Team Manager COACH!
Chapter 41
TUESDAY, both the boys’ team and the girls’ team traveled to the Wheelers’ for a coed meet. The races were mixed up again and Lana was asked to run four races instead of high jump. She agreed without hesitation and ran in the 100, 400, 4x200 relay, and distance relay. She finished just out of scoring position (top eight) in the individual races and in 9th with Bobbie, Amy, and Leanne in the 4x200. But surprising everyone, including themselves, Lana, Judith, Diane, and Tori took first in the distance medley. Ardith had put as much emphasis on the relays as possible and the girls poured it on, winning the 4x100 and sprint medley, and placing fourth in the 4x400. Jaydyn had placed first in the 200. The girls once again walked away with third place overall.
Dennis watched the boys’ events as much as he could and didn’t like what he saw. No Bartley boy placed in the top eight in any event. The boys all looked a little shocked when they placed eighth in the sprint medley. It was the only point they earned during the meet and gave them twelfth place of fifteen teams for the meet.
“Hey, Lonnie,” Dennis called to the boys’ team manager. “How come Donnie didn’t run today? I mean Dave ran alone in all three sprints and no one ran in the 1600 or 3200 at all.”
“He quit,” Lonnie said succinctly. “Dave’s the only real contender we have left on the team in any race. I overheard Coach Andy talking to Coach Byers about whether they should just shut down the track team for this season, but they want to give the guys who are sticking it out a chance to improve. You should see our team bus. I swear no one says a word coming or going to meets. It’s like death.”
“Geez! That’s terrible. They all seem to be working hard in conditioning. I don’t get why they aren’t placing occasionally,” Dennis said.
“Maybe they’ve all decided conditioning is the only sport they want to participate in, Coach. I don’t know.”
Dennis watched Lonnie load the starting blocks into the bus and walked back to the girls’ bus. Thoms was directing Rae and Debbie in stowing the equipment.
“Hey, Rae, what do you think of John Hamm? I was thinking I’d drop a bug in his ear if you’re interested,” Dennis said.
“You’re so out of touch, Dennis,” Rae replied. “John’s got a girlfriend and I’ve got a boyfriend. And not each other.”
“I sure didn’t hear you had a boyfriend. Anyone I know?”
“No. It’s funny in a way. Some of us single girls were out a few weeks ago to the Audubon for a movie. We met some guys from the Bulldogs, of all things. As things worked out, four of us left the theater with dates for the next weekend.”
“Really? Who? Is everyone paired up?”
“Jaydyn, Janice, Sharon, and me. It’s been kind of fun going out. The guys are perfect gentlemen and we usually double or triple date. I’m not getting laid yet, but sometimes I get touched a little, you know? I’d almost think the guys were taking lessons from you in being polite,” Rae said.
“Wow! Four girls dating Bulldogs. I didn’t expect that.”
“You snooze, you lose,” Rae said. She turned away to get on the bus. Dennis started to follow Debbie but Thoms snagged his sleeve and walked around in front of the bus where they couldn’t be seen.
“What’s up, Thoms?”
“I don’t like it. I mean, I can’t say anything because I’m not interested in any of the guys or any of the girls. I don’t want them thinking I am. But there’s something fishy about all the girls who are dating Bulldogs. Mostly cheerleaders and athletes.”
“Maybe they decided our girls were more available than theirs,” Dennis speculated.
“Maybe, but I don’t think so. No offense, but the guys they’re dating aren’t like you—I mean like you used to be. They’re popular, athletes, class officers. They’re the kind who could date any girl in their school—especially if they were interested in freshmen and sophomores, like the Bartley girls they’re dating. I’m afraid freshmen and sophomore girls are really easy to seduce if an older boy takes an interest,” Thoms said.
“But Rae says they aren’t fooling around with them sexually. I’d think that would be the first ulterior motive they’d have if they were just not wanting to foul their own nest.”
