Game Face

by Sylvia Gunnery

  “I’ll go on over to the house,” said Gramp. “You’re almost done for the day. See you tomorrow.”

  “Thanks for the hand,” said Moyle.

  Sam and Rudy ran ahead, but Jay kept a slower pace with his grandfather as they made their way back up the lane.

  “Captain, eh?” Gramp said. “If the boys on your team gave you their votes, then looks like they agree with my opinion about the kind of captain you’ll be.”

  “It was a close vote.”

  “Still and all, you’re the team captain now and there’s no changing that.”

  On the drive home, Jay’s thoughts went back to the conversations about boat captains and team captains. He still had the braided twine in his hand.

  “What’s that bit of old twine, Jay?” asked his father.

  “Lemme see,” said Sam from the back seat.

  Rudy pushed his head forward in the off chance they were talking about something good to eat.

  “It’s nothing, Sam,” said Jay. “Just a frayed end cut off some lobster gear.”

  Sam and Rudy settled into the back seat again. Rudy flopped down with an exaggerated sigh and Sam began to count red cars that passed. “First red car!”

  “Gramp’s pretty proud of you being voted team captain,” said his father. “It was written all over his face.”

  “Yeah.” Jay spun the frayed twine.

  “Not sure you’re actually keen about the job, though. Something up?”

  “Not really.”

  “It’ll take some getting used to.”

  “Yeah, I guess.”

  “This is an honour your teammates have given you. They wouldn’t’ve done that if they didn’t think you were the right man for the job. And I know you’ve got what it takes to be the best team captain there is.”

  “Thanks, Dad.” Jay stuffed the braided twine into his jacket pocket.

  “Two!” yelled Sam.

  “Do parked cars count? There’s a red car in that gas station,” said their dad.

  “Three!”

  Jay looked out the window at the skeleton branches of bare maple trees.

  ***

  “Check this out,” said Kyung, scrolling through the photos on his cell. “Wait, not that one. Not that one. This one. Look, this is my friend in Korea. We have been friends for a long time.”

  A guy wearing a red team jersey was standing in a gym, a basketball tucked under his arm. His thick black hair was cut short on the sides with longer hair falling across his forehead, a lot like Kyung’s. In the background were other players in red jerseys and a few in white.

  “His name is Min Ki. His school is Whimoon High School in Seoul. His team has won the basketball championship many times.”

  “Is that the school you went to?” asked Jay.

  “Min Ki lives near my parents’ house, but we did not go to the same school.”

  The bell rang and they started toward homeroom.

  “Hey! Watch where you’re going!”

  Jay heard the shout and felt the pain in his arm at the same time. He caught his balance and rubbed his arm where Colin’s elbow had just planted a bruise.

  “What’s with crowding me?” said Colin, his voice still raised.

  “What’re you talking about? You just slammed my arm,” Jay said.

  “You were crowding me. Tyler saw the whole thing. He’ll back me up.”

  Tyler looked around sheepishly and said nothing. A few people had stopped to see what was going on.

  “We are Rockets,” said Kyung, his voice quiet and cautious. “On and off the court.”

  “Jay crossed over to the Cougars’ side,” said Colin. “And the way I see it, he never came back. But you probably don’t know anything about that or you wouldn’t have set him up for team captain.”

  “Is that what this is all about? Me being team captain?”

  “Team captain’s nothing,” said Colin. “It’s a joke.”

  “Team captain is not a joke,” said Kyung. “It is serious. A team captain has many responsibilities and many good qualities. That is why Jay was chosen for the position.”

  “Oh, so I don’t have what it takes to be captain?”

  “He’s not saying that,” said Jay. “What’s with you, anyway?”

  “Come on, Colin,” said Tyler. “Let’s just get going.”

  Jay watched them walk away. The stream of people in the hall divided and moved around him and Kyung as if they were boulders.

  “This will become a problem for the Rockets,” said Kyung.

