Senior Year Box Set

“I personally will not let that happen again. What I want you all to do is make a similar commitment to yourselves and your teammates. Are you with me on this?” I asked.

“Yes, sir,” most of them responded.

I paused and gave them a look.

“Trying to mumble or nod your way through is simply not going to cut it, guys. If you’re not in this to win it, walk away and look for some other way to occupy your time.

“Let’s try this one more time. Are you with me on this?”

“Yes, sir!”

Thank God. Finally, a collective shout.

“This week’s game is a big one. Eastside has been a thorn in my side since I got here. Personally, I want to beat them like a drum. I want to be able to tell my grandkids about the epic beatdown we’re going to give them. I want to get the taste of last week out of my mouth. If it is to be, it is up to me! Do your job the best you can do, and we will roll over them. I can’t wait to go to Eastside and show them what Lincoln High is capable of.

“No more taking plays off, no more distractions, no more simply expecting to win. Starting today, we recommit ourselves to winning state. Today, we take personal responsibility. Today, we become what we have dreamed of. It all starts today. Now, go get ready for practice,” I said to dismiss them.

I could see they had a fire in their eyes as they moved off. They now had a look of quiet determination to them, which was exactly what I wanted. Wolf and Tim were giving me funny looks.

“What?”

“If that doesn’t work, they’ll never get their heads out of their butts. I bet they would run through walls for you after that,” Wolf said.

“Too much?” I asked.

“Hell, no! That was precisely what they needed,” Tim said emphatically.

Wolf nudged me, and his chin pointed to the side. The coaching staff was huddled up. It seemed they’d snuck in to hear what I had to say to the team. I just shrugged and got dressed for practice.

◊◊◊

Instead of looking at last week’s film, the coaches decided to run a regular practice. The coaches seemed to be as fired-up as we were.

“What was that!?!” Coach Mason screamed.

I’d thrown a fade to Roc, and he’d dropped the ball.

“That was my fault, Coach. I hit him in the hands. Next time I’ll stick it in his face mask so it might get stuck for the completion,” I said.

Sweetness and light were not what these guys needed now.

“This I have to see. Run it again,” Coach Mason barked.

Roc had dropped several passes in the last game. This time I ripped it, and he got his hands up out of self-protection. I was surprised when he caught the ball.

“Is he going to have to tear your head off for you to catch it?” Coach Mason asked Roc.

“No, sir. I’ll catch it,” Roc glared back, finally showing some backbone.

“Run it again.”

We ran it until Roc got his confidence back and began to catch the ball like we all knew he could. I was glad to see it wasn’t just me who’d had problems last week.

◊◊◊

I was sitting in one of the conference rooms watching film with Coach Mason when Jeff Delahey walked in without his cameraman.

“Sorry to interrupt, but I wanted to give you a heads-up. The show will air on SportsTV starting this week.”

“Are you starting with football, or are you covering the baseball stuff?” I asked.

“We’re starting with the Michigan camp. I took out all the unnecessary stuff with the sign-in. It was a bush-league move to create drama where there shouldn’t have been any.”

“Thanks, Jeff. I was afraid that once they got their hands on it, we might not be happy.”

“I think you’ll like it. My bosses love it. They’re pushing for me to follow you around once you get to college.”

“Bite me,” I said and laughed.

“I told them you wouldn’t go for it.”

“The NCAA is already looking to find something on me. I don’t need you to give them anything.”

“No problem. Oh, and I wanted to thank you for letting us film your talk with the team. It added something that was missing from the documentary.”

I turned to Coach Mason.

“He likes to call it a documentary. I think he needs to call it what it is: reality TV.”

Jeff had heard it before and just let Coach Mason and me work on this week’s opponent.

◊◊◊

When I got home, I found Cassidy talking to my dad as he made dinner.

“When are you going to come back to the dojo?”

“Nice to see you too, Cassidy,” I said to deflect.

“Mr. Dawson, I apologize in advance for what I’m about to do to your son,” Cassidy said and then stood up.

“Holy shit, Batman. Slow your roll. I’ll go with you on Wednesday,” I said, backing up.

“Why not tomorrow?”

“I promised Tracy I’d help her shoot a video.”

Tracy should count herself lucky. If she’d asked me this week, I would have turned her down. What might be the most significant thing Uncle John had taught me was that you kept your commitments. Plus, it might even be fun. At the very least, I would get to eat desserts.

“Okay, but if you skip out, I’ll find you every day until you show up,” she threatened.