Team Manager COACH!
Chapter 6
“YOU GUYS HAVE really been working,” Dennis said to the cheerleaders Monday afternoon. “Gotta say, I’m impressed.” He’d just taken them through their core exercises and they had all improved in the week since he started them.
“You know, the conditioning exercises we’re getting with you in the evening are doing good things for us as well,” Janet said. “I’m certainly firming up.”
“And you’re all a real inspiration to the team,” Dennis said. “You know they like having you lead cheers for them, but that activity is focused on the fans. You’re really showing that you’re cheering for the athletes.”
“It’s fun,” Sara said. “And looking at some of those guys while they’re working out is fun, too.” The group giggled a bit.
“I was wondering if we could turn some of our conditioning exercises into routines,” Dennis suggested. “Remember what I did Friday with the lunges? More of a dance than just doing pushups. You cheerleaders would be a lot better at designing those than I would. You know most of the exercises now; how about helping design some routines?”
“Oh, cool! Dancercise!” Rae said.
“Sort of,” Dennis answered. “I did look online at several dancercise type videos this summer while Brenda and I were doing our class work. They’re great aerobic exercises, but I want to turn some of the strength exercises into something fun. I think people get most discouraged when I have them hit the dirt and do pushups, but those kinds of exercises are vital to building the strength needed to propel the body, jump, throw, and lift.”
“I get it,” Janet said. “Let’s take a quick look at some of the basic exercises that you’re talking about and see how they connect. The key element would be making repetitive movements interesting. If we mix them together, it becomes a routine. We’d still be doing the same exercises, but not necessarily all the reps of one exercise then switching to another.”
“Yeah. That’s what I mean. Thanks!”
Tuesday morning, Natalie arrived five minutes after Dennis’s mom and sister left. They wasted no time getting in bed together.
“Wouldn’t it be nice if all we had to do was eat, sleep, and make love?” she sighed as he sank into her.
“And play basketball?” Dennis said, nibbling on her ear.
“Yeah, that. And hang out with our other girlfriends. You know,” she giggled.
“Don’t you think you’d get tired of my cock constantly plunging in and out of your pussy?”
“Stop that! I’m not tired of it right now. Let me dream about non-stop lovemaking for a while,” she said, thrusting up at him.
He renewed his thrusting and they mounted to their first climax. It was nice to imagine making love to Natalie all the time. And Brenda. And Amy. And Judith. And Tori. And Roberta and Daniella. If he was doing right by all of them, he would be making love all the time.
“Are Roberta and Daniella going to stay with us?” he asked as they basked in the afterglow. Natalie gave him little kisses all around his mouth, never quite touching his lips completely.
“You noticed? They already have a bad case of senioritis and school doesn’t even start until next Monday. They aren’t like Brenda. They’ve got their eye on State and playing a season with Zoe and Eva. They won’t be sticking around after graduation.”
“I thought they seemed a little aloof Saturday night.”
“Not completely. They’ll stay with us at least through basketball season. They don’t want to be left out of any of our play time. That bond is pretty significant. If anything, they’ll use being part of our group to keep from getting involved with anyone at school who might hold them back after graduation.”
“I never expected them to join us in the first place,” Dennis sighed. “But I never expected to fall in love with them, either.”
“You love us all so much! And we love you, Den. Don’t think that just because they think they have to leave that they don’t love us all just as much. It’s going to be as hard on them as it is on the rest of us,” Natalie said. She embraced her lover again and kissed him deeply. “We need to get cleaned up and get over to the hospital for your final checkup. Ready?”
“Ready to hold you in my arms forever. But I suppose we need to go.”
“Well, Dennis, everything looks fine. You’re still wearing your goggles?” Dr. Sachs asked.
“Um… When I’m outside working or running,” he admitted.
“Those are the most important times. I told you I wished everyone wore goggles all the time, but I couldn’t even get myself to follow that doctor’s order. So, I’ll just say that whenever possible you should wear eye protection. And guard against impact. Getting knocked around could ruin everything. You have two good eyes now, and I can’t imagine you needing to wear glasses in school or at home. Just try to protect these gems as much as possible. I know you remember what it was like before you got them.”
“I do. And I can’t tell you how much I appreciate all the work you did and the way you changed my life. I’m really forever in your debt,” Dennis said.
“Well, see if you and your girlfriend can go find some mischief to get up to,” Sachs laughed. “I pronounce you released from treatment.”
