Team Manager CHAMP!
Chapter 25
MONDAY MORNING, Dennis hurried back to school in Bartley only to cut his first class there. He didn’t even go to the cafeteria, but soon after he arrived, Natalie, Lana, and Amy joined him in the coaches’ office. The coaches had a wide-screen display they could use to review games and Dennis routed his laptop to the screen so all four could easily see and hear the program. Then he browsed to ncaa.com for the 12:45 announcement of the Division III Women’s Tournament brackets.
Salter had a guaranteed spot in the tournament of sixty-four teams, but no one knew where or against whom the first game would be played. Just before the program started, Amy’s phone rang.
“Are you there? Are you tuned in?” Brenda gasped when Amy answered.
“Yeah. We’re all here. Well, the four of us. Our teachers are pretending we’re in class,” Amy said. Dennis’s phone rang.
“Hello.”
“Look at this crowd!” Ardith shouted. “Everyone is gathered in the Student Union and all the televisions are tuned in to the NCAA broadcast.” She pointed her camera around the room and showed the crowd of over a hundred students gathered to hear the announcements. “Everyone is so excited.”
“We’re excited, too,” Dennis said, flashing his camera at the other three girls. “We’re not as big a crowd, but we’re enthusiastic.”
“Hey, Cupcake,” Grace said over Ardith’s shoulder when Natalie’s picture came up. “Next year, you’ll be sharing this spot with Bren and me. Gonna be a whole new ball game.”
“Let’s win this one first,” Natalie laughed. “Every game…”
“…is the championship game!” Grace called back.
Everyone’s attention shifted to the screens as the draw began. The first sixty-four teams would be divided into four sixteen team brackets, games to begin on Friday. Salter was the first draw in the third bracket and the Friday night game would be held in their gym. They had to wait through several other places as they were filled in before they got to the draw for their first competitor.
“Oh, great! We drew the Gusties,” Brenda said over her connection. The Minnesota team was carrying a 24-4 record into the tournament and would face the Crusaders. “I’m glad we don’t have to travel all the way to Minnesota for the game. I feel bad that they’ll be traveling here.”
“We’ll make them welcome,” said Eve. “It’s what host teams do. And we made them welcome in the first game of the season, 85-61.”
“I’m just thankful we don’t have to face the Knights again in the first round,” Jillian said.
“Yeah. Having to beat them in three straight games would be tempting fate,” Eve said.
“We’re going to leave you guys,” Amy said. “We have to get to our next class. Congratulations and good luck.”
“Good luck tomorrow night in Des Moines,” Brenda said. “We’ll try to be there.”
“’Bye, lover,” Amy responded. Everyone shut down their equipment and they all made it to their next class on time.
“I’ve reviewed all the film I could get on the Regals,” Dennis said as the team gathered for practice after conditioning. “They’re scrappy and they’ve come out of a tough region. They have a couple of tall girls, but the big thing is that they always play man-to-man defense. That usually puts their two big girls under the basket and they really fight for rebounds. One of the things I’m going to try is substituting guards for forwards. Judith and Leanne, you’ll be swapping in and out with Janice and Rosie. When we swap, you’ll come to the three guards’ position and if you’re both in at the same time, Diane will be the only one we have under the board. But she’ll be one-on-one with their big forward. You can handle her, Diane. Amy, Tori, and Natalie, you’ll be in most of the time, but occasionally, I’ll send Rosie and Janice in to give us all the height we can get to pressure the basket. Let’s run some plays. Defense, man-to-man.”
The team broke from the huddle into their usual positions and started practicing in earnest. They worked hard, but Dennis didn’t keep them long. He wanted them fresh for the game Tuesday night.
“Dennis, I might not be able to make the game tomorrow night,” Josie said. “This whole morals thing is raising its ugly head again and the family has been called to face the Board. I’m sorry that will cause some upset, but Elsa Brown will cover for me with the team so they have a female with them.”
“Everyone’s comfortable with Fru Elsa,” Dennis said. “She’s often around when wrestling and basketball overlap. Will you and Lyle and Lydia be okay?”
