One for the Team is about fourteen-year-old Omar. He is a substitute on the Brage team, usually an unused substitute. If the audience is the twelfth man, Omar is the thirteenth. A spectator who is also a player, or a player who is really just a spectator. Today is the final match of the season, against the bullies from Cement—a team to fear, a match to dread.

Omar has kept his status as a mostly unused substitute a secret from his parents. They believe that Omar is a regular on the team and always involved in the game. But that secret is about to unravel on the last day of the season. And father and son will come to see each other in a new light.

One for the Team is a small but meaningful story about youth football and the philosophy of the substitute. It’s touching, funny, and occasionally tender, especially for those of us who have, at some point, warmed the bench. And for those still warming it today.