Team Manager COACH!
Chapter 31
“I’M NOT MAKING any changes tonight,” Ardith said when she entered the girls’ locker room. Monday was a home game against the Vikings. “In fact, I’m leaving everything in Dennis’s hands. You’ve been working with him for two weeks and showed Friday night that it did you well. I’m still hobbling around and, though I’ll be out there on the bench with you, I’m not feeling energetic enough to jump up and down.”
Ardith’s left arm was in a cast and there was still a sizable bandage on the left side of her face. She was walking with a limp and taking shallow breaths because of her cracked ribs. She wasn’t certain it was that wise to have started back to work today, but she wanted her team to know she was okay. She’d taken a couple more pain relievers just before she came into the locker room.
“I’ve heard a little upset on the team for having defeated your opponents so badly Friday night. 64-18 is a pretty lopsided game. I talked to Dennis about his strategy and I have to agree with him completely. But you might not understand it yet. So, Dennis? Why don’t you explain to the girls what you told me?” Ardith said.
“Yes, Coach. I know from our experience this year and last year that the Angelines don’t like to humiliate our opponents. But we also found out last year that our opponents don’t want to be condescended to. They want to know they lost to a superior team that didn’t take them for granted. So, we play our best, no matter what. Some of you asked over the weekend why I didn’t just give the younger players more opportunity to play. They showed Friday night that they could play at the level of some of our opponents. So, here’s why. Tonight is our ninth game of the season. The Vikings and five of the other teams we’ve played so far are 1A teams. The schools have as few as half the number of students we have. We’ve played only two 2A teams and one 3A team. In our next nine games after tonight, we’ll be playing just four 1A teams. We’ll be playing four 2A teams and in just one week, we’ll walk onto the court to play a 4A team with over twice as many students in their school as we have. And you know what comes after that? The regional and state tournaments where we will meet more 2A teams than in the entire rest of the season. If we aren’t playing to our maximum performance, as soon as we set foot on the court in the tournament, we will be overcome because we’re used to only giving just enough to beat a 1A team. Since we started the Angelines last year, Coach has given us one motto. What is this game?”
“The championship game!” Some of the girls hadn’t gotten used to the response yet, so only about half shouted.
“Again?”
“The championship game!” they all yelled.
“What are we going to do?”
“Beat ’em!”
“How are we going to do it?”
“Run run run!”
“Who are we?”
“Angelines!”
Dennis, dressed in his burgundy jacket and powder blue T-shirt, accompanied Ardith to the scorers’ bench to go through much the same introduction he’d had with Pat on Friday. The refs welcomed him and he handed the roster to the scorers.
The teams were introduced with Natalie, Roberta, Daniella, Amy, and Diane starting. Ardith had been surprised to see Dennis move Roberta to point guard and Natalie to forward. Daniella would take the tipoff, but she’d move to the opposite side forward and Diane would take over at center. The National Anthem was played by the Bartley band and the teams prepared for the tipoff.
With the control of the tipoff, the tone of the game was set. The Angelines had their first basket before the Vikings had gotten downcourt. The Vikings scored only twice for four points in the first quarter, compared to the Angelines’ twenty-two points. Dennis rotated players constantly in the first half, but the Angelines were still running away from the Vikings and led at the half 46-10. The entire second half was played with the thirty-five-point continuous clock in play. Dennis always kept two of the veteran Angelines on the court with three of the newbies, rotating as frequently as possible through the second half. Offensively, the Angelines slowed down, scoring only twenty-three points in the second half. Defensively though, they effectively shut down the Vikings, who scored only six points. At the buzzer, it was a 69-16 victory for the Angelines. They hugged their opponents and walked with them to the locker room, giving them encouragement along the way. They were suddenly like big sisters to the other team and had a good time laughing and joking with them. Even with the frequent rotations, the Armor girls held the lead in all categories.
After they’d showered, they went into the gym for the second half of the boys’ game. The Wolverines managed to squeak out another win, 57-54. It was a narrow victory. The popular opinion among the fans was that the Angelines could have won the game handily.
“He’s faking,” the nurse said firmly. John Driscoll, the psychiatrist evaluating Les Steinman, looked at her sadly. He believed the nurse, but there was little he could do.
“Marianne, his sixteenth birthday is in thirty days. I either have to certify him as safe to return to society or remand him to the adult courts for sentencing to the penitentiary. We can’t retain him in a juvenile facility any longer. And frankly, I don’t have any evidence from my sessions with him that he’s a danger to himself or anyone else,” John said. “He went off his meds and went a little crazy. He’s back on a carefully balanced regimen of medications and counseling and has responded marvelously. There is no reason to keep him any longer.”
“He still hides his medication and doesn’t take it. Oh, he’s clever. Figured out how to put it in his mouth and hide it until I’m out of sight. But then he spits it out. You spend an hour a week with him. I see him six or seven hours a day. He’s faking,” Marianne said adamantly.
