getting fought over. I am going to open up Chaser for try-outs though, so it's not definitely either Mike or Raoul that's only goint to be the alternate."

"So, Caed and Mere, you two can go practice Beating drills together, get used to the pitch again after the summer, and all that. Welcome back to the Pecari Quidditch team." Saul gave the pair of them a grin and gave them a moment to get up into the air before turning to everyone who was left.

"Ell, you can stick around here as Assistant Captain and help me pick the team. The rest of you . . . Raoul, Irene, and Jose, you're one team. Raoul, you've got goals. Mike, Kyler, and me will be the other team. Mike, you've got goals. Oh, right! People! That's Mike, for everyone who doesn't know," he pointed at the Asian-looking kid in their midst. "That's Jose," Saul pointed at the Hispanic-looking kid in their midst. He grinned at Irene, "Jose never played before, so you'll pretty much be carrying your team, chaser-wise. Ell, if you see Hose do something he shouldn't, try to help him out. You've been on a broom how many times, now?"

His cousin held up a hand with three fingers raised. "Right. So, Elly, if you want to help that team out a little, as a Chaser, you can do that, too. Me and Kyler can take the three of you. We'll switch out the Keepers and let them try Chasing after about an hour, so me and Elly can see how well they play that position."

"Any question? No? Good. Keepers, get up in the air and to your goals. Mike, you can be that side." Saul pointed to one of the sets of hoops, then scooped up the Quaffle from where he'd left it on the ground and tossed it high into the air. "Chasers! Go!"

He waited to see who got it before taking off himself. His own spot in the Chaser line-up wasn't really in jeopardy, being the Captain and all, so he was interested to see who was fast enough to get a good jump on claiming their own spot.

Subthreads:

Quidditch! Yeah! by Elly Eriksson

Ah, here it goes again :) by Kyler Kent

Welcome back, team! by Irene Liddowe with Jose Hernandez, Raoul

1 Captain Saul Pierce Pecari Quidditch Try-Outs 82 Captain Saul Pierce 1 5

Elly Eriksson

June 07, 2009 11:04 AM

Quidditch! Yeah! by Elly Eriksson

There were several fantastic things about Sonora. As always, Quidditch was a real highlight. Being Assistant Captain hadn't really changed the experience for Elly; Saul did an excellent job running the team and she did her very best to win every game for the team.

For the try-out, which was often essentially the first practise of the year, Elly wore usual grey tracksuit bottoms and a loose maroon coloured t-shirt. Her hair - getting to a ridiculously long stage again - was braided down her back. She flew from the exit of the Pecari commons right down to the pitch, with a loud whooping noise when she saw the rest of the team gathered. "Hey, future Quidditch Cup winners," she greeted with a huge grin. The weather was good for Quidditch: warm and bright but with some cloud cover so they wouldn't be blinded when searching for the ball, and with just a little breeze that was refreshing to a hard-working player, but not intrusive enough to knock the Quaffle off course. It was a shame the weather couldn't be regulated to be like this for every game, but then Elly supposed there was good fun in the unpredictable variety.

Listening quietly (to set a good example) while Saul set up the try-out, Elly couldn't help giving her best friends thumbs up at them all being back on the team again. With Mike signed up too (Elly knew him from playing spoons in the concert last year) and Jose a potential new member, the team was already looking good. Elly thought Saul's two teams idea was good - excellent in-game practise - and she wasted no time in mounting up again to help out the chasers. "Aye aye, captain," she said to Saul as she kicked off from the ground. Being on the Pecari team was the best ever.

0 Elly Eriksson Quidditch! Yeah! 92 Elly Eriksson 0 5

Kyler Kent

June 08, 2009 8:15 PM

Ah, here it goes again :) by Kyler Kent

Kyler wasn't really sure when it had happened, but somehow he had gotten into Quidditch. He spent his summer thinking about how to get training for the season, not on how high he could climb on the Rockies. It was almost sad, but Kyler really just wanted to be flying. All the time! He had gone to Irene's over the summer for the big Quidditch shabang. It was so weird to be able to go from Colorado to Michigan in 2.4 seconds. Kyler woke up, so ready to get going for tryouts. From what he had heard from Irene, the competition use to be pretty high for getting a spot on the team. He was so glad he didn't have to go through that! Too much stress takes away from the awesome. The pitch was almost gleaming as he stepped onto the field for the first time in the year. Others were already standing on the pitch, greeting teammates.

