Team Manager CHAMP!
Chapter 26
THURSDAY AFTERNOON, Dennis sat with his team after a light practice. They all waited expectantly for his pep talk. They would be playing the Lynx in the semifinal Friday morning at 10:00. The students who had been regularly watching practice, including most of the boys’ team, the JV girls, and junior high girls, sat behind the girls on the bleachers.
“In a way, I’ve been dreading this day,” Dennis began to the surprise of his team. “This is the day that I have to dredge up something unpleasant and apologize to all of you. Last year, we played the team we face tomorrow in the state finals. By some quirk of fate, we ended up in the same bracket this year and tomorrow, we’ll play in the semifinals. I need to apologize to all of you. My so-called heroism the year before made me an enemy who tried to kill me the night before the final game. You all wore patches on your warmups where a bullet intended for me went through them. I caused you to all lose focus for that final game.”
“That’s not true, Dennis!” Natalie yelled.
“Yes, hon, it is true. The entire team was looking over its shoulder for a possible shooter. We didn’t know what might happen or where he might decide to strike next. We all lacked the focus you needed to win that championship game against a team that was absolutely no better than you were. You might be asking why I’m bringing up that unpleasant memory. Well, this year, we don’t have an imaginary shooter. There’s no one on the hunt for us except the Lynx. They think that because they beat us last year, it will be no real problem to beat us again this year. They are already focused on the Saturday night game. They have lost the one thing that we have known about every game this season. We have learned this season that the last shot can determine the outcome of the game. We have honed our skills to never be caught with an inadequate winning margin at the buzzer. We know that tomorrow morning is…”
“…the championship game!” the girls shouted.
“And there is nothing to alter our focus going into that game. We are going to throw everything we have at them tomorrow and they are going to see an Angelines team they never imagined existed. And what are we going to do?”
“Beat ’em!”
“How will we do it?”
“Run, run, run!” By this time, all the fans backing the girls knew the routine and joined in the chant.
“Who are we?”
“Angelines!” everyone yelled.
“The bus boards at 8:00 in the morning. Get rested. Be ready. Be on board!”
It might have been more rousing than the pep rally on Monday.
“Hello?” Dennis said when his phone rang. He hadn’t looked to see who was calling.
“Are you as nervous tonight as I am, Babe?”
“Ardith! Wow! I mean, hi! I didn’t look to see who was calling,” he said. “Nervous? I’m sitting in my bed huddled over a cup of my mother’s Sleepytime tea, hoping I’ll get at least a little rest tonight sometime.”
“I hear you. I can’t believe I just got here and am taking a team to the NCAA tournament. What if they discover I’m just a high school coach?” Ardith laughed.
“What if they discover I’m just in high school?” Dennis responded. “Gosh, babe, what have we gotten ourselves into?”
“A really big adventure. I just wish we were sharing it together like old times.”
“That was sure great. But we’ll be together again next year, right?” Dennis asked.
“Unless you abandon Brenda and me and decide to go to some Div I school.”
“Not a chance,” Dennis said. He took a sip of his cooling tea. “Um… How do you handle the pressure, Ardith? I mean, the girls are going to play the game, but I feel like the whole weight of the program is on my shoulders. What do I do now?”
“I suppose the same thing I’ll do,” Ardith said. “Uh… I mean, like, I’m here with a team of girls who held themselves together through a coach’s death—and apparently some other shit I haven’t found out about yet—and won ten straight before I got here. I’ve coached them through another ten wins, but they were already cooking on their own.”
“They depend on you, though. They can’t see when a substitution is needed or when to call a time out. They can’t see the whole game objectively like you can,” Dennis answered.
“See? You just answered your own question. Amy told Brenda about the pep talk you gave the girls this afternoon. You don’t really feel like the loss last year was your fault, do you?”
