Junior Year Box Set

“It’s that mindset that he’s using to beat you. He thinks he’ll win, and so he does. You have to decide that you’ll win against him. Believe me when I tell you that David has your best interest at heart, and he’ll put your dick in the dirt to make you better. King High School will try to intimidate you and get in your head. I’m here to tell you that if you can get off the line against David, you can stick it to them. So quit letting David beat you. Every one of you can get off the ball against him, and I’ll show you how.

“The key is to be patient. Get your left foot up and your right foot back and get into a nice balanced position. Get up here, Roc, and show them what I mean,” Coach Mason said.

He had Roc get into his starting stance.

“The first move we’re going to work on is called the speed rush. We use this for defensive backs that are really aggressive. I think you all experienced that,” he said, and smiled at me. “When he comes straight at you, my counter is to step to the side and use your hands to help him along, and then speed release upfield.”

“Like Cassidy teaches in Tai Chi,” Wolf said.

“Exactly!” I said, becoming excited. “Coach Hope’s daughter teaches us not to take on force directly, but to redirect it.”

“Do it half-speed so everyone can see it,” Coach Mason said.

I came at Roc again, and he sidestepped me, pushed me to the side, and was off to the races.

“Okay, everyone try it one time at three-quarters speed,” Coach Mason ordered us. “David, this is a coaching moment.”

I just grinned and let them all beat me.

“They’ll mix it up when they get beat with that move. Instead of rushing in to make contact, they’ll be patient and use their quick feet to hold their ground. What they want you to do is to commit your move early, and then they’ll react. To beat this, you have to close the gap and go straight at them. Once you’re close enough, use the same move to push the defensive back one way or the other, and then release around them.”

They didn’t get it, but I had been to enough camps that I understood what Coach Mason was trying to explain. I had Wolf line up, and kept my feet moving so I could glide either left or right. Wolf made his move at the line like he had before, and I was able to slip over and get in front of him. I then switched with Wolf. On the snap, I ran right at Wolf, and when we started to come together, I popped his pads and stepped around him. It was fun to see the light bulbs go on for about half of them.

We ran that drill three times before everyone understood what was supposed to happen. Coach Mason also taught them what he called the ‘double jab move’ for the more patient defensive backs. Ty had it mastered after the first try. You stepped in one direction, faked to the other, and then you used the defensive back’s bite on your fake to push him that way and get around him. It resembled a dance step: left, jab right and then left again. Ty had been using similar moves as he danced in the hole while running.

“Okay. Now I want David four yards off the ball. The techniques are the same, but you have to close the gap and then make your move once he’s right in front of you,” Coach Mason said.

Coach Mason had me go back to quarterback and put the whole thing together. He’d taught them how to create separation and get a step on the defensive back. When they started to put moves on our defensive backs and come free, I would feed them the ball. As I watched, they began to remind me of Bill from last year. Now if they could learn to catch as well as he did, we’d be unbeatable.

The difference between what Coach Mason taught us and Coach Diamond’s approach was that Coach Diamond relied on us to run precise routes to get open. Coach Mason wanted us to win the battles to get free. We would need both to beat King, but this gave us one more option to use. Everyone was excited when practice ended.

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After practice, I took Pam to the bank, with Cassidy and Brook riding along. Mom had stopped in earlier and set up an account for Pam. Pam needed to sign the signature card. She’d receive a debit card in a few days. We used the drive-through because the office wasn’t open, and she completed what was needed. We were then off to the dojo.

Coach Mason had arranged to stay at Coach Hope’s house, and the entire coaching staff planned to go over for dinner. It sounded like the perfect evening for a bunch of coaches to tell stories.

Fritz didn’t have anyone to spar with, because both Coaches Hope and Zoon were with Coach Mason.

“I think David’s no longer a danger to you,” Cassidy said. “He needs to spar with someone more his size.”

Fritz was six feet tall and weighed more than I did; he had maybe twenty pounds on me. We pulled out our practice Bo staffs and faced off. I’d run each morning with a much heavier staff than I held now, and my wrists, hands, and forearms were stronger.