Page 34 of Koa's Little Girl
“The team guessed I needed to let some steam off. We ran to the new rock-climbing place. I’m standing outside.”
“Go! You can’t let them get ahead of you,” Giana said.
He laughed. She knew him too well. The competition among the team members was fierce in training. They all pushed each other to the highest level. “You won’t be home for a while?”
“I’ve got at least two hours here. Probably three because I’m fielding phone calls as well.”
“I’ll meet you at home.”
“Sounds good. Go have fun,” she urged and hung up before he could say anything else.
Jogging inside, he found the team already scaling the wall in two teams. “A race?” he asked.
“You’re with us, Koa,” Jerico told him, pointing to the empty protective gear waiting for him.
In a flash, Koa donned the harness and strapped his helmet on. He studied the wall and watched Zale already in progress. When he reached too far for his next handhold, Koa yelled, “Go for the red peg, Zale.”
The team’s medic immediately took his advice and shifted to that one. He reached the top a few seconds before Jerico. “Gotcha!” Zale celebrated and scrambled back down to the floor.
As he stepped out of the way, Jerico attacked the wall. Koa scrutinized his style, noting his climbing strength. About halfway, Koa called to Jerico, “Grab the yellow to your right and then step on the blue.”
It would require great hip flexibility for Jerico to stretch a leg up that far, but if he was successful, Jerico could power upward, skipping two steps. Jerico reached for the yellow and missed it. Holding his breath, Koa watched Jerico adjust slightly before shifting his weight. It took a couple of seconds more for the tricky maneuver, but Jerico powered up into the lead and tapped the ceiling.
As soon as Jerico stepped away from the wall, Koa scampered up, making it look effortless. He tapped the ceiling when Max had reached the halfway mark. Koa passed him on the way down and patted his back as the large man powered upward.
“What are you? Part mountain goat?” Max demanded.
“I think we’ve found our rock-climbing expert. That’s an excellent skill for the team,” Caden commented as Koa’s team high-fived each other.
“I grew up climbing rock faces in Hawaii,” Koa said.
“Can you give the rest of us some pointers?” Caden asked. “I’d love to see all of us increase our speed.”
“Of course. The key is capitalizing on our natural talents. For example, Jerico is nimble. He does best when he makes big moves upward—lifting his foot to a step at his collarbone level. That boosts him tremendously instead of taking smaller steps,” Koa explained.
“What’s your advice for me?” Max asked.
“You have massive strength in your shoulders. Reach as high as you can and power upward,” Koa suggested. “Try it.”
Max immediately returned to the wall and jumped to reach a grip with his left hand. He steadied himself with his right hand and then pushed off footholds to propel himself upward. Koa helped him choose suitable targets as Max tried the new system. He reached the top in a much shorter time.
“That’s impressive, Koa,” the big man said when he once again stood with the group. “I would have said I always use my arm strength, but you shifted my grip, forcing me to use my shoulders and back. That was more efficient.”
“Well, do me next,” Caden requested. “What do you suggest?”
One by one, Koa worked with everyone. Each member of the team reduced their time and gained new insight. They’d all done climbing with ropes or scaling flat walls. This was a new format for them to adjust to. Koa helped each make the most of their skills while dangling from finger holds.
By the time Caden called an end to their fun, Koa’s muscles quivered from the intense workout. As everyone moved arms and legs to stretch, Koa was sure he wouldn’t be the only one who would feel the effects of this afternoon. They were getting ready to run back to Koa’s when his phone rang.
“Giana? Are you headed home?”
“I’m actually in the parking lot. When I saw everyone’s car at your house, I thought you might want a ride,” Giana said.
“Giana’s here with her truck. Anybody want a ride?” Koa asked the group.
Everyone looked at Caden. The man in charge of their training was notorious for pushing them hard.
“It’s supposed to be our day off. I think we can hitch a ride,” Caden announced.