“Yes. This happens at least once everywhere we go. We have the papers and everything we need, so it shouldn’t be a problem. We presented the situation to the Board before they hired Lyle. Apparently, we need to present it publicly to appease some parents in the district who are afraid we are setting a bad example for their children,” Josie said.
“I’m sorry to hear that you have to go through this. Please let us know how everything plays out. We love you guys.”
At 2:45 on Tuesday, the school held one of the largest pep rallies it had ever seen. It was held in the new gym and the fans were invited to attend as well as all the students from sixth grade up. All the members of the team were introduced, the two team managers, Fru Elsa, Josie, and Dennis. Dennis held a hand up for silence and was given the microphone. The team lined up along the court with the managers and assistant coaches.
“I’d like to ask all our girls’ junior high and junior varsity girls and coaches to come onto the court and line up facing our varsity team,” he announced. All the younger girls lined up on the opposite side of the center stripe from the varsity. “You’ve all worked hard this season and you’ve learned a lot about the game of basketball. Even your coaches have learned a lot,” he said to the younger girls. “As you look across the center stripe at the varsity, I want you to think about this. In a year, maybe two or three, that is you standing there listening to our student body and fans cheering for you as you march off to the State Championships. And this year’s regional champions, getting ready to leave for the State Championships, have something to say to all of you.”
Dennis stepped back away from the line and gave a single short blast from his whistle. As one, the varsity raised their hands and pointed at the younger girls.
“We play for her!” they shouted.
There was no stopping the younger girls as they rushed into the arms of the varsity team for a hug while the fans cheered.
At 4:45, the team boarded its bus as three fan buses fell in line behind it, followed by dozens of fans who were driving to Des Moines for the evening games.
“We are meeting this evening in hopes that we will be finished in time to make it to our team’s first game at 8:30,” Superintendent Jones announced. “We would have postponed this meeting except for the insistence of certain members of the community that a matter be addressed at once. Therefore, we are suspending all discussion of minutes and old business until our next board meeting and will move directly to the first and only item of new business on our agenda. We have a matter brought by the Bartley County Women in Agriculture and have two speakers to present the issue. First, I’ll call on Doris Albright.”
“Mr. Superintendent and members of the Board, concerned parents of Bartley County. I’m Doris Albright, president of the Bartley County Women in Agriculture. I am bringing a concern expressed by our members regarding a threat to the moral upbringing of our children. It has come to our attention that a coach at Bartley High School lives openly with two wives and their children. We believe this is not only immoral, but also illegal and said coach should be terminated by the school board immediately. The coach/teacher is Lyle Kelly. One of his wives is a substitute teacher in the elementary school and acting as assistant coach of the basketball team, Josie Kelly. His other wife is Lydia Kelly. We ask for a summary dismissal of all adults in the Kelly family from school grounds, payroll, and other involvement.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Albright. I’ll now ask Abigail Larson to take the podium,” Jones said.
“Mr. Superintendent and members of the board. I would like all reference to the Women in Agriculture removed from the complaint brought by the organization’s president. This matter has never been put to a vote in the organization, nor have we reached any tacit agreement that a complaint should be filed. Coach Kelly has brought outstanding coaching to the wrestling team, resulting in four state finalists this year, including one of our young women. Josie Kelly has been an excellent substitute teacher and assistant to our young basketball coach, Dennis Enders. My daughter is on that team, dressed for tonight’s game against the Regals, and I would like to move immediate adjournment of this meeting so we can get to the real business of winning a state championship.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Larson. A motion to adjourn supersedes all others. Those in favor say ‘yes.’”
There was a scattering of yes votes, but most of those who would be voting in favor of adjournment were already in Des Moines for the game.
“Those opposed to adjournment at this time say ‘no.’”
It wasn’t a well-attended meeting as most of the Bartley fans put a school board meeting far below a basketball game in importance.
“The meeting will stay in session long enough to hear Coach Lyle Kelly make his statement. Lyle.”