  “Tell me about it.”

  “Colin is holding a grudge. I think it is for two reasons. One, because you are team captain and he would like the position. Two, because you play for the Cougars and they are the regional champions.”

  “Played. Past tense. Not play.”

  “Yes. Past tense. This is what I mean. But for Colin, last year is the same as the present. He is not forgetting.”

  If the situation was different, Jay could ignore Colin. Just stay outside his space. But they were Rockets and Jay was team captain. On and off the court, like Kyung said. Jay needed to defuse the Colin bomb before things got any closer to the detonation point. The question was, how could he do that?

  At lunch break, Jay headed to the gym. As he came down the stairs, he noticed Brendan sitting under the stairwell with a few friends. One was playing a guitar.

  “Hey, Brendan,” Jay said. “Wanna shoot a few baskets?”

  “You mean now?”

  “Sure. Why not?”

  Brendan stood up, rubbed his knee, then caught up to Jay.

  “What’s with hanging out under the stairwell?” asked Jay. “You always shoot baskets at lunch. You have your game to think about.”

  “I didn’t make the team.”

  “So?”

  “So why practise shooting baskets?”

  “Coach Willis isn’t playing you because your knee injury needs time to heal. But you still have to stay with the game. Coach wants you strong for next year.”

  “You think so?”

  “He has to plan for the future even while he’s concentrating on the present. You’ll be on the team next year when your knee’s ready for more basketball action.”

  There was a pickup game on one side of the gym, guys and girls playing together. With them were Colin and Tyler.

  “Let’s grab a basketball,” said Jay, heading to the other side of the gym. “You stand on the free-throw line and I’ll feed you the ball.”

  Out of five shots, Brendan was on the mark with three.

  “Okay, now go back to the three-point line,” said Jay.

  After he’d shot five more from just behind the three-point line, Brendan tossed the ball to Jay. “Let’s switch up.”

  “Take it easy on rebounds, though. Watch that knee.”

  A few shouts came from the pickup game. The action had stopped. Tyler was holding the ball and it was obvious that the girl standing in front of him thought she should have it. Colin’s opinion on the out-of-bounds ruling was loud and clear.

  “Someone should tell Colin pickup basketball’s supposed to be fun,” said Brendan.

  Jay decided not to say anything about Colin’s competitive streak. But again, he found himself picturing a bomb waiting to explode. He turned and made his shot from the free-throw line. The ball swished through the net and bounced before Brendan even saw it leave Jay’s hands.

  “Hey,” said Jay, “I got an idea for how you could stay connected to the team. Why not ask Coach Willis if you can be team manager? Look, he just went in his office. Might be a good time right now.”

  As Brendan knocked on the coach’s office door, Jay left the gym. He was pretty sure Coach Willis woul
d take Brendan on as team manager. It gave him a good feeling, like he’d done something right as team captain. Something his dad and Gramp would both be proud of.

  Jay found Kyung waiting for him by his locker. “I have been thinking,” said Kyung, “and I may have a very good idea to end this trouble with Colin.”

  “I’m listening.” Jay sorted through his books to find what he needed for afternoon classes — French and math.

  “Tyler is the person you must talk to.”

  “Tyler?”

  “He is Colin’s friend. He could help.”

  “Why should he?”

  “Because he is on the Rockets team.” Kyung looked very sure of himself. “Let’s go to find him now.”

  “I saw him in the gym playing pickup. But Colin’s there too. How’s that gonna work?”

  Kyung started toward the gym and Jay followed. He wasn’t the least bit sure this idea was a good one.

  The pickup game had already ended and Tyler was nowhere in sight. Neither was Colin.

  “So much for that,” said Jay, relieved. A confrontation with Colin wasn’t what he needed. “Guess we’ll just have to see how things go. Maybe we’re overreacting, anyway.”

  Kyung took out his cell phone and texted a quick message. An answer came right back. “Finn says Tyler is on his way upstairs. He is by himself.”

