EXT: view of a suburban house.
INT: We see the kitchen and dining room table separated by a countertop. A staircase to the second story of the house is in the background. ANGELA is in the kitchen preparing breakfast. GAVIN is seated at the table looking at his phone eating breakfast.
OWEN walks into the kitchen in a bad mood, grabs a glass of orange juice from the fridge and a plate before walking to the table.
ANGELA
Morning sweetie, glad you and your dad are home already. Any plans for your day off from the team?
OWEN
(grumbles)
ANGELA
Sweetie, I know you’re upset that you didn’t start last night, but you had started 11 matches in a row before that. Did you expect to start every match the rest of the season?
OWEN
(grumbles louder than before)
GAVIN
It was nice to see Mr. Ring get a start, and that goal!
OWEN
(grumbles even louder than before)
OWEN gets up and walks out of the back door
ANGELA
I hope that glass makes it back here
(Laugh Track)
Josh comes down the stairs, he’s in a black polo shirt and dark slacks. (Audience Applause)
JOSH
Hey honey, did Owen come down already?
ANGELA
Yeah, he’s already left
GAVIN
And he took a glass
JOSH (shakes head)
I was hoping to get a chance to talk to him about last night. He ignored me on the bench until I told him to sub into the match. Then post match I had to quickly have chat GPT work out some language for the obvious press conference questions.
ANGELA
Could you not sit next to him on the plane?
JOSH grabs a coffee mug and pours coffee into it.
JOSH
He was sitting with Brandan and when I came back there he put his airpods in.
GAVIN
That’s how I’d treat you if you benched me
(Laugh Track)
JOSH
I’m going to head over to Davy’s for a bit and chat about the match.
GAVIN
What do you and Davy talk about?
JOSH
Mostly how well the horseshoe shape turned out when we had the ball. Remember little pup, that’s always the most important part of soccer. Maintain the horseshoe. (ruffles GAVIN’s hair)
JOSH leaves while still holding the coffee mug
ANGELA
(sighs) What is it with this family and taking dishes out of the house? What are your plans for the day Gavin?
GAVIN
I need to figure out what a horseshoe looks like
(Laugh Track)
END SCENE
INT: Den, decorations on the walls. There’s a large Austin FC flag hanging on the back wall. OWEN is sitting in an overstuffed IKEA chair while Alex stands next to a wet bar on the back wall. There’s a neon sign with the logo for Tuplapukki above it.
OWEN
Thanks for letting me stop by Mr. Ring
ALEX
You can call me Alex, we’re teammates. The whole “Mr Ring” thing makes me feel old, and we only made you do that last year because you were a minor.
(Laugh Track)
Speaking of, you’re 18 now, want a beer? I have Tuplapukki on tap (points to kegerator and drafts one for himself).
OWEN
No thank you Mr.-er Alex. I’ve never had any beer, let alone Tukalpukkulli
(Laugh Track)
ALEX
It’s the most popular beer in my homeland. A beer the morning after the match is a tradition where I come from. It’s a reminder that life continues even after the game.
OWEN
Is that how you deal with having my father as a coach?
ALEX (laughing as he sits in the other chair)
No, if that were my means of dealing with your dad I’d have a belly and be of no use to the team.
(Laugh Track)
You know what the most important part of being a professional soccer player is? It’s the professional part. To quote Everlast from the Cypress Hill track (Rock) Superstar. “Yeah it’s a fun job, but it’s still a job.”
OWEN
So you just…show up and do your best even if it doesn’t matter?
ALEX
It all matters OWEN, all of it. Every pass, every shot, every tackle. You don’t get that yet because you haven’t figured out the interconnectedness of a team. It’s all linked together in the great system that is soccer.
OWEN
Like how we have to work together to make the perfect soccer shape: the horseshoe
ALEX
Owen, it’s very important for you to learn this: when it comes to the horseshoe, your dad is wrong
OWEN’s eyes go wide, camera zooms in
OWEN
Tell me more
INT: Den, a large couch centers the room. There’s pennants on the back wall for Sporting KC, Montreal Impact, DC United, Houston Dynamo, and Austin FC. DAVY and JOSH are sitting on the couch and holding notepads as they watch the match.
DAVY
That’s a beautiful horseshoe. Just gorgeous
JOSH
Right? Why can’t we do that all match? The shape, the passing tree, it’s perfection. Gregg would be so proud, I’m going to text him.
DAVY
He’s busy Josh, it’s an international break and he has to coach against soccer powerhouses Uzbekistan and Oman.
JOSH
You’re right. He needs to fully focus his energy there. It’s not like these matches were scheduled to disingenuously boost his record or anything.
DAVY picks up a remote and turns off the TV
DAVY
Did you get a chance to talk to Owen?
JOSH
No, he was up and out of the house before I got downstairs. Were we like this when we were 18?
DAVY
He’ll probably be fine as long as he doesn’t do a photoshoot jumping around in a mesh tank top
(Laugh Track)
JOSH
I’m being serious Davy. I’m not just his father but his coach. I’m trying to impart real wisdom to him about not just soccer, but about life. He’s just starting his journey and he has so many options in front of him. I just want him to make the right one, like passing back to the goalkeeper. It’s always the best choice.
(Laugh Track)
DAVY
He’s just a kid learning his way, he’ll come back.
JOSH
I hope so, his mom still does his laundry
(Laugh Track)
INT: Wolff home, JOSH is sitting in OWEN’s room. It’s decorated like a teenager’s room with posters. He has a small trophy case with trophies and medals. JOSH is looking at one when OWEN walks in
OWEN
Uh, hi “coach”
JOSH
Owen, where were you today?
OWEN
I went to Alex’s
JOSH
What’s that smell, were you drinking?
OWEN
I had one beer, a Tuplapukki.
JOSH
You’re slurring your words!
OWEN
It was one beer! And then he told me about the horseshoe, it’s not the best shape in soccer, it’s not even the best marshmallow in Lucky Charms.
(Laugh Track)
JOSH
I know you don’t mean that, you love Lucky Charms, that’s just the Tuplapukki talking
(Laugh Track)
JOSH and OWEN look at each other and stand a few feet away, they both look emotional.
JOSH
I didn’t get a chance to explain things last night. I want the best for you and sometimes that is making tough decisions as your coach and your father.
OWEN
I know that, it’s an incredibly tough job that you excel at, if you didn’t you wouldn’t have already gotten that big contract extension. I just want to be on the field and help the team win.
JOSH
I want that too! That’s why I switched our system and started playing a DP out of position to fit you into the line up. But you need to know you’re not always going to start.
OWEN
Ok dad, but I can at least still stand around and not affect the game at all when I’m on the field, right?
JOSH
Of course you can
JOSH and OWEN hug, ANGELA is walking by and peeks her head into the room, Gavin is next to her.
ANGELA
That’s My Pack!
JOSH/OWEN/GAVIN
*howl*
END EPISODE