Summary
Chapter 8: "I Want to Be Part of the Fugees!"
Tryouts for the new soccer season of the Fugees took place in August after a long, hot summer of boredom for most of the returning players. This season, Luma would be coaching three teams: Under Thirteens, Under Fifteens, and Under Seventeens. The teams would consist of new and returning players and need to have a balance of dependable, well-adjusted kids and those with more severe problems like unstable families and post-traumatic stress. The teams had their strengths and weaknesses: the Under Seventeens were independent, the Under Thirteens were not strong at defense but responsive to Luma’s directions, and the Under Fifteens were talented but rebellious.
Over the summer, Luma had announced a new rule that all Fugees players must have short hair. One player whom many others looked up to, a boy named Prince on the Under Fifteens team, had grown out and braided his hair over the summer and did not want to cut it. Luma knew that kicking him off the team over the hair issue would anger other players, but she also believed in the power of a unified Fugees team in keeping the players out of gangs and trouble in general. On the day of tryouts, Luma took down the names and ages of the players, gave out appropriate shoes to those who needed them, and went over the rules of playing soccer with the Fugees. She specifically told Prince that if he didn’t cut his hair by the first day of practice, he would be off the team.
Chapter 9: Figure It Out So You Can Fix It
Prince refused to cut his hair and was kicked off the team, which upset his friends who were still on the team, especially Mandela and Fornatee Tarpeh. Coach Luma remained strict on the rule, believing short hair would keep the players from being made fun of by others and that making all players conform to the rules would show how serious she was about discipline and equality. Fornatee felt especially torn between his coach and his friends. Since he had already been living in the United States for seven years, he was more in touch with American culture such as football. His family was also going through a difficult time because his father was in a car accident that left him unable to work and the family unable to make rent. Fornatee depended on Luma for a good deal of emotional as well as financial support, such as when he hurt his hand during a practice and Luma took him to the store for medical supplies that he wouldn't have had otherwise. However, he also felt loyal to the other Liberian players; even though during practice all the players worked together, there were still cliques that formed by country and language. He knew that Prince would come back to the team if Coach Luma told him he didn't have to cut his hair, but the coach would not relent.
Practices began in the August heat on the dry field behind Indian Creek Elementary. The practices overlapped, with students from the different teams getting tutored and then warming up with running and exercises while the team before them scrimmaged and did drills. Luma was very strict with the players, especially during running. She would call out the names of players who were running too slow and in one instance sent a player named Hussein home early for goofing around when he was supposed to be running laps. Another time, she saw that the Under Thirteen players were running hard when in her line of vision and running at a slower pace when they thought she couldn't see them; in response, she made them run for 40 minutes instead of 25.
The Under Fifteens were also testing Luma with disrespect and lack of discipline. Since Prince hadn't been allowed onto the team, Mandela and Fornatee started to act up by coming late to practice, talking back, and bringing girls to watch practice. Mandela, like Fornatee, felt a strange and uncomfortable pull between his identity as an American and as a Liberian. He would wear long T-shirts and baggy jeans during the day, but put on his fanciest clothes if you ever tried to take a picture of him so that he wouldn't look poor. Mandela had not been interested in playing soccer originally, but after his brother Jeremiah joined the Under Thirteens, he joined the Under Fifteens. Once on the Fugees, he hung out mostly with the other Liberian players and never seemed fully comfortable or committed to the team. Beatrice, his mother, was uncomfortable with the way he had begun to imitate black Americans with his clothing and hair, rather than keeping a traditional African style. Beatrice often asked Luma for help in figuring out his moods and problems at home, and Luma did the same for problems at practice. Beatrice would scold her sons by telling them about the troubles she lived through to get them to their new, relatively safe and comfortable lives; she would keep talking until they lowered their eyes and heads in respect.
