Bill tossed the ball to Nolan, who ran it in for the score.
To this point, they’d just been having fun tossing the ball around, but now David was explaining what worked and what didn’t.
When they were done, he gathered his skill players around to get their thoughts.
“I’m worried I might either throw the ball away or a defender will pick it off,” Nolan said.
“Most times, the ball will only be tossed once. But I remember reading a stat that if the ball changes hands
more than three times, you are assured of scoring 90% of the time.
“But if you aren’t sure, just let them tackle you,” David said.
“We have four more days to practice this. Let’s make them all count,” Bill said. “You’ll become more comfortable the more you do it.”
“Remember, Notre Dame has no idea we’re planning this. If we can run it against our defense, and they know it’s coming, it will be ten times easier on Saturday,” Chuy said.
With that, David ended the practice.
◊◊◊
Greg had taken Cassidy to her checkup, and the docs had let her take her sling off. Since she could now take care of herself, he made some excuses to go talk to his brother.
He found David lifting before practice.
“What’s up?” David said as he lounged casually against the wall while waiting for one of the machines.
“I need to ask you a big favor,” Greg said as his eyebrows arched mischievously.
David stood up straighter, suddenly interested in what his brother had to say.
“Joey and I have decided to take the plunge and get married. We want to go to Vegas over Christmas when you’re in Alabama. We want you to watch Kyle, Mac, and Nate while we have a Vegas honeymoon.”
David wrapped his arms around his brother. David knew they’d vacillated back and forth about moving forward with the engagement. Greg had given Joey a ring last summer, and they’d spent a week in Hawaii, but they hadn’t set a firm date because he’d gotten cold feet.
But after thinking about it, he wasn’t going to let his ex, Angie, keep him from marrying the woman he loved. His ex
had soured him on marriage, and he hadn’t been sure if he wanted to do it again.
“You know Mom will have your head if she isn’t invited.
What do Joey’s parents think about you running off to Vegas?” David asked.
“I spent all that money on a first wedding, and what did it get me? And anyway, Joey isn’t the type to want all that.
We figured we would slip off and do it and then have a big party on New Year’s Day. You’re the only one we plan to tell,” Greg said as he saw his brother wince at that last part.
Poor David would be disowned if their mom ever found out.
“It’s your funeral, but I’ll keep your secret,” David promised and then added, “I’ll talk to Scarlet and have her line up some help to watch all the munchkins. I’m not making the mistake of thinking I can watch yours and mine on my own. If I remember correctly, she said she had some cousins coming. They might be willing to make a little money babysitting.”
A flash of humor crossed Greg’s face. He and his brother had ‘volunteered’ to watch all their kids on more than one occasion when David was still in high school. It allowed all the baby mamas a chance for a night out. How none of the kids had died still puzzled him.
What made it worse was that Kyle and Mac were two and a half years older than David’s kids. When they got together, David’s little ones wanted to do what the bigger kids were doing. A five-year-old had way more coordination than a two-and-a-half-year-old, and Mac was taking tumbling. She showed David’s kids that she could do a back bend walkover, which had been a disaster for frustrated toddlers.
The funny part was that David’s bunch were all doing it three weeks later. His mom said that Carol and Coby
helped each other until they could do it, and they then taught the other three.
Nana Dawson had put the fear of God into Mac and made her promise not to show off in front of her cousins.
Greg swore that kids were made of rubber because some of the falls they took would have put him in the hospital, so he agreed with his mother.
The problem was that they all knew Mac couldn’t help showing off. At some point, there would be real tears when one of them got hurt.
“I hope she has a lot of cousins because we both know they will all go in different directions if you’re left alone to watch them.”
David nodded his agreement.
“Let me have Megan set you up in Vegas as my wedding gift,” David said. “Have Joey talk to her about what shows and stuff you want to see.”
“That would be great! Thanks,” Greg said as he hugged his brother.
“Dawson! I hope you are not wasting my time,” Tank, David’s strength and conditioning coach, called out.
“You better go,” Greg said.
David shrugged and went to work out.
◊◊◊
He’d finished his project for his film class and was showing it to Tracy to get her feedback.
The documentary began with David’s high school football exploits. It listed all his awards and the records he’d set to become the number one recruit his senior year.
Then it showed what he’d done in college ball and his breakout first game that generated Heisman talk.
That was when David inserted the requisite twist the assignment asked for.
“You would think, with all you have seen, that I was destined to lead USC to an undefeated season. After all, when I start games, I don’t lose. I don’t say that to be cocky; I say that because it’s a fact.
“But I learned some hard truths. College ball is a lot harder than high school. Every freshman in my recruiting class was ‘the man’ in high school. They all thought they would come in and be hundred-yard rushers per game or catch ten balls a game and become a thousand-yard receiver for the season.
“Look around college football, and you’ll find only a handful who hit it lucky and are even starters,” David said, then paused to let that settle in.
“In my first college game, I received a concussion. It wasn’t long after that that the coach decided I was redshirting, which meant I could only play in four games this year. Each team is only guaranteed twelve games. I’d just been told I would only be able to play in a third of those.
“That was when reality set in, and I want to share this advice with every high school player planning to play ball at the next level. Your best move is to set your ego aside because you aren’t going to be ‘the man’ when you step onto campus, no matter how good you are.
“You need to focus on learning how to impact the game to win. Coaches love to say that winning is hard, and they’re right. So stop focusing on patting yourselves on the back. They’re not looking for players who have a lot of flashy stats. Don’t focus on the wrong stuff. Focus on the little things that impact winning.
“Stuff like knowing what your job is and executing it.
Don’t cut it off at nine if you’re a receiver and asked to do a ten-yard down-and-out. Or if you’re a linebacker, and the play is going away from you, and it looks like you won’t make the play … don’t slow up. Run hard until you hear the
whistle. When you get the opportunity to be on the field, give it your all.