Junior Year Box Set

He then reached for his phone and sent a text. While we waited, we talked about football.

“Trent tells me you helped him out quite a bit over the last few days. Several of the players have said you taught them skills that will help us this fall. Have you ever considered going into coaching?”

“I try to leave that to the professionals,” I said, playing it off.

“When do you leave for Mexico?”

“Actually, we go to Houston first and then fly to Mexico. I don’t leave for another week.”

“Would you be willing to hold a mini-camp for different positions before you left?” Coach Hope asked.

“As long as I have time to work with Moose and Coach Haskins to keep my baseball skills sharp,” I offered.

Everyone began to arrive, so we agreed to talk about that later. Coach Hope explained why he’d called them in.

“David wants to take Phil, Yuri, and Roc with him to Mexico for his baseball tournament. The issue is that they would all miss the first week of two-a-days. David and I talked when he received the invite to play for the Under-18 Team. I agreed that if he made it, he would be excused for missing the week. It’s a great opportunity, and he’ll be representing his country, two things I’m in favor of.

“He came to me and explained that the batgirl on his team wouldn’t be available for this next round of play because her brother didn’t make the team. They asked David to see if he would try to find someone to fill the role. When he told me who he wanted to ask, I explained that I would have a problem if they missed the week of practice. I told him I would suspend them for the first game.

“David said he wanted to make a case for not suspending them if they didn’t practice,” Coach Hope said.

“I don’t think you should make an exception, even if it is for David,” Alan said.

“Let’s hear him out,” Moose said to shut Alan down.

Of all the people in the room, he was the last I would have imagined would possibly bend a rule.

“Thank you, Mr. Moose.”

So sue me; I’m a teenager. The other coaches made Moose tell them the story of what happened at sign-in.

“… and this smartass calls me ‘Mr. Moose.’”

“Everyone else had Coach this or that on their shirts. His just said, ‘Moose.’ I simply assumed he was mister. I’ve always been told to respect my elders.”

“You’re not helping your case,” Moose warned.

“I guess I’d better get to it. The three teammates that I asked to go to Mexico are Phil, Roc, and Yuri. I told them that if they helped out with Team USA, they might be suspended for the first game, but they want to go anyway. I’m hoping that they won’t be suspended if they do.

“First of all, Phil is my half brother and is family,” I said and was interrupted by Alan.

“I didn’t think you even liked the kid.”

“It turns out he’s a good guy; I just didn’t know him. Something I’ve learned the hard way is I have to pick my friends carefully,” I said, looking Alan in the eyes.

It was clear he was going to be a problem, and I wasn’t going to let his passive-aggressive behavior continue.

“Alan, if you have a problem with me, we’ll talk afterward. This doesn’t have anything to do with you, it’s a team matter.”

“You don’t consider me part of the team?” he asked incredulously.

“Like I said, you and I can talk privately. Now is not the time or place.”

“Are you going to let him talk to a coach like that?” Alan asked Coach Hope.

“Oh, dear God! Are you telling on me?” I asked in mock horror.

“David,” Coach Hope warned.

“Fine … where was I? Phil. Phil joined the rest of the guys in my family on a fishing week, and he and I have gotten to know each other better. We agreed to spend more time together so we could build a relationship. I’m hoping this trip will go a long way toward that end.

“The first week of two-a-days is about weeding out who shouldn’t be there, and then we focus on conditioning. During our independent summer drills, these three guys have been learning the new offense and defense, and they’re all well-conditioned at this point. I’m confident they’ll be up to speed when they get back,” I said.

“It’s not the same as working with the team,” Coach Rector said.

“I agree. I realize that you and Coach Mason will be much better teachers than I will ever be. And I recognize that it’s important that we mesh as a team, but this is an unusual circumstance. Having the three of them with me will help me prepare, and in turn, I can help them.”

“You plan to get them ready?” Coach Rector asked.

“Do you have any doubt that I’ll be ready when I get back?” I asked.

They all knew how hard I worked and that I would quickly get back into the swing of playing at a high level. I’d shown that by going toe-to-toe with three of the best high school quarterbacks this week.

“I have no doubt,” Coach Hope said, coming to my defense. “And I’m sure that if you take on the responsibility for the three players in question, they’ll be ready to play. But I believe they would be even better if they attended two-a-days. Let us talk and get back to you.”