“Oh. Only sort of. I know all the rational reasons it wasn’t my fault, but I still feel a little responsible. When they came off the court after the finals last year, I could see the hurt in their eyes. They all knew they hadn’t played their best. They all knew we lost to a team that wasn’t as good. And I felt like it was all my fault for getting screwed up with Les Steinman. I didn’t want them to dwell on that part of the message. I hope they got the real intent.”
“Oh, I think so. Brenda said Amy was really fired up.”
“I don’t have any of the girls with me tonight. I insisted they all go home and rest.”
“Mmmhmm. I figured. Brenda is staying over with a teammate tonight. It’s too easy to get distracted when the girls are with their lover.”
“Yeah.”
“Um… You asked what I do.”
“Yeah. Any tips on how to get to sleep the night before a big game?”
“Well, I guess so. Please don’t ever let this out to anyone. Okay?”
“Sure. But if the solution involves alcohol, it won’t do me any good anyway,” Dennis laughed.
“It doesn’t. Though, I’ve been sipping a glass of wine while we talk. I used to kind of fantasize a little.”
“About the game?”
“No. About you.”
“Really?” Dennis asked in disbelief.
“This is so embarrassing.”
“No! Tell me.”
“Well, you have to get really comfortable. Like I am now. With no clothes on.”
Dennis moaned. Of course, he never wore clothes to bed, but the idea of Ardith naked in bed while they talked started an erection.
“Yeah. Me, too.”
“So, close your eyes and think about me, lying here in bed, naked, and thinking about you.”
“Oh, geez, Ardith!”
“Have you never thought about it before?”
“I… I have. A lot.”
“What do you imagine we’d be doing?”
“Mmm. Kissing. I really like to kiss,” he said.
“That’s something we have in common. When I think about kissing you, I get… Um… My nipples just got really hard and when I touch them it’s like electric shock waves go through my whole body.”
“Is it okay if I think about touching them? I guess I’ve done that a lot.”
“I imagine it’s your hands that are touching me.”
“Can I… kiss them?”
“Oh, yeah. Kiss. Use your tongue and flick them back and forth. Suck just a little. Yes, like that.”
“Baby, I think you are one of the most beautiful women I’ve ever met. I can’t wait to have my lips wrapped around your nipple. I’ve imagined it a lot.”
“What else do you think about, Den?”
“Remember the time I stopped by your place to talk about the team problems? You’d been working out. You were wearing a pair of those really short shorts. I think a lot about… touching you there. Feeling your butt in my hands.”
“Oh, god, yes. Hold my butt in both your hands while you’re sucking on my nipples. You’ll always be welcome to hold my butt. And you can move your hands around to the front, too.”
“Do you have any idea how often I’ve imagined sliding my fingers through your um… pussy.”
“Don’t be afraid to say that word to me, Dennis. I want your fingers in my pussy, just like I want mine wrapped around your cock. I want to feel how hard you get when you touch me.”
“I’m so hard right now, I feel like it will burst.”
“I hope, in a way, it does, but get on top of me first. Yes. I want our first time to be with you on top of me, looking into my eyes while you slide that big cock into my wet welcoming pussy. I want you there, Dennis. I want to feel your hardness penetrating my private places. I want to feel you thrusting in and out of me as I rise to meet each thrust.”
“Ardith,” Dennis moaned. “I’m… I’m not going to last.”
“Do it,” she said. “Pound into me and let me feel the jets of your come spurting against my cervix. Let me feel you come in my pussy because I’m… going to… come on your cock.”
Dennis started spurting, making a general mess of everything. He hadn’t really prepared to masturbate and didn’t have tissues or anything else at hand. The hot slippery goo was all over his chest, his pillow, and his sheets.
“Oh, Ardith. I love you!”
“I love you, Dennis. It’s only a few months before we make that fantasy a reality. But right now, we can both just lie here and bask in the afterglow as we drift off to sleep. Goodnight, lover.”
“Goodnight, darlin’.”
It didn’t take long before both were sound asleep.