“Thank you for your opinion, Marianne. I’ll include it in his file. Unfortunately, I need to make the decision based on that hour a week. You can go now.”
Ardith gave Dennis several notes on what she observed, complimenting him on having moved Roberta from forward to point guard. She was able to meet with him for an hour on Tuesday and Thursday mornings and suggested a change in the starting lineup with more frequent substitutions from the bench. Tori was developing rapidly. Debbie wasn’t at quite that level, but could fill the center position on offense pretty well. She had him drill all three Armors on their three-point range. That was something that both Daniella and Roberta outshone Natalie at. But Natalie was far more aggressive under the boards. She had more fouls to show for it, too.
Dennis worked the girls hard on Tuesday and Wednesday, letting up slightly on Thursday so they would be ready for Friday’s game. Monday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings, of course, he was at DMACC. No one made it to Brenda’s game Wednesday night and she said she was thankful. They’d lost to the number five ranked Trojans 110-85.
Friday night, Dennis started Tori at breaking guard and Rosie at center with the three Armors anchoring the court. The game was tighter during the first quarter than anything since their third game this season. They’d run away from the Knights in the first game of the season, winning 67-11. This time, they ended the first quarter up by only three. Roberta was feeling off and asked Dennis to replace her in the second quarter. Judith went in at the point with Amy at breaking guard. Diane came in for Rosie, but Natalie and Daniella came to life in the second period. By the end of the half, it was 32-18. It seemed unlikely that the thirty-five-point continuous clock would go into effect during this game, so substitutions in the second half would be more frequent.
“You’re hot,” he whispered to Natalie.
“I’m so glad you think so,” she giggled as they walked back to the gym.
“That, too, but I meant your shooting. Go ahead and take the shot. If you don’t think you can get it off, shovel it out to Daniella. She’s having a great game, too.”
“Okay, Coach. You’ve got it.”
The Angelines continued to control the game. Dennis made sure Bobbie, Liz, and Jaydyn got playing time in the last quarter and eventually added Janice and Shelby to the mix. The newest and youngest players held their own and the game ended at 65-37 for the Angelines’ ninth victory of the season.
The Team B cheerleaders hit the locker room with the Angelines and teased Dennis as he got their tape off. Rae sat in front of him topless and in only a thin pair of pink panties that were definitely damp with her sweat—or something. She made no secret about it when she pulled them off and tossed them into the uniform laundry bag, then sauntered into the showers.
Natalie gave him a naked kiss to take his mind off Rae’s display and then headed toward the showers herself. Dennis went to the coaches’ locker room. He collected the score sheets to be entered into the computer—a job that Olivia had happily taken on—and glanced at them while he headed down to pick up the laundry. He was stunned by what he saw.
“I knew you were hot before I even started dating you,” he said to Natalie. “But congratulations on creating a new definition for the word.”
“What?” she asked, looping an arm through her boyfriend’s.
“Twenty-seven points and ten rebounds. That’s what I call impressive,” he said as they headed to his car. Everyone had decided to stay at the Armors’ house for the night. Natalie told him he could wash uniforms there since they’d need their white uniforms for the third straight home game the next week.
“I hope Daniella isn’t getting overlooked. And poor Roberta hardly played at all tonight,” Natalie said as they drove toward her house.
“Oh, Daniella did fine with three three-pointers and fourteen total points. That’s still more than the high scorer for the Knights. And she grabbed fourteen rebounds plus two steals. And don’t worry about Roberta. Everyone has an off night occasionally.”
It was Dennis who needed to be concerned about the twins that night. Both girls captured his interest as soon as he got to the house. And that was just for dinner and games. When they were ready for bed, no one else could get near Dennis because one or the other was riding his face or his cock. When he couldn’t get it up again, they double-teamed him, sensuously kissing each other around his cock until it was up for one more shared orgasm. They finally fell asleep, long after the other girls had nodded off.
Brenda’s game Saturday was once again just too far for the crew to drive to. They split up and did house-cleaning chores for the families as Dennis and Lana did the team and cheerleader uniforms. Then they gathered around the streaming broadcast of Brenda’s game against the Panthers.
It wasn’t long before they all regretted their decision not to drive the three hours to the game. Brenda was on fire. Her friends Cheri and Donna were just as hot. They’d amassed nearly enough points in the first half to beat the Panthers’ final score. The game ended with the Bears victorious at 88-59. Brenda, Cheri, and Donna had scored 20, 19, and 14 points respectively.
“Dennis, do you remember that Peg is singing at First United Methodist Church in White Center?” Dot asked him as he kissed her on the cheek before bed.
“Oh, gosh! No, I didn’t remember. I’d better let the girlfriends know that’s where we’ll be attending church,” Dennis said. He started texting to let them know.
“It will mean a lot to her to know you are all there supporting her. It will be a new experience for her and you know she doesn’t deal with new experiences that well,” Dot said.
