Don't Let Me Fall

Chapter 21: Coach Don't Care

I can smell the popcorn in the air, hear the small squeaks of shoes on the freshly waxed floor. I watched my first game at Mizzou Arena, and here tonight I would play my last.

There are a lot of things you can want in a lifetime. Some want to win the lottery, others want to have a big family. Me? I want to win a state title.

I've wanted to win ever since I was old enough to know what winning was . Now that I'm here, I don't really know what to do about it.

I've spent countless hours in my driveway shooting, dribbling, and trying to be the best.

Mizzou Arena seats 15,061 people, which seems like a big number. Well imagine it from the actual court.

"Girls, do you remember the speech I gave to you at the very beginning of the season? I'm going to give you the same exact speech." He adjusted his belt then continued.

"I've been coaching for twenty years, and I still don't have a state title, and I hope you guys can change that. Well today is the day you actually change that. I don't care how tired you are. I don't care if you're about to puke, you fight till the finish. Never give up, don't give them that satisfactory." He pointed to the team we were going to be playing.

"Play for someone. Play for something. If you don't have anyone to play for, play for me. Do it for me because there will never be anyone who has enjoyed coaching a group of girls, more than me."

Somewhere behind the athlete I've become, the hours of practice, all of the coaches who have pushed is a little girl. A little girl who fell in love with the game of basketball and never looked back. I play for her.

South Callaway was dressed in black uniforms, with gold stripes. Our white ones, with maroon stripes were much nicer even though our school was much poorer than their's.

They had a height advantage, but they looked like a bunch of heifers.

There were a lot more people here from Schuyler, which surprised me since South Callaway was the largest 2A school in this division. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that this was the first time that a Schuyler basketball team ever made it to the state championship. Both of us are undefeated, which meant only one of us would leave that way.

"Schuyler County five foot point guard, Sam Shoey!" The announcer said, his voice floating throughout the stadium.

I stood up, then slapped my teams hands. I gave the refs a fist bump. It was just my luck that one of the refs was the same guy who gave me a tee against Marceline. He glared at me, his eyes furious. That wasn't really a good sign, considering that the game hadn't even started and he already had a grudge against me.

I glanced up in the stands, seeing all the familiar and unfamiliar faces. Right behind the bench were most of the parents. My dad was sitting next to his brother, probably chatting about the health care system, or a patient that he had saved. My mom was sitting in between Noah and Ann, her hand resting casually on her large, swollen stomach. She looked tired, probably from her last shift at the hospital. Ann Duncan just looked happy to be alive. Jaxon was holding Brooke in his lap, bouncing her up and down. Brooke had a maroon bow in her hair, and had a homemade shirt that said 'Sam the Man' on it.

There were a lot of unexpected people that came. Addison Tucker came, which is saying something considering she plays no sports, and usually has her nose buried in a book.

"I'm so nervous." I said to Hannah.

She laughed a short laugh.

"I'm a freshman, starting in a state championship, I think I win." She replied.

She nudged me in the ribs.

"You shouldn't be nervous, play for Baylor today. Show them what they're missing out on." I flashed a brief smile, but then stared down at the ground.

I looked back to where Jaxon was sitting. He was already staring at me. His face was blank and expressionless.

"Ladies, let's keep it clean. Vocal captains, if anyone has an issue, don't be afraid to come to one of us." I refocused back to the captain's meeting. I shook both the girls' hands across from Hannah and me.

The girl on the left who's name I had learned was Gracie slightly smiled at me, but then turned off to go back to her team. Something about her seemed very formiliar. Her big brown eyes seemed unforgettable, but I just couldn't pin point where I knew her from. It most likely is a basketball connection, considering that's how I meet most of my friends.

"Keep your head in the game and you'll be fine." Megan said, lightly patting me on the shoulder.

She walked towards the center of the court, me following close behind her. Megan was clearly the shorter girl.

I swallowed. I could already feel the sweat on my palms.

"You've got this Meggie!" I encouraged. She didn't say anything, and instead she glared at me.

She had a reason to though. The girl she was jumping against easily cleared six-foot-three.

The referee that didn't like me, let's just call him Ralph, threw the ball into the air. Megan jumped, but she didn't even lay a finger on the ball. As we hustled back to defense, she threw me a smile, but it quickly faded into a game face.

We set out defense up, which was a man-to-man. I matched up with the smallest girl on the court, who happened to be the girl named Gracie. She was a lot taller than me, but wasn't probably as fast as me.

"Hands up!" Coach shouted from the bench. He clearly was as nervous as the rest of the team. He was already pacing, and the game had just started.

Gracie passed it to a wing. The wing held the ball, waiting for a screen at the post.

"Screen!" I shouted at Haley, but was unsuccesful.

The wing past it into the post, who then laid it off the glass for two. I could here coach stomping his foot on the ground.

Hannah passed the ball into me. She quickly ran back to her spot on the right wing, me following behind her.

This was my last game, and I was going to make it a good one.