Page 41 of Hot Four Teacher
If I try to act all high and mighty, they’re going to see right through me. And they’ll eat me alive.
Maybe I can try a different approach.
“Alright. I know we already know each other, so I think we can skip the pleasantries. I’m not going to lie to you. I don’t know a ton about soccer.”
That earns me a ton of eye rolls and heavy sighs.
Trying to get them back on my side, I go on, “Because of that fact, I’m going to need your help.”
That seems to get the attention of a couple of them.
“The past couple of years, you ladies had a pretty decent record so whatever you were doing was working. I’m not here to reinvent the wheel. I’m here to listen to your input, and we can all try to tweak things to make the team better.”
A sophomore named Eve is the first to speak. “So, you wantourinput?”
She seems shocked.
“Why wouldn’t I? You guys are the ones actually playing the game. Not me.”
“Our last coach hated everything we were doing and tried to change all of it.”
“Well, I’m your coach now.”
Good lord, that sounded cheesy.
I try to recover “Look, my job here is to bring you guys together and keep this team moving forward. We’ll have good days and bad, but we’ll get throughthem all together. Now, why don’t we start practicing? You ladies can show me what you’ve got.”
That gets them all to jump up, ready to get to work.
Okay, then. Let’s go.
***
A few hours later, I’m back home, lounging in my recliner and willing myself to go take a shower.
Soccer practice was exhausting.
And I wasn’t even the one practicing.
I told them to do what they typically would during practice, and they did. But they also talked ninety miles a minute, yelled at each other, and ran every single idea past me.
At times, I found myself running up and down the field with them to get a better look at what they were doing. I wouldn’t say that I’m in terrible shape. Am I as fit as I was as a Marine? No. I have a bit of a dad bod now. But I still try to stay active as much as I can.
Apparently, that’s not enough to keep up with a bunch of high school girls.
Go figure.
I’m glad I have a couple of days off to recover. Once we move onto six days a week filled with games and practices, I’m sure the exhaustion will be even worse.
Lord, what did I get myself into?
I reach for the remote, but it’s just out of arm’s length.
Fuck it. I didn’t need to watch TV anyway.
I could probably fall asleep right here and now.
“Go shower,” I mumble, trying to will myself to stand up.
