Page 95 of 4th Degree

The next hour flies by. These tournaments are always hectic and exhausting, with long rules meetings and dozens of matches throughout the day. Not to mention, constantly being stopped by fellow coaches and old training partners. When I glance at my watch for the fifteenth time and realize Skylar’s match is starting soon, I have to rush through the arena to find Mat Eight.

She’s already there warming up when I duck under the rope blocking off the competitors’ space.

“Alright, you ready?” I ask, stepping up beside her. “All I want you to do is grab hold of her when the match starts, and get her down to the mat with that takedown you like. Don’t overwhelm yourself, just focus on one thing. I’ll talk you through the rest.”

She nods her understanding. But before I can get a read on where her head’s at, the ref calls the two girls onto the mat.

“Let’s go, Skylar! You got this!” I recognize Jax’s and Remy’s voices and feel instantly grateful that Skylar has some gym support from her peers.

The match starts the way most first-time white belt matches start. With both competitors circling, then eventually grabbing a hold of each other, and then spending the next three minutes attempting a takedown.

“Grab her collar, Skylar, try to snap her down!” I’m sitting at the edge of the mat, only three feet away from the competitors, but I’m so amped up that my voice comes out too loud.

Still, Skylar follows my directions. I see her knuckles turn white as she grips the other girl’s gi lapel and tries to drag her to the mat.

“One more time. Let’s try it again, Skylar.”

Again, she yanks down on her opponent. She doesn’t get her to the ground, but she does manage to cause the girl to stumble. I see the moment Skylar’s eyes light up and she capitalizes on the advantage by sticking her foot out and tripping the girl.

It works. She goes down, with Skylar on top of her. Two points for a takedown.

A loud cheer sounds from behind me: the Bulldog team. Glancing at the clock on the table beside me, I see there’re only thirty seconds left of the match.

“Hold your position, Skylar, just hold it for thirty more seconds!”

Though the girl struggles and tries to push her off, Skylar doesn’t budge. Finally, the ref calls time on the match.

Skylar has a huge smile on her face when she stands up. It gets even bigger when the ref raises her hand up in victory.

“Nice job,” I tell her as she steps off the mat. Jax and Remy both lean over the barricade to slap her shoulder in congratulations.

“You’ll have this next match to rest and then you’re up again,” comes the official’s voice from beside me.

“Alright, ten-minute break,” I tell Skylar. “Shake it off and get ready for the next one.” I automatically unscrew the cap on her water bottle and hand it to her. “I want you to do the same thing this next match, but I want you to get that takedown earlier. Go for that leg sooner.”

She nods, taking a small sip of water. Now that her victory has died down and she has to focus on the next match, some of the nerves have come back. I can see them in her face.

“You’re doing great,” I tell her quietly. “I’m so proud of you.”

Some of the tension loosens from her shoulders, and she sends me a tremulous, grateful smile.

“Skylar Vega? You’re up.”

Skylar hands me her water and then steps back on the mat for Match #2. She still looks nervous, but slightly more comfortable than she did fifteen minutes ago.

The match starts the same way her first one did, with both girls unsure of how to get their opponent to the mat, and ending up grabbing hold and yanking each other around.

But halfway into the five-minute match, Skylar’s opponent gets her off balance. And then capitalizes on it the same way Skylar did in her first one.

The ref lifts two fingers for two points. Thankfully, Skylar quickly wraps her legs around the girl’s waist to keep her from scoring any more points.

“Get control of her first, then let’s go for a sweep,” I call out, leaning my weight forward onto my knees. “We’ve got to get some points this time, Skylar.”

To her credit, Skylar tries her hardest to reverse their position. But every time she unlocks her legs to use them for a sweep, her opponent jumps on the opening and tries desperately to get out from between her legs. Twice, she almost gets it. And twice, Skylar has to lock her legs back up and yank down on the girl’s collar so she can’t sit up straight.

For three minutes, Skylar has every muscle engaged as she tries to keep control of her opponent. She’s tiring, I can see it in her eyes and in her body. Her breaths are starting to become choppy from all the energy she’s exerting and from the constant stress of another person’s weight fully on top of her. With only forty-five seconds left, it looks like she might end up too tired to try for a Hail Mary.

But I should know my girl better than that. Skylar would have to be dead to not try her hardest with something that’s important to her.

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