Page 29 of Every Beat of My Heart

I tucked the clipboard under my arm and shook his hand. “Jameson Calloway.”

“Bryce has played quarterback for years, and I expect he’ll play the same position on this team too.”

I rocked back on my heels. “Tryouts haven’t started. I don’t know what the team will look like.”

I braced myself for a rundown of Bryce’s accomplishments, but other kids appeared, and I was busy checking their names off the list. Brian stepped off to the side.

“You’re the coach?” a familiar voice asked when I was looking at the list.

I glanced up. “Owen? This is your school?”

He nodded and swallowed hard.

I checked off his name, then said, “Why don’t you put your things over there and line up? We’re going to run a lap and then stretch to start.”

He nodded but still looked uncomfortable.

“Relax. You’ll do fine.” I didn’t want to play favorites. I would pick the best possible team, and I was nervous because I wasn’t sure how he would measure up against kids who’d played every year when his experience was more sporadic.

I surprised the kids by running a lap with them, then regrouped at the fifty-yard line. I paced the perimeter of their haphazard circle. “How you come out here and work reflects on who you are as a player and a team. I want to see a line running the lap and a tight circle stretching. When we name captains, they will lead the stretches and I want to hear everyone counting.” I paused for effect. “We. Are. A. Team.”

“Not everyone will make it,” Bryce joked.

I held up my hand, and the smiles fell off their faces. “On this field, you will respect me and your teammates. There’s a time and place for joking around but not between three thirty and five thirty p.m. You practice how you play. If you don’t practice with discipline, then I won’t play you on game day. Simple as that.”

“Don’t you have to play the best players?” a larger kid said. I recognized him as Fagan from my homeroom class.

“Hard work trumps talent when talent doesn’t work hard. You may have a natural athletic ability, but if you don’t come out here and work hard, you won’t progress. I want to see drive, discipline, and focus.”

“Sure thing, coach,” Mark, I think it was, said.

I nodded in his direction. “Let’s get to work.”

I’d decided to run them through a typical practice while also timing their speed, logging their throwing ability, and judging their tackles. I got a pretty good feel for each kid, their abilities, their love for the sport, and how good of a teammate they might be. I was looking for more than skill. I wanted to coach a group of kids that wanted to be on the field and had a positive attitude.

Unfortunately, Bryce excelled in all the skills but only after I urged him to focus. His first inclination was to half-ass his way through the drills. I had a feeling he was used to being handed positions because of his father’s interference.

He was skilled, but I was worried his attitude would be a problem for the team. At the end of practice, I pulled him aside. “If I’m going to put you on the team, I need to know that you can lose the attitude.”

“I don’t have an attitude,” Bryce insisted stubbornly.

“I don’t like the energy you’re bringing to practice. No one is better than anyone else. We’re all here to grow. I can make you better, but you have to be willing to listen, to take my advice, and work hard. Can you do that?”

Bryce sighed. “Yes, coach.”

I had everyone huddle up in the middle of the field because there were quite a few parents in attendance. “I’m impressed with how everyone worked today. This was an example of how my practices will go. I don’t tolerate attitude or anyone putting someone else down. I’m all about positivity and growth. If you don’t think you can be positive and support your teammates, this won’t be a good fit.”

No one said anything to that, but there were a few guilty expressions.

“I’m proud of you. You worked hard. Now go home, eat a good meal, and shower. Your parents will thank you.” There was a chuckle at that. “I’ll be in touch about who made the team shortly.”

As the kids walked toward their bags and their parents, I let out a breath. I was in a tough position. Some of the more-skilled players had attitudes. I worried they’d be lazy on the field because they were relying on their talent and not hard work. Then the lesser-skilled players were quick with a word of encouragement for their teammates.

I wondered if I could get through to the first group of kids and turn it around. The challenge had me excited.

Claire sat on the bleachers and said, “I didn’t realize you were the coach,” when I approached.

I let out a breath. “I didn’t either. I never asked what school Owen attended. Maybe I should have.”

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