“Maybe. I just don’t like it. They’re messing with our girls.” Thoms walked away and boarded the bus. Ardith approached from where the coaches had met to get scores after the meet. She handed the clipboard to Dennis.
“Third,” she said. “Again.”
“And dead last,” Dennis affirmed without looking at the score sheets. They boarded the bus and headed home.
Even though spring break had ended just over a week previously, Bartley had parent-teacher conferences on Wednesday and Thursday with no school on Friday. Dennis made the decision to cut his high school classes Wednesday so he could go to class at DMACC with Brenda. The next week was finals week at DMACC and the end of semester was just a week away. He was supposed to be in class in the morning at Bartley on early out days but these two were more important as far as he was concerned.
“What’s got you so pensive, lover?” Brenda asked as they drove into class.
“I’m just worried about the track team,” he said. “I think the coaches are, too.”
“What’s wrong?” Brenda asked, alarmed. “Our girls haven’t said a thing!”
“Our girls aren’t the problem. They’re doing great. Coach Ardith is just trying to figure out who to run where to get the biggest bang for the runners. It’s the guys I’m concerned about.”
“Oh, Bartley boys are known for not doing the hard work to win,” Brenda said.
“Maybe,” Dennis sighed. “But I lead them all in conditioning exercises and I’ve only seen their kind of dedication with our girls before. These guys are working. Lonnie said he thought they were considering conditioning to be their sport and didn’t care about track.”
“That’s weird. I forgot about conditioning. I’ll cut my last class and go back with you.”
“Not to worry. I told Coach I wouldn’t be back in time for conditioning today. The cheerleaders and team managers will lead conditioning,” Dennis said. “Talk about people who consider conditioning to be their sport.”
“The cheerleaders are still active? I thought they’d just fold up after basketball season was over,” Brenda said.
“They aren’t coming to any meets to cheer, but they’re still leading workouts. Um… the seniors aren’t. I guess seniors just have too much going on to be bothered with spring sports. Except Daniella and Roberta. I think they’re going to be involved in any sport they can be. But the freshman, sophomore, and junior cheerleaders are still active. Rae is one of my team managers and Sara is dating one of the team managers. They’re all over the workouts,” Dennis said.
“So, what are you going to do about the boys, Coach?” Brenda asked.
“It’s not really my problem, is it?”
“Don’t tell me you’re going to sit back and worry about it without doing anything.”
“No. Um… I made an appointment this afternoon. With your coach. I thought I’d talk the situation over with him and see what a completely neutral third party who is an expert in sports thinks,” Dennis said.
“He’ll probably have a bunch of girls waiting for you to work out with,” Brenda laughed. “I wondered what he had up his sleeve.”
“Why?”
“He called a team meeting this afternoon.”
“Oh, boy.”
“Dennis, when you called to set up an appointment, I saw an opportunity,” Coach Dearborn said. “I’m taking your request seriously and we’ll have our meeting, but afterward, I’d like you to do a dunking clinic for the team. I’ve done a lot of investigation online and I could see where you were going with it based on Brenda and Donna’s performance. But I don’t think I can teach it like you did. Dunking isn’t a key element in most basketball games, as I’m sure you know. But there is little that can give a player more of a sense of satisfaction than slamming the ball home.”
“That’s why I’ve worked with my team on getting them there. It was impressive when they ran onto the court and three of the girls blitzed the basket one after another to slam dunk a shot,” Dennis agreed. “I think all season, Daniella dunked it three times, Roberta once, and Natalie has yet to dunk it in a game. But they feel great knowing they can do it.”
“Exactly. Now, let’s deal with your problem first. You phrased it in terms of motivating your team. Tell me about the problem.”