“Woohoo! Mom’s picking me up at noon to go to County Seat and get my driver’s license.”
“Ah. The world is in danger,” Sachs joked. He waved goodbye to Dennis and Natalie as they left the building.
“Everything is in order,” the license examiner said. “Your written test is still valid from when you took it a year ago. With your eyesight now within the legal range, all that remains is the driving test. Shall we go?”
“Yes, sir,” Dennis said. His mother handed him the keys and Dennis led the examiner to the car.
“Now, try to relax and focus on driving. I’m not here to throw impossible situations at you. I simply want to know that you have the skills to operate a vehicle while obeying relevant traffic laws. Pull out of the parking lot and turn right on Washington St. We’ll drive over to Walmart.”
Dennis obeyed the instructions, signaled his turns, parked where he was told to, and passed the test. His mother got in the passenger side and Dennis drove her home.
“Isn’t this great, Dennis? A real beauty, isn’t it?” Coach Byers asked as he toured the new piece of equipment delivered Friday morning by the booster club. The huge mower was the equivalent of those used on professional and collegiate sports fields.
“That is something else! How wide is this?” Dennis asked, looking over the machine.
“Spec says it’s 95" wide. And look down here. A full width field roller! You know how the pro fields all have the grass looking striped? It goes over the ground behind the cutter and flattens the grass in the direction you’re rolling. So, if you do all the passes between five-yard markers on the football field in the same direction, it looks like the grass itself is different colors.” Coach was sounding like a commercial for the machine, and that was understandable since a representative of the manufacturer had given almost the same spiel as he demonstrated cutting the football field. He did the whole football field and surrounding sidelines in less than half an hour—and that was with stops to explain to the coaches what he was doing and how to make the equipment function at peak efficiency.
“If I do all the passes, Coach?” Dennis had zeroed in on the suggestion that the coach was making with his choice of words.
“Well, that’s figuratively speaking. The universal ‘you,’ you know? That being said, however, we are looking for a groundskeeper. To keep our entire school grounds looking sharp, fields will need to be mowed two or three times a week and, of course, always right before a game. You’d be a good choice for the job if you’re interested. You’ve already mowed the football field once, and have practically built the cross country course. Why don’t you take the mower out and do the course this morning so it’s all in perfect shape for tomorrow’s big scrimmage race?”
“Uh… Sure, Coach. I planned to mow the course today anyway. I don’t know that I could handle becoming the groundskeeper, though,” Dennis said.
“Well, take it for a spin. I’m really not trying to pressure you into this. The summer maintenance you did was expedient. You knew the equipment and Mr. Brown was willing to loan his tractor for you to use because you were already on his payroll. But it doesn’t mean you’re expected to take over this job. I just wanted you to have first right of refusal,” Coach said.
“I’ll take it out and run it around the course. I’ll think about whether or not I can handle the job.”
Dennis put on the Bluetooth sound dampening headphones and keyed his phone into them so he could listen to music while he mowed. He positioned his safety goggles and went through the startup procedures for the mower. Then he tested it on a patch of meadow grass to make sure he knew the controls. Finally, he headed out along the three-mile trail. The mower cut half the five-and-a-half-meter wide trail with each pass. It took only an hour to mow the entire course at the speed the mower would travel. Coach was gone when he got back to the starting area, but he had instructions on where to put the mower in Mr. Abernathy’s equipment barn. He cleaned it up and put it away.
It was tempting. He sat with his phone calculator open and tabulated the hours it would take each week to maintain the school grounds. Mowing the sports fields and the school lawns and play area would take about three or four hours each time. Coach had indicated that to maintain the one-inch grass length recommended, the fields would all need to be cut twice a week during the growing season. They’d had enough rain this week to keep the grass lush and growing fast. Then a third time before games. Six to twelve hours a week. Daylight hours. Days were getting noticeably shorter already as they moved toward autumn. It was doable, but he wasn’t sure if it was smart.
He switched to earbuds and put his phone in his pocket. After warming up, he took off on a hard run to see how the course felt after being mowed to exactly the right height for a change. Between the music in his earbuds and the turf beneath his feet, he lost himself in the rhythm, pounding out the steps around the course.
“Do you think it was wise to do a hard run the day before the race?” Leanne asked when he ran around the track again to cool down.
