Do Cool Sh*t by Miki Agrawal Read Free Book Online Page B

that I could get pumped up on the way. I have to admit, I kind of felt like 007.
    When I got to the fields on the first day, there were one hundred girls there, all suited up, with rolled-up ankle tape as headbands (hard-core soccer-chick style) and ready to go. I hadn’t touched a ball in a couple of weeks and was worried I’d have trouble finding my confidence. I reminded myself that I was playing soccer by age three and scoring eleven goals in one game at age eleven and attending national championships by age fourteen. I belonged here. I grabbed a ball and started dribbling down the field, warming up. I was small compared to the other girls but knew my strengths and where I could beat the others. Still, I knew I had to figure out a way to stand out from the rest of the girls. I had to do something different.
    The opportunity came when I spotted the head coach. I walked over to him, knowing that he’s Italian, and said with a smile, “ Io mi chiamo Miki. Come ti chiami? Mi piacciono i ragazzi italiani.” This translates to “My name is Miki. What’s your name? I like Italian men.” I travel a lot and basically learned how to say, “My name is Miki. What’s your name?” and then some sort of pickup line in ten different languages throughout the years. That last line would always make a person laugh, which is such a great icebreaker. People often immediately open up if you can make them laugh.
    Thankfully, the coach laughed, which gave me the opening to say something more. I quickly and passionately told him my story. I asked that he consider me as a strong right-midfield candidate. I told him I had the stamina to handle the entire outside corridor from one end of the field to the other, to both attack and defend, but that I was an even more deadly attacking midfielder. I had good speed and used my small size to my advantage by sneaking past the defense quickly. I wanted him to know that there were significant advantages to having a smaller player on the field. I mean, look at the Spanish national team play the German national team. The Germans are two heads taller, but the small Spaniards turn so much faster with the ball and can cut through opponents with much more ease.
    I thanked him for the opportunity, and I ran off to join the others and made sure to do some dribbling moves with the ball while he was watching. I absolutely had to separate myself from the crowd and get noticed immediately. It didn’t have to be obnoxious; I just had to find the right opportunity when nobody was around so I could plant a seed.
    When he blew his whistle, we all headed out onto the field.
    He immediately called my name because he remembered me from earlier and placed me on the first team. I was so glad I made the move to talk to him (and tell him that I liked Italian men!).
    The scrimmages went really well. I played my heart out, assisted a few goals, and scored one of my own. At the end of the tryout, the coach called my name back for the next tryout. I had made round two!
    I made it through second round and then the third round and amazingly the fourth! And every round until the end of the two months. The day finally came when I got the call from the head coach himself. With a thick Italian accent, he said, “Miki, you made it. Congratulations.”
    I couldn’t believe it. I had made it! Step 1: accomplished. It felt amazing. I called Ahmed and told him first. He was the one who had sat patiently and waited for three hours for the tryouts to be completed and he was the one who drove me back to the bank every night after the tryouts were over at nine. He was overjoyed. Needless to say, I celebrated with the security guards. I had done all this and kept my promise to Bill. I had worked after every tryout until two or three in the morning and had gotten everything I needed to get done at the bank.
    But now what? I had made the team. Do I quit my banking job now?
    I decided to play my first game with the Magic before doing