  Again, Jay followed Kyung.

  “There he is,” said Kyung when he spotted Tyler. “I will wait downstairs. You must talk to him by yourself, one-on-one.”

  Jay stepped toward Tyler. “Uh, got a minute?”

  Tyler looked surprised. “Sure.”

  “What was going on there in the hall? You know, with Colin slamming my arm and being so riled up? I don’t get it.”

  “Yeah, well, Colin gets ticked off. It doesn’t take much.”

  “He slammed into me on purpose. You were there.”

  “I was just walking along, and all of a sudden, there’s this thing happening. I didn’t see anything.”

  “Look, if Colin gets ticked off at me or anyone else on our team, it’s my problem. No matter where we are. I have to make sure there’s no inside conflict that’ll mess things up for the whole team.”

  “What am I supposed to do about it? Colin does what he wants, and nothing I say’s gonna change him. You’re the captain. You talk to him.” Tyler started to walk away. “It’s my team, too, you know. I don’t want things messed up either.”

  When Jay got to the bottom of the stairs, Kyung was waiting.

  “Tyler told me to talk to Colin. As if the guy’d listen.”

  “In-fighting is big trouble for the Rockets,” said Kyung.

  “Unless I can do something about it.”

  5

  Defence And Aggression

  “Okay, guys. Listen up,” said Coach Willis. “I want to introduce your team manager. Come over here, Brendan.”

  Brendan got up from the floor and stood beside Coach Willis.

  “This guy came to see me the other day and volunteered for the position of team manager. Told me he wants to stay connected to the team while his knee injury heals up. Right away, I told him yes. Why? Because Brendan’s the kind of player I want. When he doesn’t make the team, he figures out how to stay with the game. I admire that. Any coach’d admire that.”

  Jay gave Brendan a thumbs-up.

  “As team manager, Brendan will keep us organized: basketballs, uniforms, water bottles. He’ll keep stats on assists, points, turnovers, and so on. He’ll help get practices set up and keep attendance records. He’ll be the guy you call if you can’t make a practice. And you already know that something better be broken if you say you’re gonna miss a practice.”

  A few guys chuckled, though most of them knew Coach Willis was pretty serious. Missing a practice was at the very top of his DO NOT DO list. Missing two practices without an excuse was an automatic suspension for the next game.

  “If Brendan is in charge of all that stuff, what’s the team captain supposed to be doing?”

  Jay didn’t need to turn around to know who had spoken. And from the sarcastic tone in Colin’s voice, more trouble was on the way.

  “Well, Colin,” said the coach, “with all your basketball experience, I’m surprised you’re unable to distinguish between team captain and team manager. Anyone else confused about those jobs?” He looked around and got no reply, just as he expected. “Right. So I suggest you take a little break, Colin, and do some research in the library.” He looked at his watch. “Come back in ten minutes and give us a little summary about the basic jobs of team manager and team captain.”

  Colin didn’t move. “I was only joking around.”

  “I wasn’t,” said Coach Willis firmly.

  Colin hesitated, but then got up and slowly left the gym, all eyes on him.

  “Okay, that’s enough distraction for today,” said Coach Willis. “Let’s get some practice in, guys! Jay, talk us through some defence drills. Everyone form a line and listen up.”

  Jay’s brain suddenly went on pause. No ideas, no words, no images filled the empty space. “Defence,” he muttered to himself.

  Everyone waited for him to speak.

  Then he said out loud, “Defence!” He didn’t have a clue what he would say next, but he kept going anyway. “There’s one basic word for defence and that word is aggression. Defence is about aggression. If there’s no aggression, the offensive player can do whatever he wants.”

  Coach Willis was smiling.

  Jay could feel himself getting into it. “Randall, you’re defence. Show us the basics for keeping your balance and effective blocking.”