Kyler clutched his old-school broom grinning broadly at his favorite housemates. Saul began his captaining, doing awesome, as usual. The teams were divided up for tryouts and Kyler noticed some of the new kids. He waved as they were introduced, remembering how awkward he felt on his first tryout.

Soon enough, teams were divided and they were ready to roll. Kyler was ready to be there for his team this year. It was weird how quickly Quidditch took over one's mind... When had this happened?? It was pretty sad that parents couldn't see their kids play while at Sonora. Kyler would pay so much money for Mom to be able to swing by for just one game. What were the rules for that anyway? Were parents banned from Sonora grounds? Especially since his mother was a muggle... That probably wouldn't go too well when asking The Man (or Woman now, he guessed).

"Alright!" Kyler called, trotting up to his mini-team. "Hey man," he said, holding up a high-five hand to Mike. "This team is great. You'll feel right at home in no time!"

0 Kyler Kent Ah, here it goes again :) 0 Kyler Kent 0 5

Irene Liddowe

June 11, 2009 12:14 PM

Welcome back, team! by Irene Liddowe

Once again, the dependable Quidditch tryouts were upon them. Irene was on the Pitch early, so grateful that this sort of thing had now become routine. An annual kick-off of the season was a very nice thing to have. Irene loved being able to start off the year, sometimes with new faces (as there was this year, she noticed). Saul had done a fantastic job the year before, and Irene was sure this year would be even better! The summer Quidditch game at her place really let everyone show what they're made of. It wasn't official. There was no pressure. The team was able to let loose and show what they can do. And apparently that's quite a lot! Irene felt more confident in her team than ever before.

Scrimages were Irene's favorite. Sure, she might have gotten the kids with less experience, but they have to learn somehow. The new kid was on her team. Maybe should could pass him the ball. He'd probably hate that, being put on the spot, but it had to happen! And it might as well be at practice. She didn't expect to have only been on a broom three times. Three! Irene put her game face on and her long brown hair in a ponytail. Her blue-green eyes gave her team the once-over as they congregated. It could work. She had Elly too!

"Alright then," she said as they came closer. "Jose, right?" She smiled, hopefully in a welcoming way. "Stick close to the team veterans. We're going to make you into a Quidditch player." She looked over at Raoul. "You know what to do, I hope," she gave a joking smile. "Okay then. In the air!"

Irene rose into the air, feeling fairly confident. She didn't think one of the kids would steal her spot, but she sure as heck wasn't going to slack off and let them! The Quaffle was in the air and Irene took off, following its progress. Soon enough, it was in her hands. She looked around for her teammate as she flew towards the opposing side. She found him and flew a little closer, making sure he caught her drift. She nodded at him and passed the Quaffle, keeping an eye on how he was doing. For some reason, she felt like taking the kid under her wing. Saul seemed to be able to take care of that though. He was The Guide after all.

0 Irene Liddowe Welcome back, team! 106 Irene Liddowe 0 5

Jose Hernandez

June 12, 2009 10:07 AM

Hello, Team! by Jose Hernandez

Saul had told him that morning that First Years were now allowed on the actual team, not just as trainee recruits, but with enough older students who'd been on a broom for more than three times available to fill the team roster, Jose had few illusions that he was going to land in any other position than Alternate.

Which wasn't to say he wasn't going to try his best.

He knew the mechanics of flying - he had flown three times before - so he was able to get his school broom up into the air with only minimal difficulty. He wasn't fast, by any means, so he wasn't even close to getting to quaffle first, but once they were at a height that he supposed birds were used to but which looked really awfully high to him, he spotted Irene spotting him. (Though Saul had failed to introduce everyone to him and Mike when he'd introduced him and Mike to everyone, enough names had been tossed around during team assignments that Jose had been able to figure out who most everyone was.) She had the ball and was flying nearer.

Jose's eyes widened in alarm as he realized she was going to throw the Quaffle to him. And then it was in the air and coming right at him.

He'd flown before. He'd been told, quite emphatically, that he should never attempt a dive at the ground without significantly more experience. He'd been given advice for how to choose a broom, how to get more speed out of it once he got a little more comfortable in the air, and how to land without killing himself.

No one had ever mentioned that he was going to have to take his hands off the broom in order to catch a ball.

