Page 97 of Best Year Ever
Landon: Only trying to help, kid.
Connor: I know, but it’s been 18 years of trying to get me to be a football player. Love you, but it’s not going to happen. Even Del stayed for all 4 years at UCLA, playing soccer the whole time.
Landon: I hear you.
Connor: Princeton practices begin in a week, I’m gonna go all in. Their starting center mid graduated last year, so I could even start as a freshman.
Landon: There’s the Connor I know. Take Princeton all the way.
Connor: Any more feedback from Rawls’ interview since we all talked this afternoon?
Landon: On the whole, the coverage is okay. Wish he had nailed that one answer is the only thing.
Connor: It sucks that he got nervous and forgot the talking points the PR guy gave him.
Landon: He has to stay on the straight and narrow through the draft. Period. All eyes are going to be watching him.
CHAPTER 36
Landon
WEEK THREE OF TRAINING CAMP
Everything’s clicking for the team, with a nice win in our first preseason game at home on Tuesday afternoon. Unfortunately, we also have some painful goodbyes as cuts continue.
The biggest one that impacts my guys is Chad. He’s been a step slow over the first couple weeks of camp, something the coaches don’t miss. It blows, because he’s got so much to offer off the field, but if you can’t keep up with the speed of the top offensive players, you aren’t going to stay on the linebacker roster.
“Man, tough situation,” I say as he cleans out his locker, having gotten the news after the game. “I really appreciate everything you’ve done for me the last three years, for all of us.”
“It’s okay,” he replies. “I’ve been expecting it. I don’t have the pace right now.”
I nod. “What’s next? You going to try to make another team?”
“Nah, I think I’m done on the playing side,” he says. “I’m going to meet with Bruce in a couple of days about starting to coach instead. See if they’ll give me a chance to be an assistant linebacker coach and get my feet wet.”
“You’d be incredible at coaching, Chad. Seriously.”
“Yeah, I think that’s the direction I’m headed.”
Shaking hands, we promise to stay in touch, no matter what happens for him.
In the meantime, we’re all business in our linebacker meetings now. The energy this year is more serious team wide, as well. There’s a sense that our time is coming, all the pieces falling into place with young talent in so many positions.
On Tuesday night, Rori has her first match in the Canada tournament. The fact that she’s the night’s featured match shows how much her celebrity’s grown. And I appreciate that she’s competing on the same continent as I’m practicing, letting me stream the match live from home.
She wins her first match handily, and we FaceTime late that night.
Her face is elated when the call connects. “It feels so great to be playing matches finally after the weeks off,” she says. “One more win and I get to take down Tessa.”
“Take on Tessa, you mean?” I tease.
“Oh no, I’m taking her down,” Rori says fiercely.
We talk about our days a little more, her peppering me with questions about how it works when the defense and offense are tackling each other in practice.
“How in the world do you get to beat up your own teammates and stay friends?” she says with an awed chuckle. “No way is that normal team behavior.”
“Football, babe,” I say. “It’s football.”
