KS1 / KS2 English: The Kick Off by Dan Freedman

This great book is called The Kick Off. It's all about a boy called Jamie Johnson. Jamie Johnson is completely nuts about football he loves it and I know how he feels. When you play for England and Team GB like me you find yourself thinking about football every minute of the day. Just can't help it. Jamie dreams of the big time too but first of all he needs to make it into his school football team.

Reading this book I can tell that Jamie's got lots of natural ability. He's got a good left foot but to make it to the top it's not enough to just be good. He needs total dedication. And that's tough when he still needs to go to parties go out with his friends and pass his exams.

At the start of the story Jamie's not having much luck. It's the trials for the Kingfield school team. Jamie's all set to take a penalty but a divot in the pitch makes him completely lose his balance.

Here's someone else who loves football to tell you how he gets on.

As he was falling to the ground he flung his foot towards the ball so desperately so violently that his left boot actually flew off his foot. It shot right up in the air. Jamie yelled out in horror. His boot rocketed skywards doing somersaults as it went. Meanwhile the ball that should have been flying into the back of the net was rolling slowly and painfully along the ground towards the goalkeepers waiting hands. Jamie could not believe it. This was his worst nightmare. He started to hear something behind him it was laughter. He turned around and saw all the other players on both sides were laughing at him. Can you imagine how embarrassing that must be? And in a trial game too? But Jamie's obsessed remember he's not gonna give up. Jamie puts a lot of pressure on himself. Sometimes he scores sometimes he misses. And I know how that feels. It's all worth it when you're winning and when you're winning it's an incredible feeling.

When I was younger I loved football but I also loved reading. I spent all my time training but it didn't stop me getting into some great books. Jamie's grandad used to be a pro himself. He gave Jamie this scrapbook that he once used. It's packed full of tips and exercises to improve every aspect of your game. Jamie spends the whole summer practicing everything in it and soon he starts playing out of his skin. Books and football great combination.

Jamie's had some good matches. Like this one when his school team Kingfield met St. Anthony's.

Score so far? 1-1 draw

Until Jamie comes alive on the pitch. Slaloming in and out of desperate tackles Jamie's feet wove a spell as they sped forward. Soon he'd single-handedly beaten practically all the defenders St. Anthony's had on the pitch. Now he was through one-on-one with the goalkeeper. Marcusfield was desperately calling for the ball but Jamie couldn't hear him. Or at least he wasn't listening. Jamie looked at the keeper and drew his foot back for a venomous strike. Then at the very last minute just as his boot was about to swipe through the ball he checked and stopped dead. The goalkeeper had gone for it though. He'd bought the dummy and dived. For a second Jamie felt like the only player on the pitch. There he was all alone in front of an empty goal the ball at his feet and the goalkeeper left sprawled on the ground. There was nothing left to do but pass it into the net. It was 2-1 to Kingfield thanks to the best goal Jamie had ever scored.

Becoming a great footballer isn't easy. Some of the kids don't think Jamie can do it. But he's determined to prove them wrong. He wants to be the best. What do you think? Can he do it? The only way to find out is to get stuck in and start reading. I think reading books is a great thing to do so grab a book and get reading.