“Oh, come on. You can’t expect me to take that race seriously. Most of the top athletes in the school are on the football team. I don’t stand a ghost of a chance of beating them,” he laughed. “Is everybody here?”
“Yeah. And if you run tomorrow like you just ran today, there isn’t anyone on the team who has a ghost of a chance of catching you. Let’s go play basketball.”
The two walked over to the outdoor courts where the rest of the girlfriends were already shooting around. Before long, they had a game going and three more players showed up. Daphne, Liz, and Karen were all slipped in and out of the lineup in short order. It wasn’t long before everyone was warmed up and stripping out of shorts and T-shirts to play in sports bras and sport shorts. And as often as Dennis kept them changing in and out, they were all working up a sweat.
“Oh, crap!” Lana said as she came off the court toward Dennis. “That darned ankle I had trouble with high jumping is acting funny again.” She plopped down on a bench. Dennis grabbed his red emergency kit and sat facing her.
“Let’s see how bad it is,” he said.
Lana held up her foot and he pulled her shoe and sock off. “Great. I give you my stinky feet,” she moaned. He rubbed it and the moan turned to a sigh.
“I’m not feeling any swelling, but there’s a little pop when I roll your foot from side to side. Let me tape it up for you and see if that’s all it takes to stabilize you. If not, you should talk to your parents about seeing a doctor,” he said. He carefully wrapped Lana’s ankle and put her sock and shoe back on her foot. She moved experimentally a little and smiled.
“That’s a lot better. Thank you,” she said. She leaned toward him and kissed him lightly, then went back to take a rotation in the game.
It wasn’t long before they all sat to rest and just talk for a while before Dennis had to go meet with the cheerleaders.
Daphne’s mother watched the game from near the door to the gym. She wondered why Daphne and her friends had wanted to get to the school so early today. There was the answer. Half Pat’s volleyball team were out there playing basketball. And it was obvious they took it seriously. If she could get half that much work out of them on the volleyball court as she saw on the basketball court, she could put together a winning team.
And to think, these girls would come in for volleyball practice and then insist on showing up for the cross-team conditioning exercises led by that boy. Pat put down her old prejudices. She didn’t dislike Dennis. He was always helpful and respectful. He’d really helped her team managers get their act together. This week had gone smoothly and she’d inspected the team’s uniforms that the managers had sorted, laundered, pressed and hung—everything ready for Tuesday’s opening match. They’d had the equipment ready for practice each day and were always right on the spot for anything she needed. Every time she complimented one of them, they said Dennis had shown them what to do.
No, it wasn’t the incredibly handsome and fit young man that bothered her as much as his lifestyle. His influence over his twelve girlfriends was almost cult-like. And now her daughter was circling the group. She didn’t think her daughter had any interest in boys at all, but had frequently mentioned Dennis since they moved to Bartley. She’d definitely keep an eye on that situation.
She saw the pale blonde—Lana—come over to the bench and stretch her foot out. Dennis examined it, then quickly and efficiently taped it. Pat was ready to go investigate, but Lana was up and playing again in a couple of minutes. She’d be checking that out soon, too.
Pat wasn’t the only one who observed the basketball activity. Kristen Conway had been to the cemetery to place flowers on her son’s grave. She’d known Harry was in trouble long before it broke at the school and he was expelled. She tried to intervene, but got no help at all from her husband. She’d matured in the twenty-two years they’d been married. He hadn’t. She was sure her husband’s behavior had contributed to her son’s delinquency.
After Harry was killed last winter, she’d seen the light. It was in the Disciples of the Pentecost Church. She’d asked the minister there to perform the funeral for her son while her husband was drunk with his father and uncle. He’d preached a beautiful sermon over Harry’s coffin, asking God to have mercy on his soul. Then he turned to Kristen, dressed in black and sitting alone in the funeral home. And a miracle had happened. He began to pray over her—a prayer for comfort and for God’s grace to be given to her that she might become a beacon for others to follow to God’s love and mercy.
And then the prayer had shifted and Brother Jules had begun to speak in the tongues of angels. Kristen was lifted up and bathed in a holy light, baptized in the spirit. And she joined the prayer of Brother Jules and spoke in tongues. Brother Jules had told her she was blessed with a mighty prayer tongue and she should use it whenever Satan threatened to overcome her.