“Superintendent Jones, Board Members, and parents. This is not, as you might well assume, the first time my family has been asked to address this issue. In fact, we presented our case during our interviews with the school board nearly two years ago and are saddened that the community has seen fit to raise the issue again. As a young man in college, I married Josie Kelly. We hadn’t intended to get married just at that time, but Josie was pregnant with our daughter Anna. Lydia was her maid of honor and best friend. You might be able to guess that we were a little on the wild side in college, but I’ve always believed in doing the right thing and if I make a decision that is faulty, I should take care of it appropriately.
“When the NFL draft came up and I was drafted onto the Minnesota Vikings, not long after our wedding, we were celebrating in a time-honored fashion, with drinking and sex. Lydia joined us for that party and just a few weeks later, we discovered she was pregnant with our daughter Caitlyn. Well, what were we to do? None of us believed abortion was a proper choice. Turning my back on one or the other woman pregnant with my child seemed to be the pinnacle of irresponsibility. And so, we ‘celebrated’ our daughter Anna’s birth with a divorce. I divorced her mother and married Lydia so that both of my daughters would be born in wedlock. So, you can see by the dates on the papers I’ve presented to you, that there is no bigamy or legal offense in our relationship. I am married to Lydia yet to this day. But it just didn’t make moral or ethical sense to send one of my children away to live with her mother. We decided to live together so that our daughters would have a stable home life and a loving family surrounding them. That has been the case now for fourteen years.
“We still believe in and I teach moral and social responsibility. Youth need to know that they might not always make the right decisions, but that they are responsible for the consequences of those decisions. We have taken responsibility for our actions and have made the best life possible for our children. I challenge anyone in this room to do a better job of it.”
Lyle sat down and there was a loud round of applause, even among those who had come to back Doris.
“We will hear one additional statement on this matter,” Jones said. “Sheriff Moran, did you investigate this allegation?”
“Mr. Superintendent, I did investigate. The complaint was sent to the District Attorney’s office several weeks ago, about the same time a complaint was made about a coach sleeping with team members.” People groaned at the memory. “When a complaint of this sort is made, it is the responsibility of the Sheriff’s office to investigate and determine if an arrestable offense has occurred. I investigated and reviewed the documents you have before you. I have found no offense that merits prosecution or arrest.”
“Are you saying you found offenses that do not merit prosecution?” Jones asked.
“The girls, Anna and Caitlyn, have painted their rooms in truly ghastly colors,” Moran deadpanned.
The attendees laughed and Jones called the meeting back to order.
“Based on the testimony and the Sheriff’s investigation, the school board finds no cause for dismissal of Coach Lyle Kelly or of substitute teacher Josie Kelly. Now let’s get on to the real business of winning a state championship. Drive carefully getting down there.” He rapped his gavel. “Meeting adjourned.”
Most of the attendees of the board meeting made it to the arena in time for the opening tipoff. Much to their surprise, the entire Salter Crusaders women’s team was in the stands as a cheering block for the Angelines.
The game went much as Dennis predicted with the two tall Regals attempting to block access to the lane and grab rebounds. They soon found that Janice and Diane were their equals on the boards and, more importantly, Natalie and Tori could drop in three-pointers. They were a ‘scrappy team,’ as Dennis had called them. The Regals trailed by only three points at the half and came out far more aggressively after the break. They played closer in their man-to-man defense, going for the ball whenever there was an opening. Unfortunately for them, that meant more fouls and they soon fell farther behind based on 90% free throw shooting by Natalie, Tori, and Amy.
The Angelines never let up with the full court pressure and the Regals began turning the ball over more frequently. The Regals had played their starting five through most of the game and the pressure was exhausting them. The Angelines continued to run fast breaks as often as they could, Janice, Rosie, and Diane leading the way down the court to take the passes from the guards and drop them in before the big Regals could get under the basket to stop them.
Dennis continued the process of frequent substitutions, so his players were always fresh as the Regals got more and more tired. While their first five players were good, they had no depth on the bench and when they had to go to substitutions because of fouls, they were no match for even the third line that Dennis played against them. In the last two minutes of the game, Dennis went down the line and made sure every player on his team had court time. The Angelines won the quarterfinal tournament match 73-51.
