Pecari Try-outs/Practice on Quidditch Pitch

Saul Pierce

November 29, 2008 12:43 AM

Pecari Try-outs/Practice by Saul Pierce

He had run the try-out last year, and this time he didn't have two seventh years watching him to make sure he didn't do anything wrong, so there was actually less pressure on Saul for this practice than there had been for last year's. So he arrived early, picked out his broom from the school stock (as Captain, he thought he probably ought to have his own by now, but he was having a hard time convincing his Aunt Regina of this), and dragged out the box of Quidditch balls to the center of the pitch.

He waited until everyone on his list was there, greeting each person by name (in the case of new first years, he asked their name, and then greeted them by name) as they arrived. Once he had a full roster, he clapped his hands and raised his voice to get everyone's attention.

"Hey! Guys! We're starting! Okay. Hello, and welcome to another year of Pecari Quidditch. We lost three players, four if you count Lizzie who was our Chaser alternate last year, to graduation, but I think we've got a good chance this year. Raoul," he nodded to their third year Keeper, "has been training with us and especially with Steven for all of last year. Caedence and Meredith have both played as Beaters before coming to Sonora so, hard as it will be to fill the Craven's shoes, we're not starting out completely inexperienced."

"Also new this year, Elly," he grinned and gave his Seeker a large showman's gesture, to show off who she was for any first years who might not have caught her name at the Prefect announcement, "has been named our new Assistant Captain." He paused, in case anyone wanted to provide applause and/or catcalls. This was Pecari, after all. "For those of you who don't know, she helps coach a hockey team during the summer, so if you're having trouble with something, I'm sure she'd be a great help coming up with drills and exercises to help you practice it."

"Okay, so we didn't get a full seven slots signed up, but I kidnapped Kyler when I came down, so we should be all right for numbers. Positions are pretty much what you signed up for. There weren't any conflicts, so we don't really need a try-out this year. Elly's the Seeker. Caed and Mere are Beaters. Raoul's the Keeper, and me, Irene, and Kyler are the Chasers."

"Aeon," he grinned sympathetically at the first year, "unfortunately, we can't let you play in games, but we will start getting you trained for all the positions so that, next year, you'll have a good shot at joining us. Wait here a minute."

He took a deep breath and turned back to the older team members. "Okay, guys. Kyler and Irene, you're gonna try to throw the Quaffle past Raoul. Raoul, you try not to let it by." He took the Quaffle out of the box and tossed it toward one of the Chasers. "Caedence and Meredith, I'll be letting out one of the bludgers for you guys to bat back and forth between each other. For today, just try to keep control of it. Next time, we'll get a little fancier."

"Ell, for the first half hour or so, you can work on some Seeker drills. By then, I should be done making sure Aeon isn't gonna pull an Ark, and we can start getting her more involved. Okay, guys, go!"

When the older team members had all launched into the air, Saul turned back back to Aeon. "Okay, I got three questions for you. First, have you ever flown before? Second, have you ever played any sports before and what kinds? And third, do you have the basic common sense not to fly your broom straight at the ground?" He would have thought this last question would be self-evident, but after an incident with an inexperienced first year at last year's practice, he had to ask.

OOC: If we have any other first years with us today, pretend Saul included you whenever he addressed Aeon, and answer those same three questions as well. If we have any walk-on older students, let me know and I'll switch things around to accommodate you.\r\n\r\n

Subthreads:

Word. by Kyler Kent with Irene Liddowe

Since when did Pecaris have so little interest in Quidditch? by Elly Eriksson

*does a happy dance* I'm a beater!!!! by Caedence with Meredith Lail

Well this is going to be fun eh? by Raoul

1 Saul Pierce Pecari Try-outs/Practice 82 Saul Pierce 1 5

Kyler Kent

December 01, 2008 3:09 PM

Word. by Kyler Kent

Kyler was definitely insane. He had barely flown in a game in his life, yet here he was signing up for the team. Definitely insane. Not that practice last year hadn't helped a lot, because it did, but still, Kyler wasn't expecting to be very good at Quidditch. He wasn't that skilled at other magic stuff, so why would flying be that different? The practices last year had allowed him to make himself more comfortable on a broom. Now he was expected to keep up with Saul and Irene as a Chaser? Why had he even followed Saul down?! The second-year boy stood on the Pitch, trying to look usually thrilled to be there. But, he wasn't going to lie, he was flipping out. Kyler blinked his brown eyes up at the vibrantly blue sky, getting a glimmer of excitement to get in the air.

Saul gave them all the rundown of the drills and, to Kyler's surprise, he was already on the team! What what? Well, that was a bit of a load off his back. Captain Saul instructed Irene and him to get in the air and play Chaser. At the mention of "pulling an Ark" Kyler couldn't help but chuckle. The memory of his roomie's dive was still fresh in his mind.

Kyler turned around, old school broom in hand, and looked around for Irene. She was older than he was so hopefully he wasn't going to be the New Kid to her. He found himself wishing that he had his own broom. Taking a confident stride that contradicted his emotions, Kyler reached the other Chaser. "Hey, ready to get in the air?"