Five buses followed the team bus at eight o’clock on Friday morning. For all intents and purposes, the school was empty and those who remained were in an all-morning study hall. An uncounted number of parents and siblings were taking off work and school to drive down to Des Moines for the semifinal game. Everyone was aware that this was the same team that beat the Angelines in the finals the year before.
Dennis was smiling and confident as his team finished dressing, getting taped, and went onto the hardwood to take their warmups. All eight cheerleaders had been allowed to dress for the game and already had the fans yelling before the warmups began. When the Lynx took the floor, Lana called out the cadence for the team’s well-rehearsed dribbling drill. The fans had seen this drill so many times now that they followed the cheerleaders in clapping in rhythm with the basketballs. The girls looked sharp. Then Lana called out the next drill and first Diane, then Natalie, then Rosie, and finally Janice caught passes at the board and dunked the ball. The fans were going crazy.
“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the Class 2A State Championship Semifinals. The first game this morning features a rematch of last year’s final contest between the Lynxes and the Angelines. One team will advance to the finals tomorrow afternoon,” the announcer said. He introduced the teams and their coaches, then the National Anthem was played. The officials were introduced and the players took the floor for the opening tipoff.
Diane controlled the tip, but Amy lost the ball under a concerted attack by two Lynx players before she got across the ten second line. It didn’t do the team much good as they drove toward the basket only to be blocked by Natalie. The Angelines took the ball out of bounds and came down court with no interference from the Lynx. Tori passed first to Amy and received the ball back from her just as Natalie cut toward the basket. With a bounce pass into the lane, Natalie picked up the ball and reversed her position to drop in a layup for the first score of the game.
If the Lynxes thought they’d get the same courtesy from the Angelines of letting them get down court without a fight, they were sadly mistaken. Janice got a foot on the ball on the inbound pass and knocked it back out of bounds. On the second attempt, the Lynx player who took the inbound pass turned straight into Amy, who snatched the ball away with a quick flip to Tori. Tori stopped short at the foul line and dropped in a jumper.
Overall, the Lynx were not good at handling the full court pressure applied by the Angelines on every play. Of their first three inbound plays, one was blocked, two were stolen. They lost the ball on the ten-second rule on another. The Angelines capitalized on every turnover and led 10-4 with four minutes left to play in the first quarter.
They didn’t let up. The quarter ended with the Angelines commanding an 18-8 lead.
They knew the Lynxes wouldn’t let up, but they were looking more and more like the inept team that had somehow managed a State Finals berth the year before. It was obvious the Angelines were playing at peak performance. The half ended with a lead of 37-20.
“We’ve got some younger girls who’d like a chance to play,” Dennis said. “Stretch out the lead to thirty-five points and I’ll put them in for the rest of the game. Until then, we’ll continue the rotation of our top nine. Janice, Rosie, Diane, Amy, Tori, Natalie, Judith, Leanne, and Daphne. Keep the pressure on. Never ever slow down against this team. They will exploit a weakness if you show one. What do we do?”
“Run, run, run!”
“Who are we?”
“Angelines!”
The girls hit the court as if they just got up from an eight-hour nap and were fresh and ready to roll. Four of the Lynxes’ starting five were seniors and there was little depth on their bench. After a first half that had seen relatively few fouls, the second was filled with fouls, some on the Angelines.
By the end of the third quarter, two of the Lynx seniors were in foul trouble. The Angelines led 62-40. It wasn’t the thirty-five-point lead Dennis wanted, but he began sending in the bench on rotations. Senior Chris Davis and freshman Carrie Vogel were the first to take a place in the rotation. It was obvious they were less experienced and allowed a couple of quick scores by the Lynx. But the Lynx soon discovered they were not easy targets to foul. Chris stepped up to the line for two shots and sank them both. Not a minute later, Carrie got an opportunity for two free throws and made both.