Coach Dearborn listened carefully to what Dennis had to say about the Wolverines, asking questions along the way to clarify things. He went back to the basketball season when the team fell apart in the last four games. He went online to Varsity Bound and looked up the statistics on the games and on the meets. Dennis knew that even the previous night’s meet would have been entered and uploaded by Olivia early this morning. Dearborn went back a year and checked performances in track from the previous year. The guys were never great, but they hadn’t routinely been last-place finishers the year before.
“Dennis, in modern parlance, your team’s been hacked. I can’t tell by whom or how, but someone has something on your runners that is enough for them to throw their races. Every single one of your runners ran better in their time trials the second week of practice than they ran in any meet since. You could expect that some would have had their season best the first time out, but not every single one. The questions are who, why, and how. As you found with your friend, you can’t approach this problem directly. You need to look for the patterns. Is someone in a position to pay the team off? Is there something that the best performers in your conditioning classes have in common that could be threatened? Are they using performance enhancing drugs and are afraid of being discovered? I don’t know the answer, but my gut instinct tells me they’ve been hacked.”
“Damn it!” Dennis said. “I knew it. I mean, that’s what I thought, but I don’t have any proof or better ideas than I’ve brought up here.”
“Well, I wouldn’t rule them out completely, but I doubt the AgCentral connection. When they invest heavily in something like this, it would benefit them to show a positive impact. However, you should be careful. You’ve heard rumors of a scholarship offer. Accept absolutely nothing from anyone until you have made a commitment to a school. Nothing could end a promising career so quickly as finding out you’d been paid in high school. It’s against the rules in college, but schools have a thousand ways around the intent. One college here in the state has honed their game so carefully that they walk right on the edge of what is within the rules and what is not. They are sometimes offered as an example on handling recruitment. Just don’t get caught in the net.”
“Yes, sir. I’ll keep that in mind. They haven’t made any actual offers yet.”
“With the history your town has had, I wouldn’t rule out drugs as a possibility. You’ve got to figure out what these athletes have to lose that is more important than winning their meets. On the college scene, we look at the major list: drugs, booze, money, women, and swag. If you start seeing guys wearing expensive watches or having a sudden upgrade in their smartphone or driving a new car, that’s a clue.”
“Thanks, Coach. I’ll take that all into consideration and keep an eye out.”
“Now, if you don’t mind a little instruction, how about teaching my girls how to dunk a basketball.”
“Seriously? This is the guy who taught you how to dunk the ball?” Ali, one of the players, asked Donna.
“I kid you not. If he can dunk it, you should be able to,” Donna told her friend.
“I’m all ears. You’re sure he can dunk it?”
“Sorry, Coach Dennis. Doubting Thomas here needs a demo,” Donna called.
“It’s okay. I figured as much,” Dennis laughed. “First, let me ask a couple of questions. How many of you can touch the rim?” About half the team raised their hands. “How many can get your wrist above the rim?” Only three kept their hands up. “That’s where the rest of you need to start. There are good exercises for improving your jump height. I’ve got a five-five girlfriend who had a best high jump last year of 4'6". Her best this year is 5'2.5". And she’s only a sophomore. I’m betting on a jump over her head by the time she’s a senior. Next question: How many of you can palm the ball?” No one raised her hand. “That’s where we fall apart. If I put my hand on the ball on the floor and press down to spread my fingers to the max, I can just pick it straight up. But as soon as I lift my hand to shoot… bye-bye basketball.”
There was some laughter as the ball dropped to the floor and Dennis had to scramble to recover it.
“That’s why I teach using a second player who holds the season best for assists,” he continued. “Brenda, can you give me a hand?” Brenda jumped up and joined him.
“What’s he going to do? Stand on her shoulders?” Ali asked.
“Just watch.”
Dennis passed the ball to Brenda and took off for the basket as she launched an alley oop pass toward the rim. Dennis met the ball and slammed it through the net.
“Whoa! Seriously?”
“Didn’t you watch me the one time I dunked the ball in a game?” Donna laughed.
“I thought you just took a rebound!”
