Soccerboy

There are more than 200,000

active teams in Just the United

States! Soccer is by far the

most popular sport in the world!

follow Soccerboy’s inspiring story

as he tests his courage and faith to

assemble a team and challenge the best

players in the league!

when you and your children

READ soccerboy, you will be

even more motivated to play

soccer, or any other sport!

Go for the

goal of your

dreams!

Volume One

SoccerBoy and the Conquerors!

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$9.99 US Dollars

Soccerboy Cover Oct 24 2010.indd 1 10/24/10 9:39 PM

by Jorge GarciaVolume One

Soccerboy and the Conquerors!

Illustrated by Robert Rath

Art Direction byTyler Kirkham

Soccerboy Int Oct 24 2010.indd 1 10/24/10 9:45 PM

2

SoccerBoy: Volume One

“This book was inspired by watching all the boys play soccer at a school near my house

when I was taking my son to practice three times a week. I have a twelve-year-old son who loves to play soccer. Last year, we had so much fun going from tournament to

tournament that I felt I needed to capture all the excitement not just on video, but in

a book. I was so impressed with the passion and commitment these small athletes put into the game. Just watching them play makes me want to play.

“I promise you, when you and your children read SoccerBoy, you will also be inspired to play soccer, or any other sport of your choice. Our children need to exercise more than playing video games, or

watching television in most of their spare time. When you read SoccerBoy, you will also learn how to understand better the state of mind of your children, and how to get into their world of action. After

all, they’re the most precious gifts we have on earth.” —Jorge Garcia

Jorge Garcia is a husband, father, coach, and the author who has written the story of SoccerBoy and the Conquerors. This book is intended to guide and inspire all young athletes to stay focused on their dreams, and to understand the commitment needed when planning to play soccer, or any other sport, at a professional level.

Jorge and his family reside in San Diego, California, where he has lived for more than thirty-five years. He also works as a real estate consultant. He and his two sons love to play soccer and chess.

Personalized books may be ordered at www.TheSoccerBoy.com.For speaking engagements, please send an email to [email protected].

Copyright 2010 Jorge Garcia All rights reserved.BookWise Publishingwww.BookWisePublishing.com

No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording or by any information storage and retrieval system, without specific written permission from the publisher. The scanning, uploading, and distribution of thisbook via the Internet or via any other means without the permission of the publisher is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic editions, and do not participate in or encourage electronic piracy of copyrighted materials.

All editing, design, and art by Robert Rath; Art Direction by Tyler KirkhamLibrary of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data PendingJorge GarciaSoccerboy / Garcia, JorgeLCN #2010914653 ISBN 978-1-60645-064-2


3



4


let’s go to the x-ray department

down the hall!


5


he will be okay, just bring

him back in two weeks for a follow up.


6



7


his fractures won’t heal easily,

but the braceswill help.


8


Okay, SoccerBoy, let’s do a little test with your legs...

Long months go by,

and as SoccerBoy turns

eleven years old, He

goes to the doctor

for his last check up...

Yes, I feel very

good.

…Hmmmmm….They look

pretty good to me.

Hm...

uh-huh...

Hm...


9


Soccerboyis back!

?

Hooray!

Kapow

-

Yay!Woo!

Go! Go!

Parents… your son has beaten the odds; both of his legs

are very strong.

Thanks a lot, doctor! I can’t wait

to run and play soccer with my friends again!

ALL RIGHT!


10


Yikes!

rumble rumble rumble

The next day, Soccer

Boy is playing with his

friend, Gary, on the way

home from school...

Would you ever want

to play soccer on a real

team?

That would be awesome!

My doctor said I was all right.

I can play all that I want. I feel very good.

Maybe we can talk to some of

them and see if they’d like to play with us. I think

it’s a great idea, but remember what happened to us with

the footballteam...

But I thought

your legs weren’t ready yet.

the problem is that we don’t have enough guys at our school that like to

play soccer.

Everybody is into other sports!


11


Ugh!

I don’t wanta punch in the face,

either. That’s why we need a team — so we can be more, instead

of just us two.

We can’tgive up our game just because they

don’t like soccer.

I love soccer just like you. But those kids made me think twice about

playing at school.

There’s no reason to be afraid.

I just don’t want to get hit in my face like last time. those

boys are creeps!

