Kicking Goals

By Shirley Deuchrass

Jack lives on a farm in southern New Zealand. He's the youngest of five children, is shy and doesn't like school. When there's time between chores, he plays rugby with his three brothers in the paddock in front of the house. One day, he has a dream which changes his life forever.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Austin Macauley Publishers
• Release date: May 31, 2018
• ISBN: 9781788787413

Shirley Deuchrass

Shirley Deuchrass was born in Dunedin, New Zealand, and grew up on a farm in South Otago. She was educated in Dunedin, where she developed a love for writing. Although her first career path was nursing, she gained a BA in English at Otago University in 2003 and began writing in earnest. Many of her poems grace the pages of Blackmail Press, PoetryNZ and Takahe magazines. A collection of poems was published in a book in 2010 titled River Calls Me Home. Shirley’s writing history includes a self-published children’s novel called Isabella’s Diary in 2005 and several biographical titles. She is married, with four children and seven grandchildren and currently lives in Wanaka, New Zealand.

Book preview

About the Author

Shirley Deuchrass was born in Dunedin, New Zealand, and grew up on a farm in South Otago. She was educated in Dunedin, where she developed a love for writing. Although her first career path was nursing, she gained a BA in English at Otago University in 2003 and began writing in earnest.

Many of her poems grace the pages of Blackmail Press, PoetryNZ and Takahe magazines. A collection of poems was published in a book in 2010 titled River Calls Me Home.

Shirley’s writing history includes a self-published children’s novel called Isabella’s Diary in 2005 and several biographical titles.

She is married, with four children and seven grandchildren and currently lives in Wanaka, New Zealand.

Dedication

For my grandchildren—may they achieve their goals with confidence.

Copyright Information©

Shirley Deuchrass (2018)

The right of Shirley Deuchrass to be identified as author of this work has been asserted by her in accordance with section 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publishers.

Any person who commits any unauthorised act in relation to this publication may be liable to criminal prosecution and civil claims for damages.

A CIP catalogue record for this title is available from the British Library.

ISBN 9781787107878 (Paperback)

ISBN 9781788787413 (E-Book)

www.austinmacauley.com

First Published (2018)

Austin Macauley Publishers Ltd.

25 Canada Square

Canary Wharf

London

E14 5LQ

Acknowledgements

My writer’s group in Dunedin for their continued support and friendship.

Thank you to my readers at Warepa School for their feedback.

Thanks to Austin Macauley’s team for their support and keeping their faith in me.

Foreword

It isn’t often in the world of fiction that we are given insights into the forces that shape the lives and personalities of the adolescent male. It is one of the most under-researched issues in human development. Boys have always been under pressure—from parents, particularly fathers—who so often feel a compulsion to impose the same harsh physical and mental strictures on their sons that they grew up with. Emotions are suppressed. Feelings, not least those about his own place in a family or school or, ultimately, in the wider society in which he must live, are often subject to forces he can’t understand. It is exceptionally hard for a boy to find his way toward self-assurance and many grow up with an acute confidence problem. That problem is all too evident in the personal despair and sometimes suicidal responses of so many teenagers who can see no other prospects ahead of them.

This book is an exploration of that awful dilemma. It is also a celebration of personal achievement by one boy through the medium of rugby. In ‘Kicking Goals’ Shirley Deuchrass has skilfully reimagined a family story that ends in self-realisation for a brother who has suffered under the weight of under-achievement, the austere regimes of farm and school life, where the twin evils of repression and bullying reign supreme. The prospect emerging from this is one of never being really good at anything. It is a syndrome that many readers will easily recognise and it persists to this day. ‘Kicking Goals’ is a universal story and yet it is a deeply personal and local one, full of the details and foibles of family and school life. It shows, above all, that self-belief can be attained in unusual ways and that when confidence comes, it can be a revelation.

Chris Laidlaw

New Zealand Broadcaster, columnist, author, Regional Councillor, sports commentator and former Rhodes Scholar, Ambassador All Black and MP

Author’s Note

My aim in writing this story is to encourage young people to follow their dreams. The importance of self-confidence is paramount and often under-estimated in life.

Many of the people in this book are based on real people; Jack McCulloch on Jack McNab. The account of events are as accurate as I can make them; although, not necessarily in the correct order.

However, I have tried to portray the language and attitudes of the time as a good comparison from today.

Chapter 1

I Hate School

Wednesday, 18th December 1935

I hate school. I hate it. I’d rather be outside. Today, when Miss Gardiner asked us to write a story about trees in New Zealand, I couldn’t remember how to spell their names.

Jack, she said, Stop daydreaming and start writing.

The sash window was open and I could hear the sheep bleating—hundreds of them. Dad said he was taking a mob down the road from the top paddocks today. I knew it was him. They were all making such a din: dogs barking, sheep bleating. I could almost taste the dust they would be making, and I could smell the freshly cut grass from the schoolyard. I wanted to be outside. Running outside. Running away from school and chasing the sheep down the road with Brown, Spot and Meg. Running, running and running.

I could see the teacher walking towards me. I dipped my pen in the ink well and blotted the drop of ink on the end.

Jack, stop fidgeting and make your letters bigger. These are far too small. We’ll all need a magnifying glass to see them.

The same thing she always says. I could hear my father whistling to the dogs.

Jack, if you’re going to daydream, get up and stand in the corner. You can do your schoolwork at home tonight.

Yes, Miss Gardener.

I did what she asked, turning my face to the wall to hide my embarrassment. Dad will ask me why I’ve got homework tonight and he won’t be pleased. Mum won’t be happy either.

I’m no good at school. It’s boring. I like being outside and I like sport, especially rugby. Jimmy and I did some passing practise after school. I like to pretend that we’re in the ‘All Blacks’, as we throw the leather football to each other and run up and down the paddock.

In the evening, my parents made me recite tables. I got some wrong and had to go over and over them until they were perfect.

Why do we have to go to school anyway? I said to Mum. It would be much better for you and Dad if I stayed home to help.

If you can’t count Jack, how will you pay your bills when you’re older? Or how will you know if there’s sheep missing in your flock?

Do you think I’ll be a farmer, Mum?

"Perhaps. But whatever you do, you have to be the best