Donna took Dennis’s place and Brenda dribbled to the other side of the court to launch the pass for Donna’s left-handed dunk.
“It doesn’t come automatically,” Dennis warned as Ali took her position and ran toward the net. Her timing was just a little off and the ball was already too far down in the arc for her to pick it up. Coach Dearborn took the rebound and passed it back to Brenda again. The third player, Samantha, took her shot. It went into the hoop, but was more of a tip-in than a dunk. After each took another try, Dennis called them all back to the bench.
“You say we can gain six inches in our jump?” one of the girls asked.
“Most people can,” Dennis nodded.
“Those of you who are leaving the team this year and heading for a four-year program will have a new skill to bring to the table,” Coach Dearborn said. “Donna and two of her friends graduating Bartley High are headed to State next year and all three have been taught to dunk by Coach Dennis. Those of you who are returning to me next year can expect to see more of Dennis because I’m going to ask him to lead a couple of clinics. After looking at our stats from this season, I’ve decided we can use a refresher course on free throws, for example. And maybe he’ll help us with some of those jumps, too. Thank you, Dennis. Team, it was a great season. We’ve got good things to look forward to next year.”
“Did you find any answers?” Brenda asked on the way home.
“No. Maybe I found some better questions. I don’t know. Your coach thinks something is definitely going on. It’s better not to talk about it, though. I’ve probably talked to too many people already. I don’t think we should tell the girlfriends any more until after the season ends. It’s only three more weeks.”
“I don’t like to not tell them something, but I guess it really doesn’t concern them. Just be careful. If it’s something really bad, someone will come down on you. Protect yourself,” Brenda said. She laid a hand on his thigh. Dennis managed to keep his hands on the steering wheel until they got home.
Having missed conditioning on Wednesday, Dennis was not prepared for what he saw at Thursday’s meet at the Chargers. There were new faces on the boys’ team. Dennis had seen them all before in his workout sessions, but they hadn’t participated in any sports. They weren’t all instant winners, but they all looked like they were trying.
It started with Paul Hunter placing fourth in the 100. Dave Overman, who had been the number one sprinter for the team, placed tenth. Marty Logan placed fourth in the 110 hurdles. A freshman named Cal Dean—Dennis discovered he was Rae’s younger brother—placed seventh in the 400 hurdles. By simply running a team in the relays, they were guaranteed a point since there were only 8 teams. But they scored nineteen—even considering that they got five points for running last of four in the 110 shuttle hurdles. It wasn’t enough to win the meet, but sixth of eight was a vast improvement over dead last.
The girls shone, but didn’t have enough depth to take advantage of their speed. Jaydyn won the 100, Daniella won the 400, Roberta won the 800, and Natalie won the 100 hurdles. Lana placed fourth in the high jump, and Rita got second in the discus. She was improving with every throw. All three hurlers placed in the top eight in the discus. Corinne was jubilant and Liz was beyond ecstatic with the first point she’d contributed to the team by getting eighth of eleven.
Then the girls took on the relays with a first in the 4x100, 4x400, 4x800, and distance medley. With so many first place finishes, they thought they’d won the meet.
“Third place again?” Natalie moaned. “How could we do that?”
“In each of our races, we only had one person place in the top eight. Granted, that included Janice, Diane, Leanne, Judith, and all the hurlers, it just wasn’t enough to match the teams who could place two in the top five in every event. We didn’t run in the sprint medley and The Chargers won it. That gave them ten of the fifteen points they beat us by. The Bluebirds had 142 to our 137. From there it fell off rapidly. None of the other five teams scored over 100,” Dennis said.
“I feel like we are going to win the most third places in the state,” Judith moaned. “I just didn’t have any more to give in the 200. Where’d it all go?”
“You spent it in the 4x100 and the distance medley,” Dennis said. It seemed all the girls were going to need a little extra attention that evening. And, even though it was a Thursday, there was no school on Friday, so they all ended up out at Tori’s barn for the night.
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