Then they went together to the cemetery where the funeral staff and the cemetery maintenance man lowered Harry’s coffin into the ground. Now, she returned to the grave often to lay flowers in memory of her son, and to exercise her prayer tongue in praise of Jesus for his mercy and blessing.
The outdoor basketball court at the school was not far from the cemetery and the bouncing of the ball and shouts of the girls disturbed Kristen’s prayer. She prayed silently that the girls would find peace—especially that they would be quiet. Finally, she turned from her son’s grave and walked to the parking area, shared with the school. From there, she could see the girls playing. And the Lord showed her the indecency of their dress. It was girls like these that had led her son astray—perhaps these very girls. They flaunted their teenage bodies before boys and led them to their doom. These sirens of the Bartley basketball court were evil and needed to be purged, baptized in fire, and set on the road to salvation.
And Kristen was called to service.
“Wow! That’s great! Can we do that this evening with the whole group?” Dennis asked the cheerleaders.
“Do you really think it’s okay?” Donna asked. She was only a freshman but had come up with the steps that would tie three of the conditioning exercises into a fluid eight-count dance.
“I think it’s fantastic,” Dennis said.
“I agree,” Janet said. “You did a great job helping Dennis get the exercise choreographed. Now, I’d like to ask Dennis for his help in structuring the cheer we’ve been practicing. Split into team A and B and let’s run them one at a time.”
Dennis stepped back to sit on a bleacher while the cheerleaders ran their routine. It was interesting that the cheerleaders had adopted the same mode of exercise wear for practice as the basketball team. The girls wore spandex sports bras and short shorts. Fred and Doc Thompson, the other male cheerleader, were in matching shorts and had cropped T-shirts on. They all looked good together. Even Claudia, who claimed to have a pear-shaped body, looked good in the tiny outfit. Dennis pulled himself back to the present routine in time to see Sara fall from the shoulders of Fred and hit the mat beneath them. Fortunately, the B team was acting as spotters and she didn’t hit hard as they broke her fall.
“There’s the problem,” Janet said. “We’ve watched this routine on video a dozen times, but the mount to the shoulders is eluding us. Any ideas, Dennis?”
“Um… I haven’t seen the video, so I don’t know what it’s supposed to look like, but I think I saw what it could look like. I think balancing on just one other person’s shoulders would be really difficult. It might be better to go with a two-person base.”
“Let’s take a look at it. Claudia and Fred are near the same height. Let’s try you two as the foundation,” Janet said.
“Sure. I’m built like a foundation,” Claudia laughed.
“You might think so, Claudia, but I know you’re stronger than Fred,” Dennis said. “This is going to take your leg strength more than anything. Sara? You game for anything?”
“I just want to get up on their shoulders. I’ve stepped on them when they were on the ground and didn’t have any problem balancing,” she said.
“That’s a matter of stability,” Dennis said. “When they are on hands and knees, they are far more stable. We’re going to reinforce their stability with Roz and Melanie. So, here’s how we arrange it. Fred and Claudia next to each other in a deep squat. Roz and Melanie take Sara’s hands while she’s mounting. Sara, right foot on Fred’s thigh then left foot on Claudia’s shoulder. Step up to put your right foot on Fred’s shoulder. Roz and Melanie, as soon as Sara steps up higher than you can reach her hands, switch to supporting Fred and Claudia to provide that extra stabilization.”
“I can’t boost myself up all the way by stepping on Claudia’s shoulder!” Sara said.
“Yeah, I figured. Fred, as soon as Sara has her foot on Claudia’s shoulder, use your left hand under her butt to give her a boost up until she gets her foot on your shoulder. Claudia, to help maintain Sara’s balance as she’s going up, hold her ankle to your shoulder with your right hand. Ready? One, two, three, four. Step, step, boost, hold!”
Sara practically flew into the air when Fred gave her a boost. Her foot hit him in the ear as she sought his shoulder. The hold part didn’t quite get executed, but Sara managed a slightly more dignified dismount than simply falling on the floor.
“Well, darn it!” Sara said.
“You did well,” Dennis said, encouraging her.
“Oh, yeah. We’ll get that now. I just thought the first guy who ever grabbed my butt like that would at least be straight,” Sara said. “Let’s do it again.”
By the time they finished practicing, they’d made a couple more adjustments and managed to get Roz and Melanie into a stretch. By that time, the volleyball team had started to take their positions on the floor. Dennis snatched a quick kiss from his girlfriends and hastily left the court.
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