In retrospect, this seemed obvious and not worth mentioning, but right now there was a ball heading towards him and he was way way way higher above the ground than he'd ever been allowed before and he had to unclench his white knuckled fingers from around the broom handle.

"Oh, God," he prayed and let go. With a terrified look on his face, certain he was about to be knocked off his broom and die, Jose brought his hands up and caught the quaffle. And didn't fall off his broom. And didn't die.

His eyes opened wide in surprise and wonderous triumph. "I caught it!" he cheered himself. But now what was he supposed to do with it? He was moving pretty slow and in the wrong direction, but with his hands were full of ball, how was he supposed to steer and speed up now? Best get rid of it fast.

"Here!" Both older girls on his team were close enough to throw to, so he picked the one that didn't have Saul hanging around her and threw the Quaffle at her. His throwing arm was pretty good, from the muggle sports he'd played in his previous schools, so he was confident that would go where it was supposed to. He didn't see it though, because he was too busy grabbing onto his broom again for dear life.

He was really freaking high above the ground.

1 Jose Hernandez Hello, Team! 149 Jose Hernandez 0 5

Raoul

June 13, 2009 12:04 PM

Salut mon équipe! by Raoul

Raoul didn’t know if he wanted to do quidditch this year. Indeed the spot he normally chose was already taken, so he was willing to give it to Mike. It wasn’t like Raoul didn’t enjoy quidditch. Far from it, he loved the sport and his teammates were the best. He just hadn’t finished debating in his mind whether or not he was going to sign up. Time slipped him by fast and when he decided he was going to it was too late. The sheet had been taken down. But that didn’t stop Saul, in his usual Saul-ian way, from tackling the poor boy and dragging him to try outs. Saul ignored Raoul’s rapid protests in mixed French and English as he was so rudely roused from his book in his dorm. Dressing quickly, and not very neatly, in practice clothes, Raoul made his way, with Saul’s prodding, to the pitch.

Now that he was down here, Raoul was glad Saul had virtually held a wand to his back the way here. The excitement on the pitch reminded him why he loved the game. Plus it was pretty fun being in a competition once more. True, it was against a housemate, but still it was all friendly fun and games, right?

“Salut!” He chirped to his teammates, and he chatted idly while waiting for Saul to begin speaking. It wasn’t hard to see that beaters and seeker weren’t competed for. Elly had been seeker since she got here. Even if there was competition she would win it. And really, who would try and compete against Caedence? She was scary enough without a bat in her hand. And Meredith was a sweetheart so he wasn’t sure that anyone would want to take her spot away from her. As for chasers, Raoul was surprised to find no competition there. Well, perhaps if Raoul was kicked out of his spot, which he was determined now not to be, he would end up as chaser rather than keeper alternate. But chaser had almost always, since Raoul was here and from what he heard before then, been contested over.

Why was there suddenly a lack of interest in quidditch at this school? Last year Teppenpaw barely was able to compete, and here the Pecari team, in the past the most gung-ho about quidditch, barely competing for spots. It made no sense. Where did everyone go? Raoul knew about Brett’s leave of the school, and Echo’s. They were both pretty cool guys that he knew only because they were the boyfriend and best friend (though Raoul suspected there was something going on there) of his team mates. They seemed pleasant enough. But it just seemed like for some reason Sonora was slowly emptying out. It was sad, really.

But Raoul set his thoughts to other places, namely the task at hand. Saul gave them the run-down of what was going to happen. Raoul cheered a bit in his head to be paired with Irene. She was an excellent chaser, so he had no doubt she’d help him out. Raoul knew nothing of the new kid, but he was sure Irene could show him the ropes easy enough. Raoul laughed at Irene’s joke and replied, “I hope so! If Saul hasn’t taught me anything yet, then I am not deserving this team. No?” Donning his grippy keepers gloves he shot into the air to defend his goals.

Irene made sure he didn’t have to work by catching the quaffle first. The young French boy held his breath as Irene tossed the ball to Jose. The kid caught it and looked surprised that he did so. “Way to go, kid!” He hollered. “Bravo!” The kid tossed it away almost as soon as he caught it though. Looked like Irene would have to teach him how to dribble the ball down the field. Raoul waited for the ball to be caught, circling the goals lazily. He knew he shouldn’t get cocky. Saul was a great chaser and could probably slip in a goal, but Raoul found it easy to just drift for now, trusting his team.

52 Raoul Salut mon équipe! 125 Raoul 0 5