Phoebe, you know I don’t like to talk about that stuff with my players.” He scratches his neck and then adds, “Only in the most extreme circumstances.”
“It’s just that I’m really still hoping for a scholarship. Hopefully D1. Obviously not Truman—”
“Truman is off the table. If we had won the championship, it might be a different story.” His tone is cool. Matter-of-fact.
“Right. But maybe Wilcox could be a possibility? So Mel and I can be in the same division.…” She swallows. “I’d even be willing to consider a lesser option, like Trident.”
Before Phoebe had gotten injured, Trident was her safety school. It wasn’t D1 but also wouldn’t be far from Mel and Truman. They wouldn’t play each other, but they could still watch each other play.
Coach’s lip curls. “Trident? You’re kidding me, right? Come on, Phoebe. You’re way too good of a player to slum it on Trident. Forget them.”
It’s not exactly a compliment, but that Coach believes she’s “too good” for anything makes Phoebe’s heart swell. However, there’s something Phoebe needs to tell him. Something she’d been hoping not to mention.
“I think they’ve forgotten me, actually.” Phoebe bites her bottom lip. “I reached out to Trident’s scout on Wednesday. A guy named Jon Dockey.” Phoebe looks to see if Coach recognizes the name, but instead his face darkens just like a storm cloud, the kind that sends you scrambling for cover. “I, um, knew Trident was looking at me last season, so I figured it would be a good idea to catch him up on my progress.”
Glaring at her, Coach growls, “You did what?”
“I’m sorry.” She knew he’d be angry. But he’s furious.
A tendon in Coach’s neck tightens, straining against his skin. “Did he write back?”
If she were wearing her Knee Spanx, Phoebe would slide it off her leg and roll it down over her face. “No.”
“Have you written to any other schools?”
Phoebe shakes her head. “Only Trident, because it was my safety. And I thought hearing they were still interested would give me a little confidence boost. I didn’t think for a second they might not want me.”
Phoebe hates how hard she’s fishing for some kind of reassurance that everything can still work out for her. Mel will talk Phoebe up until she’s blue in the face. But Coach is the one person on this team who knows firsthand exactly the position she’s in right now.
Coach is a former all-star collegiate player, a D1 starter. While playing at Truman, he also earned a spot on the Junior National Field Hockey Team. After graduation, Coach moved up to the Men’s National Team and spent two years playing all over the world.
Within that span of time, he’d had a total of eight ACL surgeries, four on each of his knees.
Coach was in the middle of Olympic tryouts when his career officially ended. Both his ACLs completely shredded. Even with the best doctors, there was nothing left for them to repair.
And he’s the only one she can trust to tell her the hard truth.
“This is exactly why I don’t want my players contacting any scouts on their own. Even with your knee injury, Trident is still way below you. They should be begging you to come play there. I don’t know what you said to this Jon person, exactly, but it’s clear how you came across. Desperate.”
“I’m so sorry. Really.”
Coach runs his hands through his hair, pulling on his curls, releasing the tension inside him. “All it takes is one email from me to get you back on the scouting radar. An email I will send when and if I feel that you’re ready.”
“Thank you, Coach. Seriously.”
“But let me make one thing perfectly clear, Phoebe,” Coach says, his voice low and intense. “You and I will not have another conversation about scouts until I say there’s something to talk about. And you and I will never have another conversation about you going to Trident again. If you can’t follow my rules, you won’t play on my team. Do you understand me?”
“Absolutely. One hundred percent.”
Coach glances around for someone he seems ticked off isn’t already there, poised for action. Mel, surely.
“Do you need something, Coach? I can gather the girls in the backyard for your speech.”
“Fine. Go ahead.”
Though he’s still clearly pissed at her, Phoebe’s relieved. It’s the best she could have hoped for. Coach is offering her a simple solution to a complicated problem. She has to prove herself on the field. If she can do that, and she will, he’ll