“She’s been singing so beautifully, it’s easy to forget she has any handicap at all.”
“The difference it has made in her life is unbelievable,” Dot said. “Dennis, I hope you don’t mind that I’m more involved with Peg at the moment than with you. I know you have a lot of support from your girlfriends and have been busy with your exercise recording, but Peg really only has you and me.”
“Who’s going to accompany her tomorrow? Mrs. Thompson has been so good at coaching her,” Dennis said.
“Yes, but Mrs. Thompson can’t just leave her duties at Trinity and go with Peg. She’ll be singing a cappella tomorrow. This is a kind of test, Dennis. The country grapevine has passed word of her singing all over the county. Last Sunday, a vocal coach from Des Moines came to church to listen to her. Invitations have been coming in from churches of every denomination—some offering money. I’m so worried that I’ll fail her as a mother now that she has so many opportunities!”
Dot broke down crying and Dennis caught her in his arms to comfort her. He understood. Tears were in his eyes as well. For more than a year now, he’d been caught up in his own drama and had missed Peg’s first few summer solos at church. He thought she’d just joined the choir, but it was obvious from the Advent services that she was the featured soloist. And the church attendance had grown—of course, the Angelines contributed to that—and he wondered what would happen to the attendance if Peg wasn’t there to draw them in.
“Mom, you’re a great mother. I know and Peg knows how devoted you are to caring for us and how much you love us. I’ll always be available to talk things over and to give both of you my support. But there is one thing above all that you need to remember.”
“What’s that, my wise and worldly son?”
“Peg sings to Jesus. She doesn’t sing for an audience or applause or money. That beautiful voice comes from her heart because she loves Jesus. It’s not something I understand particularly, but even the blind and tone deaf could tell why she sings.”
“You’re a good brother, Den. I’m glad you’ll be in church with us in the morning.”
Sunday morning, the crew showed up at the United Methodist Church and quietly filled two rows. Diane and Judith, Tori, and Debbie all normally went to this church. Still, it caused a bit of a stir among the other members. The little church was as crowded as the Lutheran Church had been a couple of weeks before Christmas and the kids saw several familiar faces who had traveled to hear Peg.
The minister was a woman who had a good set of pipes, herself. She led the hymns enthusiastically, and the congregation joined in. Methodists sing four-part harmony naturally. Reverend Stierwalt said she was thrilled to have so many in church and that she promised not to go over an hour with her sermon. A few people gasped and others laughed nervously. They stood up and sat down as frequently as the Lutherans.
Then, finally, Peg stood and approached the front of the church. She only stepped up two steps toward the chancel and turned to face the congregation. She looked nervously at her mother, who nodded and whispered to ‘Sing to Jesus.’
I wonder as I wander out under the sky
How Jesus our Savior was born for to die
For poor orn’ry people like you and like I.
I wonder as I wander out under the sky.
Peg’s eyes drifted closed as her voice filled the silent sanctuary. Her voice was the voice of an angel visiting people on earth. When she finished the 1933 song by folklorist John Jacob Niles there was just a moment of silence before the applause. Methodists are not shy about applauding in church and the noise was as enthusiastic as their singing until the preacher called everyone to prayer.
“I, too, wonder as I wander, Peg. With all the congregation here, I thank you for the gift of your voice. I’ve been so inspired that I’ve decided to take back my promise of not speaking more than an hour,” she said. People laughed. “I’ll try to bring you the word on this second Sunday after Epiphany in ten minutes.” There was a collective sigh of relief.
Snow, which had been threatening for three weeks, finally began arriving on Monday afternoon. It was not yet enough to affect Monday’s practice, but school buses ran late on Tuesday, triggering a two-hour late start schedule. Dennis still started with lunch at 11:10, and went to his government class after. Then the school schedule jumped back to second period and he had the time free to visit with Ardith before his fourth period Calculus class.
“We won’t know until classes are out,” she said. “Hopefully there will be an announcement before people come in to dress for the workout. I hate this kind of weather. Even more now that I don’t have a car and am depending on others to haul my ass around. I don’t feel very stable when I’m walking in this, either.”
“How’d you get home last night, Coach?” Dennis asked. He hadn’t thought about her car having been wrecked. He knew she lived just at the south edge of town.
“I got a lift from Coach Griffith. He worked the guys later last night than we worked the girls. I haven’t seen him yet today.”
“I have him for calculus next period. Um… Coach…” Dennis stammered. “I have a car, you know. I’d be happy to um… haul your ass around when you need it.” Ardith looked at Dennis and both started laughing.
“I’ll bet. Thank you for the offer. I guess that since we established teachers making sure students had rides home last year, it could be stretched to a student offering a ride to a teacher. If I come up short, I’ll let you know. Thank you.”
After-school activities were canceled that afternoon and Ardith got a lift from Neil Griffith again. There was no school on Wednesday, but Dennis and Brenda had to fight their way into Boone anyway. College didn’t normally take snow-days.
Comments
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