beautiful mistake - joe burrow

1

"Good morning, Joe" Joe Burrow had just entered the facility when head coach Zac Taylor greeted him, which was usually not a good sign. The look on the coach's face didn't look like a carefree day either.

"Bad news..." So Joe had been right, but waited anxiously to see what could be causing the coach such concern that he personally intercepted him at the entrance. "...Nick got it, Corona, he's in quarantine" Zac explained with a sigh.

Nick Cosgray was one of the Bengals' athletic trainers, Director of Rehabilitation and in charge of getting him back in shape since Joe's injury break, which was working out really well so far.

"I hope your test just now was negative" Joe nodded. "At least something good" Zac sighed again. "So what am I doing today?" Joe asked when Zac made no effort to give him a solution to the problem.

He had to keep training, training camp would start in two weeks and if he really wanted to play again from Week 1, Joe really needed to be able to attend.

"The other athletic trainers are stressed as hell anyway, you know how it is before camp. We want to make sure nobody gets hurt. As much as I wanted to, I can't put any of them down for you"

"So that means my recovery training will be pushed so far behind until Nick is back? Won't that take over two weeks?" Joe was not at all happy with the idea of waiting that long. His injury had set him back enough, not being on the field for months. There was no way he was going to miss the new season.

"I'm sorry, Joe. We'd only have one alternative. Have you met Simmons yet?" Joe shook his head. "New athletic trainer fresh out of college, passed the BOC exams with flying colors. Been with us three weeks, young, dedicated and really good at what she does"

"she? The new coach is female?" Joe asked, surprised. Zac nodded. "She hasn't had much experience yet, but I'm sure she can handle you" "do you really think that's a good idea?" Joe asked uncertainly, not because Simmons was a woman, but, as the coach mentioned, had little experience.

"Trust me, with her help, you'll be on the field in two weeks at camp training with the others" Zac assured him. Joe sighed, "alright, she's my only chance right now".

"Miss Simmons?" Hectically, Elle jumped up from the chair, put her cell phone in her pocket and looked expectantly at the woman who had shoved the wand up her nose for the corona test a few minutes earlier. "the test is negative. You may enter the facility" the woman handed Elle the document with the confirmed result, wished her a nice day and turned to the next employee.

Elle put the document in her backpack, shouldered it and walked out of the testing center toward the Cincinnati Bengals facility. It still didn't feel quite real when she started her workday in the morning, had to show her employee ID at the gate and, after testing, pushed open the large glass doors to enter her workplace. Who would have thought she would be officially working for an NFL team just a few months after graduation?

She walked down the long hallway with countless pictures of Bengals games and teams hanging on the walls. In her first weeks, she had often stopped in front of one of the pictures, analyzing the play or trying to recognize some of the players in the team pictures, but by now she knew them pretty well and the time she spent in front of them she preferred to invest in other things.

Once in the athletic trainers' meeting room, most of them were already in their seats, talking to each other or seemingly busy on their cell phones. In all, there were six of them. Five men and Elle, but that didn't bother her at all.

She had grown up with two older brothers, so she knew how to assert herself to the opposite sex, and through them she had also discovered an interest in football. Both of her brothers had played in high school, though never successfully enough for a scholarship or even a career in the NFL, but still Elle had enjoyed going to their games and watching.

Her father, unlike her brothers, had gone on to play college football. Scholarship to college, but due to an extremely serious injury he sustained during a game, he had to end his career before it had even begun. Later, he had worked as a college coach for a few more years.

When Elle started high school she was convinced that she wanted to be a football player, she had often practiced with her brothers for fun and really enjoyed it, but unfortunately there was no team near her that would have let her play as a girl, so in the end she only became a cheerleader on the sidelines of the games.

Her interest in football later led her to study physical therapy at the University of Cincinnati, and her top grades earned her a scholarship. After four years and a six-month internship as a physical therapist for the college team, she realized that she saw her future in sports and decided to continue her education as an athletic trainer.

Now, two years later, she had completed her master's degree and the required BOC exam. Her excellent degree, along with her internship experience and exceptional performance from the BOC exam, had caught the attention of the Cincinnati Bengals, and through close connections she had with key people in the team, she was accepted as a new athletic trainer.

Now, as she sat down in her seat, she immediately noticed that Nick was missing. He was something like her mentor, making sure she got something to do, that she did it right, and always giving her tips and tricks that he had from his years of experience.

Usually Nick was always the first one there, preparing the day, dividing up who had what task, who had to mentor a player and so on. So it was very unusual that he didn't seem to be there yet today.

When Michael, who was the youngest in the group after Elle and yet nine years older than her, but she still got along with him the best and had often been assigned to work with him the last few weeks, was the last to enter the room, as usual, dropped into the seat next to Elle and smiled briefly at her in greeting, Paul, the head athletic trainer and, so to speak, the superior of everyone here, stood up.

"first of all, I wish you all a good morning. Good to see you all" he smiled to the group. "A new week is upon us and I'm sure you've noticed we're not complete today" he looked at the empty chair to his left where Nick normally sat.

"Nick tested positive for Corona and because of that he will have to spend the next while at home in quarantine. We wish him a speedy recovery, of course, but we can't let his absence hold us up too much" everyone nodded in agreement, while Elle suddenly became worried. She knew that most of the athletic trainers had enough to do even before Nick's illness, but what would they face if they now had to take over his work as well?

"I already had a conference call with Nick and Zac this morning about it. We talked about how things should go on, who should take over Nick's duties. Because especially the build-up training of quarterback Burrow, which falls under his jurisdiction, still has to happen" a hum went through the room, no one had time to get Burrow back up to speed in addition to his duties.

"We have therefore come to the final conclusion that everyone will stick to their duties and Simmons will take over the rebuilding training for Burrow" Elle's head snapped up. Surprised, she stared at Paul as she noticed everyone else staring at her.

She was still in the acclimation phase, now she was already going to take over the build-up training for the quarterback on her own?

"Don't worry Simmons, Nick has already put out a plan that you just have to follow and then judge Burrow's progress. We're not just throwing you in at the deep end, especially when it comes to our quarterback. Nick has confidence in you and you can always reach him if anything comes up" Paul assured her.

Welcome to my story about joe burrow 😊

I hope you will like it ❤️

Leave a like and comment, thanks!!