Learning the difference 2.0

Time is too quick

    And of course, it was, practice drained Raelle out more than it originally does. Abigail was being a bully on the turf, bumping her teammates with her entire body weight, her stick in hand was on a whip, and she was ultimate—unstoppable.

As for Raelle, though she was still on her game being one of the smallest on the field, was on her A-game. Her speed was up a notch, her passing was to the T, and her shots were a bullet. Everything about her game today was on point.

Coach Sara Alder wasn't the only one that noticed.

"Ladies!" Assistant Coach Anacostia Quartermaine called out, getting all the attention from the players. In an instant, everyone was jogging towards both the coaches while the Defensive, Offensive, and Goalie coaches were already discussing the next practice plans on the side; though they could still hear what both coaches were saying.

"Bellwether and Collar, great practice; but please, it's practice. We don't want injuries going around for how fast the ball is going, "Coach Sara looked at Raelle, "And shoulder or any. other body injuries for how hard you're bumping into other people," She said looking at Abigail.

Both of them just nodded their heads in understanding. (It was mostly because of the argument they had earlier that fueled their playing this afternoon.)

"All in all, I think we're going to be ready for our first game in two weeks," Alder said in a straight face, but the fire in her eyes said that she was ready for this season.

All the girls cheered, a few were giving out high fives while some others were hopping around on their tip-toes and looking even more pumped at the statement of winning this season—even for a championship.

"But!" Coach Anacostia interrupted, "That means practices are going to be more demanding. They're going to be normal, but we're going to be running sprints every day, jogging on the treadmills in the weight rooms, running the track. Your lungs—your stamina—needs to be on point. Why, may you ask?" The smirk on Anacostia's face said it all. "Because our first game will be playing against Syracuse University!"

"Fuck yeah!" One of the players yelled in excitement, making everyone cheer along.

Sara laughed and used her hand motions to make everyone go quiet again—listening.

"You have fourteen days exactly, starting from today, to get your mind straight and your body's right. Healthy eating, make sure you log it because I will be tracking it, sleeping regular hours, and regular training. If you guys want to stay after practice and train more, email me or come to my office and schedule the times where we can meet. Nothing after eight p.m. and nothing before 7 a.m. If you are going to do it that late, you're also responsible to get your homework done on time and make sure everything in your life is also being prioritized. You call behind, that's your fault and you're the one that needs to be resilient in fixing your problems. Capiche?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Got it, coach."

"Yes, coach."

All players agreed to the statement and when everything was finished being said, "Quartermaine, call it."

"Hands in!" Anacostia called and everyone put their hands in a pile. "Trojans on three, family on six!"

"One, two, three, Trojans! Four, five, six, family!" All the women yelled together and started off to the locker rooms where all their clothes and showers were.

***

Getting back to her dorm, Raelle was dragging herself into her room and bed. Dropping all of her things and letting her body bounce on the twin-sized bed the university provided.