0 Kyler Kent Word. 0 Kyler Kent 0 5

Elly Eriksson

December 03, 2008 12:10 PM

Since when did Pecaris have so little interest in Quidditch? by Elly Eriksson

The biggest Quidditch suprise this year had initially been Elly's elevation to assitant captain. It had been completely unexpected, but welcome nontheless. It was quite nice, too, because she didn't think she'd ever be coaching hockey again now her parents had sold their London house. Knowing that she could help train up the Quidditch team was definitely easing the blow. Yet after Elly had acclimatised to that initial shock, she was further stunned by the fact that Pecari didn't have a full team signed up. That happened to Aladren - not Pecari. Elly could remember a time when they had three reserves, all eager for a spot on the too-full team. Only a couple of years later and they couldn't even pull a team together - what was with that?

Saul had managed to pull in a second year, Kyler, for the time being, but Elly couldn't say she thought the kid looked altogether comfortable with being there. She was sure there had been other firsties last year. Maybe she would chase them up after and find out why they'd decided not to play. It couldn't hurt to have a reserve after all - especially if the Warrens were as good as they claimed to be (and Elly had seen them play at Irene's games - she didn't think they were exaggertaing their talents). Besides that, Mere and Caede had never played beater together, and Raoul had never played Keeper outside of practise. Not that she didn't have utter faith in the whole team, but it couldn't be denied that they had potential issues.

Pulled from her thoughts as Saul introduced her, Elly obliged by taking a bow and grinning at her teammates. She hovered while Saul sorted out what everyone would be doing and then instructed her to practise on her own for a bit. "Sure," she replied, "just call me when you need me." Taking flight on her gorgeous broom, Elly knew one thing that she wouldn't be attempting again for a while... well, not until their first game was over, anyway.

0 Elly Eriksson Since when did Pecaris have so little interest in Quidditch? 92 Elly Eriksson 0 5

Irene Liddowe

December 05, 2008 2:52 PM

To your Moms. I came to drop bombs. by Irene Liddowe

Fourth verse, a little different than the first. Irene made her way down to the pitch for the fourth time in her Sonoran career. Somehow, though, this time was a little different. Tryouts were looking more fun than stressful this year. Maybe it was confidence or something, but maybe it was just the gorgeous day setting her mind at ease. After picking out a vibrant yellow shirt to throw on with her blue Comfy Shorts, Irene snatched her beloved Blurr 3000 from its niche beside her bed. In no time, she was at the entrance to the pitch, her blue-green eyes taking in its splendor. Last year (didn't seem that long ago) the Pecari team had taken to the air and taken the Quaffle from any Crotalus possession. Elly's superb seeking helped as well.

Irene joined the group on the field, waving to new Captain Saul. It was still a little weird to not have the Cravens up there. She had started flying when they were captains so this change in leadership was a bit shaking to her. On the bright side, Elly was assisstant captain! Irene didn't think there had been a better choice. If Team Spirit had a face, Irene was pretty sure it would be the one standing beside her. Saul introduced the team without a formal tryout, a first for the Pecaris. As far as she remembered there had been tons of competition for spots on the team! Where had the good days gone? Not that weren't pros to this new system. One positive being the new kid she could get to know and break in. Speaking of Kyler...

The second year walked up to her, looking ready for the pitch. That was a good attribute of Pecaris. They were always up to a task. "Hey, ready to get in the air?" Irene smiled warmly and nodded, shouldering her own broom and grabbing a quaffle. She barely noticed the school broom in his hand. PLenty of players used them.

"Race ya," she replied, mounting her broom and kicking off. Maybe she could test him out... She was he was made of... That was, after all, what tryouts were for right? Irene soared to playing height before looping around so she was facing Kyler. She passed the Quaffle to him, if not a little fast, looking for his reflexes. "Welcome to the team, by the way!" She called over with another grin.

0 Irene Liddowe To your Moms. I came to drop bombs. 106 Irene Liddowe 0 5

Caedence

December 07, 2008 3:30 AM

does a happy dance I'm a beater!!!! by Caedence

Caedence had been waiting for this for ages. Five years, to be exact. Now was finally the time to play in the position she had long sought out all those years. It was sad, though, because she was no longer playing chaser with Lizzy, Saul, and Irene. The four of them had been passing the chaser positions back and forth for a long time. However, it was good that she was a beater. After all, if she was to be injured so often, wouldn’t it be best to have a bat for self-defense?

Caedence dressed in her practice outfit and fed Scrap before heading to the pitch. Her stomach twisted in odd ways and it flipflopped with each step she took. Finally she had joined the group of her fellow teammates.

She sought out Elly and congratulated her on getting the assistant captain position. She felt the redhead deserved it. She had been dedicated to the team for ages, and it was good to see that recognized. Next year she’d be leading the team!