Maybe you’re right. We can give it a try and see what

happens.

My dadsays, “when you want

something in life, you have to follow your heart.”

I know what you

mean!


12


I’m late! ringring

ring

Rowwrr!

now All we need is eight

more players so we can have our own

team!

The next morning...

Hey, Gary! Guess what? I met this new guy in our

school and he wants to play soccer with us.

All right! Let’s meet him at the field after

school!

Okay!

Gary! I want you to meet TIGER!

Hey man, that’s a

cool name.

Hi guys! My real name is Robert Nelson,

but all my friends call me Tiger.

Welcome to the team,

Tiger!


Boot!

pow!ka

13


No way you can score while I’m goalie!

That’s a great center, gary!

whoa!goodone!

No moresoccer will be played on our

field!!

bicyclekick!

While the boys are playing on the field, the football team comes in and...


14


Yeah!

Soccerboy and his team

refuse to leave, even as

the rest of the football

players come over.

Yikes!Whoa!

Hey!

Leave us alone! We were here

first!

This is our field. Get out! Go play some where else.

You don’t belong in our field!

What are we going to do?

I don’t want to get hit again! let’s go!

Stay still! Maybe they’ll leave us alone this time.

But last time

we got hit. today, they just gave us a little

push.

You mean... this isn’t the

first time they’ve done this to you

guys?

Yeah. Last time I

got a punch in the face, so today wasn’t

that bad.


15


We have to make our

own soccer team!

Do you ever give up on your dream?

I don’t have to.

Every time we get closer.

What weneed to do

is go to our neighborhood

after school and find more guys that like to play

soccer.

Yeah, but, what happens when we find

them?

We willtrain, and we’ll

get good enough to sign up in a

tournament.

but we have another problem. We don’t have a field now. Where

are going to play?

I betWe can use

greenfield park and practice

after school. It’ll be nice to have a disciplined

team like the football team.

even though they are mean...

Look, last time we

were only two. Now we’re

three. We just need eight

more players.


guh!

Bump!

bonk!bonk! bonk!

bonk!

16


At leastwe have each other! let’s play right

here!

That’s a great idea!

Guys! Watch this!

Good one, Gary! But I’ve got you both

beat! How many headers can you do?

On the way home, the boys make

plans to recruit more players...

We could put out flyers

and invite everybody to

be on our team.

That’s an awesome idea! Let’s do that.

yeah!


17


And whatabout a coach!

We need a coach to sign up for a

tournament!

After school next day, soccerboy, gary,

and Tiger bring their flyers to the mall...

Well, after hanging

these around the neighborhood and giving them out to kids at the mall, we’re down to our last few

flyers...

I hopewe get enough players for

Saturday.

All we need is eight

players so we can have a complete

team.

You’re right! We’ll

also need a good goalie!


I’ve got it

so tough...!

trudge

trudgetrudge

18


Dad, remember last year when you told me if

we ever had a soccer team you would be

our coach...?

My dad used to be a soccer player.

Okay …

Yes, and after

dinner, you need to clean

your room before you go planning

soccer teams!

That’s a good start, but you need at least

11 players, son.

We only have three,

but we will get

more.

Yes I remember

that, how many players do you

have?

Later, as

soccerboy

and his

parents

enjoy a

fine dinner...


thoomp!

z zzzzzz

19


Great pass, SoccerBoy!

Dear God, please help us so that we can have our own

soccer team.

That night, soccerboy is giving thanks...

And soon...

...And the score is one to one!


whamm!twweeeett

booo!

booo!

no way!

20


J.c. United is heading for the goal...

Watch out! that was a brutal hit

from the red liverpool fullback!

that’s a penalty!

And a red card!

soccerboy is getting ready to take the shot, and the crowd

is not happy with the call!

That wasn’t a fault!!

heysoccerboy!you smell!

The gameis on the line!

Soccerboy shuts out all the noise and

concentrateson only one

thing!


Goal!Goal!

Goal!

J.C.! J.C.!J.C.!

J.C.!

J.C.!yay!

ring!ring!ring!

KA-pow!

21


I scored a goal against the Red Liverpool!

Oh man! That was so good!

there’s the kick... Red Liverpool goalie flies to the right…but he can’t get it!

the ball is in the net! it’s a Goal!

Oh no! It was a dream!


Documents

Soccerboy