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Go for the Goal!

The Story

Josh is thrilled to be playing for the United, a travel soccer team. He is sure this team of all-stars is going to have a great season. But Josh’s new teammates don’t play like a team. The United’s season is going down in a string of defeats until Josh discovers something about the 1999 United States World Cup team. That group of all-stars worked at being teammates. Maybe their secret will work for the United.

The History

After the United States women’s soccer team lost in the 1995 World Cup finals, they knew they had to do something different to win the World Cup in 1999. The team hired college professor Colleen Hacker to help the players become better teammates. With the help of Dr. Hacker’s interesting (and sometimes wacky) team-building exercises, the player became better friends, a better team, and World Cup champions.

FOR TEACHERS

Writing Prompts/Discussion Questions for students (47.6 KB)

Aligned with Common Core Standards