“I have to kiss my girlfriends and boyfriend,” Brenda yelled as the team came out of the locker room for the bus ride home. She grabbed Amy in her arms and laid a kiss on her that her teammates howled over. Then she kissed her again and whispered, “That one’s from Ardith.” She continued to Natalie, Lana, and Dennis, repeating the kisses.
The jubilant team and fans caravanned back to Bartley.
“That was pretty hot,” Laura said as she rode with Brenda and Ardith back to Salter. “Are you always that friendly with your teammates?”
“Well, I used to be,” Brenda said. “I’ve become more discriminating these days. I only have a select few I’m that friendly with.”
“I’m glad we got to see them play. Natalie’s going to be killer on our team next year,” Grace said. “It will be good to have someone who can replace Gloria. I’ll bet she pulled down as many rebounds as anyone under the basket. And those three tall girls were all doing great there.”
“She’s been the inspiration to our team from the first year we started playing,” Brenda said. “She was our team captain when she was a sophomore.”
“Co-captain,” Ardith corrected Brenda. “You’d have repeated the next year if you hadn’t graduated.”
“That was really honorary because I was the only senior on the team. And I was a cheerleader,” Brenda laughed.
“No kidding? You were a cheerleader?” Grace asked.
“We didn’t have a basketball team, or any women’s sports, at Bartley until three years ago. Coach Ardith got us started and I was fed up with the whole cheerleader culture. I thought I could play basketball without breaking a fingernail.”
“Ho-ho,” Laura said flatly. “I have to say, though, you do have nice hands.”
“So, next year, we should have seven returning,” Ardith said. “With Amy and Natalie recruited, that should bring us to nine. And we might need to keep Amy on JV for a year before she moves to varsity. She’s only seventeen and needs some time to mature. Did you see anyone else I should be recruiting out there?”
“Well, your girl Tori is a dynamo, but you said she wasn’t going to college. And Diane is already committed. That number 22 for the Regals would be worth taking a look at. What is she? Six-four?”
“I think she’s just six-one, but she’s so skinny she looks taller. If I get any skinnier, I just look like a little girl instead of looking taller,” Brenda said.
“Makayla says there are definitely a couple of girls on the JV squad who we should consider. Why don’t we bring them in for a scrimmage tomorrow to get ready for the tournament? That way we can all take a look at them,” Grace said.
“That’s a good idea,” Ardith said. “I might end up putting Dennis in charge of the JV team next year instead of making him my assistant.”
“He sure reminded me a lot of you out there tonight,” Laura said. “He shuffled players in and out just to confuse the defenders, didn’t he?”
“It works pretty well against a team that only has a man-to-man defense. They are constantly having to switch up who they are guarding. You found that out against the Gusties last fall. We’ll keep with the same strategy, even though we don’t have quite the depth I’d like to have. Maybe I’ll dress a couple of the JV players to fill out the bench, if I see something I like tomorrow afternoon,” Ardith speculated. “I’ll see what Makayla thinks.”
“I like that about you, Coach,” Grace said. “You really listen to your team as well as telling us what to do.”
“You play together well and are observant. You’d have a perfect season if you hadn’t lost Coach Steinbeck. All four of your losses were on that long road trip to Wisconsin. I just don’t understand why your two assistant coaches suddenly quit when she passed away. That kind of situation usually reveals a coach who’s hungry for advancement,” Ardith said.
“We didn’t want them,” Laura said. “Things aren’t all as peachy keen at Salter as you might have been led to believe. We were on the road and Coach had her heart attack during the first game. We just couldn’t pull it together to play well after she was carted out on a gurney. Then Mr. Carson flew in and told us the other coaches would take over, we just told him we’d rather play without a coach than have either of those guys. We refused to dress for our next game until the two men had been sent back to Salter. We didn’t do that great in the game that night, but we only lost the next game by one. Makayla got us pulled together and then we started winning again. So, we went from three and oh to three and four. We haven’t lost a game since and we are really thankful you came to take over the reins.”
“I think I need to know more about what was going on,” Ardith said.
“Um… I’ve probably already said more than I should,” Laura said. “Just remember, those two guys are still in the department. They just aren’t coaching any women’s teams. I bet they’ll make a play for it next year, though.”
“There’s always something,” Ardith sighed.
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