“Okay, I get it. What do I need to do?” I asked.
Mom and Dad laughed at me.
“Son, we’re not Tami. Your dad and I think you can figure this out yourself,” Mom said.
I was so used to being helped I hadn’t realized how much I had come to rely on it. If we weren’t going to fail this week, it had to start at the top. I had to convince Coach Hope we needed to change, to take advantage of where our strengths were. Butting heads would be playing right into the hands of a more experienced and stronger team.
Something else I realized was how much I appreciated the help Mom and Dad were giving me. Their role in my life was really evolving. Last year they didn’t seem to care what I did with football. Once Mom found out how important it was, she began to pay more attention. Then her cancer struck. Dad seemed to take up the slack. He was the one who got involved when we had the threat from Tommy Cox. He stepped it up when we started the program. He even came with me to Kentucky for football camp.
Their involvement in my life continued to expand since Tami left. I think they also found they had more time to focus on me once Greg moved out. Mom had been a big help with the steroid problems. She had suggested an alternative that kept the situation from escalating. I was lucky to have their support.
AT A QUARTER TO SEVEN, Dad found me.
“You ready?” he asked.
“For what?”
“Didn’t you want to go to Dairy Queen and talk to everyone?” he asked.
I guess Alan had invited everyone. I just shrugged.
“Sure, let’s go.”
The Dairy Queen was packed. I had to park across the street at the strip mall since there were no spots left. I had dropped Dad off, and when I walked over he had a big cone for me. I found him at a table with Coach Hope, Mr. and Mrs. Sullivan, Kendal and Tom. I mingled while I ate my cone. When I was done, I decided to get the meeting started. I had Wolf whistle to grab everyone’s attention.
“I want to apologize to everyone. I’ve let you down in the last few weeks,” I said; everyone looked at me like I’d lost my mind. “I let the drama of what happened with the steroids get me off track. I allowed us to settle for playing JV ball. I let others take our dream of winning state away from us. No more. We will no longer take half-measures. That goes for all of us, not just the football team,” I said.
I had everyone’s attention. I was determined to right this foundering ship.
“Cassidy, get up here,” I ordered.
She came forward. I picked her up and put her on the bench of the picnic table, so everyone could see her.
“This woman has given us a hundred and ten percent effort from day one. She has us in the best shape of our lives. You all know it’s making a big difference in our performance. What I want to know is why no one else is taking advantage of what she’s offering? Just because we’re playing football doesn’t mean we’re off the hook for making sure the wrestling team, basketball teams, baseball teams and the rest are being the best they can be.
“We all sat in my living room this spring and made a commitment to excellence. We want state championships across the board. Why else would people like Tom Dole, my dad, and Mr. and Mrs. Sullivan be working so hard to get us the facilities we need to succeed?” I asked.
They were still not getting it fully.
“My goal tonight was not to yell at you. You’ve all done a great job to this point. What we need to do is focus and not get distracted anymore. We need to start asking ourselves how we can succeed. The first step is to get everyone back into the fold and working out. It’ll pay off in the end. It must become a habit that becomes second nature. Just like studying: if you’re skipping your study groups, you need to get back to it,” I said as I pointed to Ed. He’d gotten a ‘D’ on his history pop quiz last Friday.
“From this point forward, we play to win ... not just to keep from losing,” I said, looking at Coach Hope. “I want you all to go home tonight and find out what you’re passionate about. I think you’ll find winning football games can be very fulfilling. I want you all to win them with me because I plan on winning a lot of them over the next three years,” I finished up.
Cassidy was at just the right height to lean down and kiss me. Everyone laughed when Jim complained I was stealing his girl. I felt better getting everything off my chest. I made a beeline to Coach Hope. I could tell he had mixed feelings, but I no longer cared. We were going to start playing to win and not just trying not to lose, or he’d have to pull me off the field.
I made arrangements to talk to him before school tomorrow. I was proud of my guys when they went to talk to Cassidy to see who was bailing on workouts. They split up the list and started calling people. Uncle John had told me to delegate, so I let them handle it.
Tuesday September 16
NEXT MORNING, I WAS surprised to find Tim outside the coach’s office. Then I remembered he was a captain, too. Coach Hope was joined by the rest of the coaching staff.
“David called me out yesterday. My first reaction was not very charitable. Then I remembered my training in the military. You don’t make assumptions, you gather the facts and then decide on a plan of action. So, I’ll turn the floor over to David, but be warned: I might not agree with your assessment,” Coach Hope told me.
“I want to offer a couple of suggestions. The first is the pace of practice. We’re going too slow, and it’s only benefiting the starters,” I said.
I could see Coach Hope about to interrupt me, but I raised my hand.
“Just let me explain. Over the summer I was exposed to different coaching styles at the camps I attended. One of the men who stood out was Bud Mason. He ran practice with a purpose.
“One example was throwing a simple fifteen yard down-and-out. He had four quarterbacks rotating in with even more receivers. What we do now is I drop back and pass the ball. The receiver catches it and then jogs it back in. We talk about it and then we go again. At camp, as soon as I would throw the ball the next quarterback would be lining up and running the play. There was no pause.
“If I needed coaching, they would have me work one-on-one with someone until I got it. Then I was back into the rotation, and the next guy who needed help went and got his coaching.”
“I just don’t see how that helps. We’ll have six quarterbacks taking snaps. We need the starters to get their reps,” Coach Diamond said.
“Then we have three throwing to the right and three throwing to the left. I might get a fewer reps, but our backups are now getting reps, too.”
“Okay, we can try it and see how it goes. What else?” Coach Hope asked.
“What was it Cassidy taught us about meeting force with force? Coach, I’m sure you trained her and you know what I’m talking about. I’ve been thinking about the Bloomington game. Our weakness is our offensive line. They’re all sophomores except for Jim. Bloomington has all seniors on their defensive line. The game film showed them working over both Wesleyan and Washington. Our present plan is to run into the teeth of their strength.
“I suggest we just run them off the field. They may be bigger and stronger, but we’re in better shape. Plus, we have legitimate division-one talent at receiver and tight end. I say we play to our strengths and hurry them up. Those big boys will be gassed by the end of the first quarter, trying to chase me. Then we can run at them. Hell, we can run over them,” I suggested.
I could see that Coach Hope wasn’t happy, but Coach Diamond was nodding. At least I had someone who would consider it.