Chapter 10: Meltdown
Since league games couldn't be played on the field behind Indian Creek Elementary, the Fugees hosted games at Ebster Field, which was a 15-minute drive away from the players' apartments by bus. Luma instructed the players to meet at the library at 1pm, warning that anyone who was late would be left behind. The Under Fifteens' first season match was to be held on September 10 at Ebster Field against a much whiter, wealthier team. Luma drove directly to the field and waited for the bus. At 1:30 when it had still not arrived, she called the bus driver who said that some of the players had not shown up on time. He had waited as long as he could and finally left without everyone; only 9 players got off the bus when it arrived.
Mandela was disappointed that his team members had not shown up, especially Fornatee. He asked the journalist to use his cell phone to call his teammates, and found out that Fornatee had missed the bus, gone back home, and now was watching TV. He asked for the journalist to drive him to pick up Fornatee, and the journalist agreed. They showed up back at the field at 1:55. The boys ran to join warm-ups. Luma stood in a corner of the field, giving no directions. The players tried to get her attention, but she would only tell them, "There's nothing to say" (134). Without the support of their coach, Kanue took charge and led the team in meeting with the referee and starting the game. In the first few minutes, the other team scored two goals on the Fugees and the Fugees were called for a number of penalties. Mandela scored one goal for the Fugees, but then the Phoenix team scored another, making the game 3-1 at halftime. Luma did not meet with the team at halftime, still refusing even to look at them. The boys on the team argued about whether it was her job to give them instructions during a game, with Fornatee making a passionate speech about how the players have to play for themselves and prove to their coach that they can succeed. However, at the end of the game, the Phoenix won 7-2.
After the game, Luma ordered the team to get onto the bus. When the journalist reporting on the team asked her what was happening, she rattled off a list of complaints from not showing up to tutoring to general disrespect. Luma said that she thought about just leaving the field during the game, but she had wanted to see how they worked together without her, especially Fornatee. By the end of the game, she had decided that she would cancel the rest of the Under Fifteens' season.
Chapter 11: "How Am I Going To Start All Over?"
The cancellation of the Under Fifteens' season was very disheartening for some of the team's players. One such player was Kanue Biah, a refugee from Liberia. His family fled Liberia when he was two, and he ended up in the care of his uncle Barlea and great-aunt. In 2004, Barlea was resettled in Clarkston, and Kanue was able to join him the next year. To support himself and Kanue, Barlea had to work almost constantly. This meant that Kanue had to grow up quickly, taking care of himself when his uncle was not home and cooking and cleaning so that his uncle could simply eat and sleep when he got home from work. Kanue had an easier time at school than some other refugees since he spoke English fluently, but he was still mocked for his accent, and he was once suspended for fighting due to such bullying. He joined the Fugees not long after arriving in Clarkston, and he immediately came to respect Coach Luma. He played first as a goalie and then as a striker, and the whole time he was a model player, showing up early and practicing hard.
The weekend after Luma cancelled the Under Fifteens' season, the coach called Kanue to see if he wanted to join Mandela, Natnael, and her for a movie. The tone was somber before and during the movie, with all four thinking sadly about the team. On the way back, Kanue finally brought the topic up. He asked Luma not to cancel the season. She responded that she couldn't coach a team of players who were unprepared and disrespectful, and that cutting those players would leave them with too short of a roster to be fair to those who remained. Kanue argued back that it wasn't fair to the players who had been showing up and following the rules, and he suggested that he, Mandela, and Natnael could find new players who would follow the rules as well so that they could finish the season. Luma finally said that they could try, but that she made no guarantees. As soon as Kanue was dropped off at home, he got to work recruiting new players.
The Under Thirteens team was also not without problems. At practice, Luma warned the players that they could end up like the Under Fifteens if they didn't behave, especially with regard to working hard enough during practice. Their first two games of the season had been a tie and a loss, so Luma was determined to whip them into shape. At their third game of the season, the Under Thirteens were focused and played well, winning the game 5-1. After the game, Luma complimented the team but told them they could play even better and needed to keep working.
