Enemy Lines (completed)

41

Waking the next day I workout as I try to clear my mind of the fastly approaching future.

What's going to happen once I leave the team. I went from a consultant for start up companies to the national team head coach, what else lies ahead. I know that I want to stick close to my kids but coaching opened up my past. I feel like I'm finally getting the closure I needed from the sport that broke me.

Everyone always asks me if I regret playing sports. I don't, and now I can confidently say that I will leave this sport better then I found it.

Maybe I could coach but then I would travel almost every weekend and I don't want the kids to have to go through that. They deserve a normal childhood where they are stable. They don't need a nomadic parental figure who is never home.

They've already lost so much they can't have me become an in and out figure in their life. That isn't fair to them.

After contemplating my future for a good hour and a half I head back to the hotel. I shower and finish up my film on the Swedes as a whole before getting dressed in board shorts and hoodie. I put KT tape on my back as my back was killing me. My back is getting better but after having a rod inserted into my spine it never feels the same and sometimes. Even if the days are few and far between it flares up and can sometimes feel as if I'm paralyzed from the waist down with how bad the nerve pain is.

I wake the kids and head down to breakfast. Once everyone is inside the ball room I address the team.

I walk to the front of the room. "So today after breakfast we will have a one hour film session after that we will do a full team, team bonding session. Coaching staff and all. We will vote after film but the three options we have are Water polo, 4 by 100 freestyle relay race, or we will do 100 meter free style races. All of these have to do with the water as it's not as hard on your joints or your body, and because we already rented out the aquatic center." They just as we go back to eating.

I personally wanted to play water polo as it was fun and truly tested your lower body stamina and strength.

We finished eating before making our way to the conference where my computer was already set up for the film session.

I waited for everyone to take their seats and for those who wanted paper and a pen to gather the materials needed before running through the film. Pausing when necessary and adding my thoughts on how to shut them down or where to cross and so on.

After we got through the film session I dismiss everyone but Carli,Alex,Becky, and Julie to stay back. Since I see them as sorta leaders in their positions I gave them a sheet of paper and addressed my biggest concerns for their positions and teammates. Once all possible notes were taken I dismiss them to get change and to meet me down in the lobby in 30 minutes.

I make sure the kids are dressed in their swimsuits before heading down to the lobby. Once everyone including the staff are dressed in what they feel comfortable swimming in.

We lead onto the bus and start the 20 minute drive to aquatic center in France. Once we all arrive and stretch properly since I don't need my assistant coach straining something I hold the vote. "Okay raise your hand for water polo?" A good bunch raise their hand as I take tally of everyone who does so. "Raise your hand for 100 meter relay races, teams of 4?" That gathers just a little under water polo. "And raise your hand for solo 100 meter races?" Only about 6 people wanted to do so.

I count up my tallies and determine the winner. "So the option with the most votes was Water polo with 56% of the vote. This will be a more relaxed version of the sport as there will be no tit punching, scratching, or trying to down your opponent. This is all light hearted but the team who loses will have to do one of my workouts. Is that okay with you all?" They all nod as I pull out swim caps. "So we will do 3 teams, 11 people on a team. Nick will keep score. If I hand you a blue cap head to the right, red cap head to the left, white cap head to where I'm standing now. And then we will have a rock off for who sits out the first round.

To keep it fair I randomly toss out caps as I walk by.

Green:
Me
Tobin
Kelley
Carli
Abby W
Alyssa Naher
Hannah Chapman
Morgan
Lindsey
Emily
Christie Rampone

Red:
Ashlyn
Alex
Becky
Christen P
Shannon
Ali
Julie
Sam
Megan
Allie
Alannah Westin

Blue:
Hope
Abby D
Amanda Blackburn
Crystal
Tierna
Jessica
Mal
Rose
Adrianna F
Derrick McMullian
Alyssa Borne

The girls and staff were mixed together really well. Green and blue would face off first as the rest of the staff who didn't want to play would ref. They ran us through the very basic rules and said anyone getting to aggressive would be pulled out of the play for the rest of the day and threaten my workout as punishment.

All the keepers decided to get in net with Hope pushing up as a forward like role. Me and the coaching staff would be going up against each other as we lined up in front of each other.

We whooped the blue team so bad they almost started a position to get me out of the pool but the staff, well my staff said I was winning fair and square causing the mercy rule to be brought into affect. We beat them 5-0.

The red team hopped into the pool next. I was a little worried about trying to get past Ashlyn
In net as she's grown up on the beach.

This time we ran into some problems as for whatever reason most of the strongest swimmers on our national team were all in the red team. We still beat them 5-3 getting really close towards the end. Carli was able to win the game for us with a beautiful dummy bounce pass that I let go by me and into the next confusing Ashlyn and Ali who were tracking me closely.

We, the green team got out of the pool after that as the battle for Last place was in affect. We stretched out and dryer off as we watched the game unfold infront of us. I could tell my plan was working as Sam and Abby lost track of a few passes as they were laughing to hard. I almost thought I would have to jump in and save Abby a few times as she was laughing so hard she could barley stay afloat.

I truly thought she would drown with how hard she was laughing. The red team barley won with a "nail biting" finish. 5-4 victory taht o yo happened because Adrianna was laughing so hard she couldn't see the ball. Everyone got out of the pool and dried off.

We still had two hours left of use in the aquatic center before we had to leave so why not use all of it. "We have 2 hours left here so assemble your team of 4 people if you want to race." I say as I head to the side of the room. We decided to have a tall team so Me, Abby, Sam, and Hope got in a team together.

Team tall: Me,Abby, Sam, Hope

Team LA: Alex, Christen, Tierna, Amanda

Team Jersey: Carli, Tobin, Christi, Hannah

Team D-back: Kelley,Becky,Abby, Crystal.

We all got lined up we had pretty good odd as I would go last to make up time.

We came in first by 4 tenths of a second as Team D-back came seconds followed by Team La, as team Jersey limped to the finish line. After that we all mess around playing Marco Polo and other pool games to waste time.

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Go check out Double Duty, my new book that is about 25-30 chapters as of now. Also how do you all feel about this book.

Anyway stay safe, drink water, don't die.