  When Randall had finished his demonstration, Jay pointed to Steve. “Steve, you’re offence. Let’s see Randall’s defence in action. When I say change, you guys’ll switch.”

  A few minutes later, Coach Willis blew the whistle and the action stopped. Colin had returned to the gym, a piece of paper in his hand.

  “Let’s see what you have there,” said Coach Willis. He glanced down Colin’s research notes. “Hmm.” Then he folded the paper and put it into his pocket. “I won’t take up practice time with a lesson about what a team manager does and what a team captain does, since these guys already know the difference. And now, you also know the difference, according to this paper. So get yourself into these drills and listen to your team captain.”

  Jay avoided looking at Colin. The most important thing was to keep the practice from going off the rails. “Okay, everyone. Pair up and grab a ball. Go over the defensive player’s hand positions for wherever the offensive player has the ball. Take turns on defence and offence.”

  Kyung picked up a basketball and stood in front of Jay, holding the ball as if he was about to make an overhead pass.

  Jay took the challenge. He put his hand under the ball and quickly lifted up. Kyung lost possession.

  “Very good move,” said Kyung.

  For the last thirty minutes of practice, Coach Willis called for three-on-three games. He would referee on one half of the court and Brendan on the other. When the numbering off was finished and the teams were formed, Jay knew he was in for a challenge. He would be playing on the same team as Colin.

  “We don’t just want cuts to the basket for layup shots,” said Coach Willis. “You have lots of options. Use your high post. Look for your player at the elbow of the key and feed him the ball. He can slow things down, pass forward, or even go for the shot. And remember, Brendan, don’t call free throws till we’re down to crunch time — that’s three-on-three rules. Okay, let’s see some Rockets’ basketball!” He grabbed a ball and went to the other end of the gym.

  Jay already had a plan to make the three-on-three work: focus on the basketball at all times and avoid eye contact with Colin.

 
Brendan flipped a coin and the other team got first possession.

  Within seconds, they scored.

  “Two–zero,” said Brendan. “Take it back.”

  Jay bounce-passed to Randall as Colin picked a spot under the basket. The ball came back to Jay and he made a long shot from the top of the key. It hit the backboard and they lost possession.

  Colin was miffed. “Keep your head up, Randall. I was wide open. You should’ve passed to me.”

  “You were blocked.”

  “Get glasses.”

  Jay kept his focus on the basketball. When his opponent held the ball above his head, Jay slipped his hand under it and quickly tipped it up. He caught the ball and pivoted. Colin was cutting toward the basket and Jay made a snap pass. Colin fumbled. The ball rolled out of bounds.

  Brendan blew his whistle.

  Jay was sure his pass had been right on the mark. Colin’s fumble had to be on purpose.

  Randall’s defence kept the ball out of action while Jay blocked his guard’s path to the top of the key. The player took a chance and tried a shot over Randall’s head. It went wide. Colin got the rebound and made the jump for two points.

  “Two–two,” said Brendan.

  When the score was 14–10 for the other team, Jay took a risk and jogged close to Colin as they got into position. “Rebound,” he said. It would be the surest way they could close up the score.

  Colin shrugged.

  Randall passed from behind the arc and Jay had the ball. Defence fell for Randall’s fake toward the basket. Jay went up for the long shot. It rebounded just as Colin freed himself from his guard. He grabbed the ball. As he jumped, his guard jumped, too, hitting Colin’s arm.

  “It’s a foul,” said Brendan. “Take it back.”

  “What’re you talking about? We get the free throw,” said Colin.

  “Only if the score’s 14–14,” said Brendan. “That’s what Coach said.”

  “That’s nuts!”

  “Let’s just play,” said Jay.

  “No one’s asking you.”

  “Come on,” said Randall. “It’s only practice. It doesn’t matter.”

  “You think like that,” said Colin, “and guess what? When it’s a real game, you’ll still think it doesn’t matter.” He picked up the basketball and walked past the top of the key to start the action again.