Liz and Bobbie, both sophomores, made their appearance next, guided by the more experienced Natalie, Tori, and Diane. Neither scored, but both were responsible for rebounds. Finally, Jennifer and Jayden got to play for a couple of minutes. Jennifer dribbled the ball off her foot and out of bounds, but then blocked the inbound pass and deflected it to Natalie, who was all alone when she laid the ball up and in for an easy two.
The Lynx closed the gap to ten with two more minutes to play and Dennis returned to his starting lineup by sending Amy and Janice to join Tori, Natalie, and Diane. They finished out the game with each of the team members making a trip to the foul line for ten extra points. It simply didn’t pay to foul players who shot eighty-plus percent of their free throws. The final score was 80-55. The Angelines would advance to the finals on Saturday.
“Are we going down to watch the Crusaders tonight?” Amy asked on the bus home.
“No. The game isn’t until seven-thirty and it would be ten or eleven before we could get home,” Natalie said. “We’ll catch the game Saturday night after we win the state championship.”
“And then we’ll be free to watch all the games, but I suppose none of the sweet sixteen will be played at Salter,” Lana said.
“Maybe,” Dennis said. “The host school is based on a number of factors, including what schools are the top seed and which have men’s teams in the tournament. If they host the men’s game, they can’t host the women’s game.”
“How weird,” Natalie said. “I guess we’ll get used to a whole new level of weird next year.”
“Let’s get ready to cheer for our team online tonight,” Dennis said.
Four teams were at Salter for round one of the ‘Big Dance.’ In the first game at 5:30, the Titans would go up against the Warriors. Both teams had traveled in to Salter on Wednesday so they could get a decent sleep and rest up before the game Friday night. The Gusties were from almost as far away as the other two teams, but they chose to come in on Thursday morning. All three teams had been given time on the Salter court to get used to the environment.
Unfortunately, the distance meant that the fans were sparse at this game. The gym sounded vaguely hollow as the Warriors finally mastered their rivals with a 42-38 victory.
Then it was time for the Crusaders to face the Gusties. It was a whole different atmosphere when the Crusader fans filled the gym and began to raise the roof with their noise.
Payton controlled the tipoff and Gloria passed the ball to Eve to get the game in motion. It was obvious the Gusties knew about Gloria’s reputation under the basket, as she was double-teamed from the start. But that left Laura open from the baseline for a three-pointer. It went long, and the Gusties brought the ball downcourt to try their hand at driving for the basket. A scoreless minute of the ballgame went by before Jillian drove toward the basket on a feed from Eve and deposited the first two of the game.
The Gusties answered, but as the quarter progressed, the Crusaders sank four for every three the Gusties landed. The game was in the Crusaders’ control from that point on. They won 75-58 and would face the Warriors Saturday night.
“They sure played rough,” Amy said. “I couldn’t believe more fouls weren’t called. I thought Brenda would end up in the bleachers when that big 24 hit her on the drive. The refs didn’t call anything!”
“In the tournament, the refs tend to not call as many fouls as in regular season play,” Dennis said. “We saw that in the Conference Tournament, as well. That does not go for our tournament. Don’t think you can get away with that kind of action in our game tomorrow. The high school refs are much more rigid.”
“I didn’t even look to see who we’re playing tomorrow,” Natalie said.
“We’re playing the Cyclones. They took out the Lions this morning,” Dennis said.
“What should we be watching for?”
“They’ve got some height, but I don’t think it’s anything we can’t match on the inside. They’ll go for a lot of mid-range shots and layups. They aren’t strong from the three-point range, but there’s always the possibility someone will come alive out there.”
“We need you and Tori to come alive,” Lana told Natalie. “You two are the best three-point and free throw shooters in the state.”
“Well, maybe not the best, but Tor sure has come alive out there, hasn’t she?” Natalie asked.
“Maybe having a boyfriend and getting laid regularly has been good for her,” Amy laughed. “I know it always makes me feel better.”
“Not tonight, ladies,” Dennis said. “Everybody home and to bed. Sleep in tomorrow. Eat well early. We pack up to leave at one o’clock.”
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