Disclaimer: I don't own Ninjago, just the story and my OC's.
I am doing a story of Justin and Max on the school's soccer team because I'm bitter that there's no soccer going on right now. I don't play, but my little brother does and I'm actually a referee for it. We are a part of a recreational league that would usually have a season going on right now. I just needed to vent.
FYI: This takes place between "Ninjago Next Generation: Normal Life, SO NOT" and "Ninjago Next Generation: Elemental Twins".
The Ninjago High School soccer was playing a game of scrimmage. Justin was charging down the field with the ball. Other players tried to stop him, but they couldn't catch him. Justin was the best player on the team because he was definitely the fastest. He could charge down the field and no one would see him coming. Max was also pretty fast, but even he couldn't keep up with his best friend. Luckily, they were on the same team for this scrimmage.
"Hey Justin! Over here!" Max called for Justin to pass him the ball. Justin saw Max and passed the ball over to him and Max immediately scored.
"Walker! Garmadon!" the coach called. Justin and Max jogged over to their coach. "That was some great teamwork between the two of you. I would like to talk to you about the plan for the first game."
"What is it, coach?" Justin asked.
"First off, I need to team captain...and I would like it to be you, Walker."
"Me?"
"Yes. You are the best player we have. You're fast, but you are also very aware of what's going on around you while you're on the field." Justin nodded. "Garmadon, you are to be the team captain if Walker can't make a game."
"Got it, coach," Max said.
"Now, you're positions. Garmadon, I want you as the striker. Remember, the striker's main job is to score. Walker, I want you to be the center midfielder. That's the only position to be able to roam the entire field. I believe that position would be a good fit for you, if you're up for it."
"Of course, coach," Justin said.
"Good. Go home and rest up for the game tomorrow. We're going to need you both on your A game."
"Yes coach," they both said and grabbed their things to leave.
"How do you lead a team?" Justin asked Max.
"There's no definite answer for that," Max said confused. He looked over at Justin and realized why he asked that. "You're worried about being the team captain, aren't you?"
"Why wouldn't I be? You're a leader, not me."
"Says the guy who was jealous of me picking his sister over him to be my second-in-command." Max sighed when Justin's nervous expression didn't fade. "Dude, I may have picked Alex to for second-in-command over you, but it was a close decision. You're still my third-in-command. You know how to step up and lead when you need to."
Justin nodded. "I guess you're right."
"You'll be fine. You are by far the best player and know the game in and out. Also, the trick to being a good leader is to know each person's strengths and weaknesses."
"Thanks for the tip."
"We're gonna crush this game!"
The next day
Justin and Max were standing in a circle with the rest of their team to listen to the coach who was in the middle of the circle.
"Alright boys," the coach said. "Today is the first game of the season. You boys have been practicing hard. Now, I can only coach from the sidelines, so I'm assigning a team captain to instruct you on the field. I've already talked to him about it." The coach looked around the circle until he found Justin. "Walker! Come here!" Justin went up to the coach. The coach looked back at the team. "I expect you all to listen to your captain." The coach took out a captain armband and gave it to Justin to put on. "Go ahead and start leading them in stretches."
"Yes coach," Justin said and began leading stretches. While doing so, he heard people whispering about how the coach picked him to be the team captain. That did not help his confidence level at the moment and Max noticed.
"Hey! We should be stretching, not whispering about the coach's decision for team captain!" Max snapped.
Justin mouthed a 'thank you' to Max, who just nodded in response.
After the team had been warming up for a little while, the referees came over to check the team in. "Ok boys," the center ref said. "Knock on your shinguards." The team did what the referee told them to. "Lift up one of your cleats." The team complied. "Just want to make sure that you guys aren't weating any jewelry: earrings, necklaces, bracelets, watches." They all shook their heads. "Ok. When I call your name, turn around, show me your number, and then go over to your coach." The referee started calling out the names and sending them to the coach. Eventually, the ref was down to the last two. "Max Garmadon." Max turned around to show him number. He was number 8. He went off to where the rest of the team was, with the coach. "And finally, Justin Walker." Justin turned around to show the ref that he was number 4. He then went off to join the team.
"Ok team," the coach started. "You all know your positions. You've been practicing for this and I believe you can win. Alright, hands in." The team put their hands in the middle of the circle. "Dragons on three." The school's mascot is a dragon. "One...two...three..."
"DRAGONS!!!" the team yelled.
Everyone got in their positions. Justin went to the position for center midfielder and Max went to the position for stiker, which is the center forward position. Ninjago High had the first kickoff, so Max went up to the ball.
"Max! Make sure you kick it to one of your wings!" Justin told Max, which just meant to kick it to the person on his right or the person on his left. Max nodded. The ref blew her whistle and Max kicked the ball to the person on his right and the game began. They started out pretty good by charging up the field. Unfortunately, when they got to the sweeper, he managed to boot it to the opposite side of the field. Luckily, Justin managed to run and intercept the ball and start working his way back up the field.
"Justin! Over here!" Max called. He was standing behind all of the defenders and in front of the goal.
"I'm not passing it to you when you're in an offside position!" Justin yelled back.
Max then noticed where he was standing and moved up to be even with the sweeper. "Ok. Now pass to me!" Justin passed it to Max and Max scored the first goal of the game.
"Good job dude," Justin said and high fived Max. "Just make sure to wach your offside."
"Got it."
They lined up again, but this time, the other team had the ball. Play resumed, but Justin was having issues directing the team and the other team easily got a goal.
"Come on guys! When I tell you to do something, it's because that's what we need to do to win!" Justin told the team. He was desparately trying to get them to listen.
"And why should we listen to you, Lightning Dweeb?!" one of his teammates said back.
"Is it really that easy to come up with names that have to do with lightning," Justin mumbled to himself.
"You should listen to him because he's our team captain!" Max snapped back at the teammate.
Let's just say...the rest of the game after that didn't go so well. The Ninjago High Dragons managed to get one more goal that Justin scored, but other than that, the team wasn't listening to their team captain and they lost 2-7.
Justin was packing up his things to leave. He wanted to leave badly after what happened. He was picked by the coach to be the team captain, but the team didn't even respect him.
"Hey Justin," Max said as he walked up to his friend. He noticed Justin's expression and knew that Justin was blaming himself. "It's not your fault. Plus, it was just a game. It doesn't matter if we win or lose. We're playing to have fun."
"I don't even know why the coach picked me to be the team captain!" Justin finally snapped. "The team doesn't repsect me and won't listen to me!"
"They'll come around. You were picked because you're the best player and know the game better than anyone on the team. You even studied the rules."
"That was because at one point, I considered getting certified to become a referee."
"Because you love the game so much. Don't give up because our teammates aren't the fondest of elemental masters. Remember, ninja never quit."
Justin gave a small smile. "Ninja never quit." The two friends fist bumped, grabbed their things, and started to head out. They would have to try to get the team to respect who their coach be to be the captain. I mean, the team couldn't be against Justin all season, right?
A/N: I hope you enjoyed! From the ending, you could guess how the rest of the season turned out. Remember to request anything that you would like to see that was mentioned in my next generation storyline or anything that could've happened in the time gaps.