However, what kind of team was it? There was hardly a player around! Barely seven people, and only 6 had signed up! How could this have happened to Pecari? After all, they were the most quidditch obsessed house ever. It was always Pecari who was first to book the pitch and last to leave it. Sure, they had bad luck in games in the past few years, but they didn’t lack in heart. It was sad to see the quidditch teams dwindle as they had. Rumor had it that Teppenpaw might not even be playing this year, as they had only 3 members. What kind of crazy world was it where people didn’t care about quidditch anymore? Should they give it up and try quadpot? Or something equally as stupid? Caedence knew she’d get the younger kids, and Echo, into quidditch, even if she had to personally beat them into it. Brett at the very least should join! It was just like soccer, just in the air. Plus his girlfriend was here.

Oh well. No use bothering about it now. Caedence listened to Saul give his speech, which was so different from the Cravens. There was no promise of practicing till collapse, nor odd and random harsh training course/tryouts on the first day. It was weird.

Finally he let everyone go and it was up to Caedence and Meredith to whack around the bludgers. She gripped her bat in her gloved hands and got ready to hit the metal ball as soon as it was released. She heard the whoosh that usually, in her case, came with inevitable pain in some extremity, but this time she was prepared. She readied herself then hit the ball with a fierce crack, sending it flying Meredith’s way. This was going to be fun!

0 Caedence *does a happy dance* I'm a beater!!!! 94 Caedence 0 5

Raoul

December 07, 2008 3:46 AM

Well this is going to be fun eh? by Raoul

Raoul was happy that he was finally a full member of the team. Last year, he was only a reserve, but with the graduation of Stephen it was up to him to fill the slot. He combed out his blonde hair and added a few protection charms to his glasses to prevent them from breaking. He hated replacing his glasses, like he had to do twice last year during practice. He got dressed in his practice robes before heading down to the field.

Raoul said hi to everyone he knew, and greeted the first year who wanted to play alongside them. It was nice to know there was at least a few people to protect the spots when the older generation left. Raoul himself was one such person. Stephen had taught him well, he hoped. He really liked that guy; Stephen was really funny and always knew how to have fun with his sport. The Frenchman also loved his old captains. They worked him to the bone and then some, but he got stronger and better for it. He hoped that he would do as well as a full member of the team.

Saul gave his speech as Raoul listened. He beamed proudly when Saul mentioned his previous training. He also gave a little whoop when Elly was named assistant captain. That was just great! While Raoul didn’t really know Elly that much, he did say he liked the girl very much. She was very friendly, and she was good at what she did.

Raoul took off and zoomed to protect his goals from Kyler and Irene. This was finally his year. He couldn’t wait to make it happen. Raoul knew that he would be great. Stephen had taught him well, and so had the Cravens. Even though they weren’t here anymore, he would still make them proud in case they came to watch the games at all. They wouldn’t be sorry they let him on the team last year. He’d show off everything he learned and then some!

52 Raoul Well this is going to be fun eh? 125 Raoul 0 5

Meredith Lail

December 09, 2008 10:53 PM

Don't hold back. Show us how you really feel. by Meredith Lail

The day of Quidditch tryouts, which shockingly turned out to actually be a first practice, took forever to arrive in Mere's eyes. She was awake bright and early, geared up, filled with some breakfast and skipping down to the Pitch toting her broom over her shoulder. It was a small crowd that joined her. Surely there had been more people signing up before. Pecari always seemed enthusiastic about playing Quidditch. Also, thrilled as she was to be guaranteed play time with her friends, it felt wrong that there would be no competition for the spots. Mere wanted to prove her worth to the team. Prove that an injury couldn't hold her back from anything.

While waiting for Saul to begin his speech, now as official Captain and not an assistant, Mere greeted everyone with a very Meredith-like smile reaching ear-to-ear and squinting her blue eyes. She sent Caedence a grin when Saul mentioned them filling the Cravens' shoes. As far as she could tell both girls were passionate about the position they were now able to play. She was confident that they could set their own standard for future Pecari beaters to strive for.

Mere cheered Elly on when she was brought up, proud to see her friend given the honor and then gave a thumbs up to Saul when told her instructions. Taking hold of her broom and bat, she looked at the spot where Caedence last stood, "Ready to go, Cae--?" but the girl was already out and about. Mere laughed and joined her eager friend in the air. After a few short laps to get herself situated while waiting, Saul finally released the bludger and Mere lightly tossed the bat the short distance between her hands in preparation.

She heard the crack of wood on metal and immediately gripped the bat in the hand it was in at the time, her right hand as it happened. The ball soared at her and Mere watched its flight as she had done so often that summer and in countless prior games. She quickly shifted her broom left for a better angle and slammed the bludger back to Caedence. She grinned at the well placed shot. Imagine if that had been with her left hand.

"Nice hit, Caedence! Gimme another good one! And with your bat if you please! There's too few Pecaris here as is!" she joked at her bludger-adored teammate.

0 Meredith Lail Don't hold back. Show us how you really feel. 0 Meredith Lail 0 5