Chapter 12: Alex, Bien, and Ive
Bienvenue lived with his mother Generose, his brothers Alex and Ive, and his baby sister Alyah in a small, sparely furnished apartment in Clarkston. When Luma first visited the boys, she was tricked into sitting down hard on a couch that had a wooden seat instead of a cushion. Dinner was cassava, beans, potatoes, and greens, and Generose played a video tape of a Catholic choir while they ate. Generose spoke Swahili, French, and Kirundi, but not English. Alex, her oldest child, understood English but spoke with a strong accent. Bienvenue had gotten into a charter school thanks to Luma's help and now spoke much better English than his older brother, though he still struggled at times. The youngest boy, Ive, at just seven years old spoke English fluently and without an accent. Since Alyah's birth, Generose hadn't been able to work, and the children's father was living in Canada and couldn't get immigration papers for the United States.
While the family was receiving some money through charity, Generose knew she needed to get a job at night, so that she could pay the bills without leaving Alyah alone during the day. If she got a job at night, she could leave her six-month-old daughter with her three sons, which still worried her since she had lost a daughter due to a domestic accident while living in a refugee camp in Mozambique. Generose and her sons all expressed disappointment that living in the United States was not as easy as they had expected.
Chapter 13: Trying Again
The tryouts for new Under Fifteens players took place on a Monday afternoon. The potential new players showed up a half hour before Luma, and players from the other Fugee teams showed up as well to see what would happen. When Luma arrived, she found a few familiar faces and a lot of new ones. Fornatee had not shown up, thinking it an insult to make him try out again. She sent the new and old players out on the field so she could watch them scrimmage and ruminated on how difficult it would be to create a cohesive team at this point in the season.
The boys played hard, with Kanue leading the team. Luma watched, noting the strengths of the new players. After an hour, Luma called the players to her and told them that she would coach them, but that they had to know that they would probably lose most or all of their games that season, since they'd be playing teams who had practiced together for years. She told them that anyone who was prepared to practice hard should show up on Thursday for their first practice. Kanue was incredibly relieved and privately told Coach Luma how much he appreciated what she had done.
Analysis
Luma's strategy for organizing the Fugees is more established as they enter their second season, but there are also new problems. Many of the players from last season have gotten attitudes that Luma intends to vanquish through harsh discipline. In addition, new players must integrate with the players who already played for a season together, and this must be done at an even more rapid pace when the Under Fifteens' season is ended abruptly and then restarted with another round of tryouts. As the season continues, tensions build around how successful the Under Thirteens and Under Fifteens can be if they practice hard and learn to work together.
Some of Luma's decisions during this part of the book might be questioned by readers. For example, when multiple players skip or show up late for a game, Luma refuses to talk to the team for the duration of the game. After this game, she tells the players that their season is cancelled. These actions may seem cold and uncaring, especially cancelling the season for players like Kanue who had been showing up and working hard at practices and games. However, as Tracy says at the end of the book, "Luma is really a normal person doing what she can for the people around her... she’s human, not a saint or a superhero" (240). Luma herself admits that she often doubts her decisions, but she tries her best to create a disciplined and equal community for her players.
Most of the scenes in this part of the book are set at the field behind Indian Creek Elementary. This setting is a reminder of the inequality present in states and even towns themselves in the United States. The Fugees travel to play against teams with mostly white players, matching gear, and lush fields. Meanwhile, there is patchy grass and broken glass at the field where the Fugees practice, and their focus and skills suffer because of this.
Generose's experience shows the difficult choices parents often have to make to best support their children. Generose needs to be able to provide food and shelter for her four young children, and to do so she must take a job at night. However, this means that she cannot actually be present at home in the evening, and she must let her older sons take care of her baby daughter. In the end, this works out without any major problems; even when Alex gets distracted and burns dinner, there is no serious damage to the house or his siblings. However, Generose must live with the fear and guilt of not being present with her children as they grow.
One important scene in the book is when Beatrice disciplines her sons until they lower their eyes in respect. When they misbehave, she tries to get them back in line by reminding them of the hardship she went through to get them to their new, comfortable home. This part of the story shows the different experiences old and young immigrants experience, as well as first- and second-generation immigrants. It is much harder for older immigrants to forget their experiences in their home country and to adapt to the new country where they have been resettled. Beatrice tries to remind her children to remain respectful and grateful for all that she has sacrificed for them.
