Necessary Roughness

Mikko again encourages Chan to play football, and Chan attends his first practice as a late tryout. He meets the varsity head coach, Mike Thorson, and the assistant coach, Kearny. Coach Thorson seems nice but continually mispronounces Chan’s name as Jann. Kearny, on the other hand, almost immediately begins yelling about Chan being a girl when he cannot push a dummy like the rest of the team. The Monster’s friend does the kickoff, having filled the position in the immediate aftermath of Gary Lindstrom’s accident. After a grueling workout, the coaches make the team sprint until one of them pukes; luckily for a completely exhausted Chan, it doesn’t take long for the Monster to throw up. After practice, when Chan asks Mikko why he didn’t have to kick, Mikko explains that the team cannot have someone solely as a kicker, so the coaches are testing Chan to see if he could play another position. Chan is thrilled when Mikko says that he believes he can make the team.

Chan is sore but extremely happy after his first practice, but he tells his parents that he is forming a club rather than playing football. Mikko invites Chan to eat with the team at lunch.