Swished Hearts

Warm Welcome

Stepping onto the basketball court, Sofia couldn't help but feel a sense of awe at the grandeur of the space. The polished wood gleamed under the bright lights, and although the seats were empty and the screens off, she could only imagine the electric atmosphere during a game. She immediately spotted a lady wearing the team colors, who approached her with a big smile.

"You must be Mrs. Padilla. Welcome!" She shook Sofia's hand vigorously.

"Thank you for arriving early. I wanted to show you the infrastructure and brief you about your position before you meet everyone on the team."

"Thanks a lot, Mrs Borowiec. I look forward to seeing how I can be of help."

"Call me Lynn, dear, please. As a member of the staff, you're part of the family now. I'll show you the lockers, changing room, and where you'll be working." Sofia followed Lynn, amazed by the quality of the equipment.

"So, bringing you here is aimed at freeing some of my time so I can focus on building personalized workouts with the head coach Geno Auriemma, follow the success of such training on the players' physical abilities, and lead evaluations and assessments even more regularly. I also am in charge of managing all the medical appointments of the girls, and I supervise the nutritionist. As you can guess, this leaves you with the task of injury prevention and rehabilitation exercises. It corresponds most to your background in kinesiology and will allow you to work part-time close to the team's trainings. You can have your office open before or after training based on what you feel is the most useful."

Sofia couldn't believe the task she was being given. It was awesome, but also a lot of pressure. Thankfully, Lynn seemed to see the brief panic in Sofia's eyes.

"Obviously, I'll monitor you and help you whenever you have a question. The goal here is really to take some tasks off my hands so I can focus more on the specialized aspects. And here will be your office." They had reached the end of the changing rooms' corridor, and Sofia could not suppress a gasp.

As she stepped inside her now office, she felt like a kid in a candy store. She could see multiple machines such as treadmills, bikes, and elliptical trainers, weight machines, and resistance bands. In a corner of the gym-like office, Sofia's workstation included a treatment table and everything she could think of to help the girls get back on their feet as soon as possible—balance boards, foam rollers, agility ladders, you name it. The possibilities were endless, and Sofia's brain immediately started to work on potential all-rounder exercises she could set up.

"Now, this contains all the files about the girls. Previous injuries, medical history, anything relevant to their physical and mental condition... I'll let you review all of this, but the sooner you can build personalized plans, the better. Additionally, we have three athletes who are coming back from last season's injuries that you can focus on, as the season is only starting. The girls can also request some personal time if they have any discomfort, so I would suggest setting up your office hours quite quickly. I know this is a lot to take in, but you're part of the team, and everyone is here for each other, so don't stress too much." Lynn concluded, handing Sofia an iPad.

"This is great, thank you! I'll make sure to make a list of questions I may have during the week to better understand the organization, but I'll get to work right away."

"Perfect, Sofia, thanks a lot. I'll lead you to Geno now. He's always 10 minutes early to training, and he's looking forward to meeting you. You can then assist the first training while reviewing the files I gave you. Take the week to settle in, but you'll see the girls don't wait a lot before getting intense on the field, and you may have your hands full sooner than expected."

Sofia did not know who Geno Auriemma was before, but she now could say he was easily one of most friendly people she had ever met. He had immediately put her to ease, gifted her a jersey, sweatshirt and pants with the team logo, alongside some goodies.

"Alright, Sofia, the girls will be here any minute" Geno said, breaking into her thoughts. "By now, I know they must have partied a bit yesterday, but I doubt they would risk being late to the first training of the season."

As if on cue, the doors slammed open, and three girls barged in, jumping and yelling, their excitement contagious as they made a beeline for Geno.

"Let's gooooooo! We're back, baby!"

"Mr Auriemmaaaaa! We missed you!"

"Can't wait to die in suicide laps!"

However, their screams faltered when they spotted Sofia standing among them.

"Hello, girls" Geno said, stepping forward to greet them. "I'm glad to see you all so enthusiastic. Please welcome Sofia, who is joining our staff this season. I'll let her introduce herself a bit more, but I want everyone to arrive first."

The girls exchanged curious glances before a girl stepped forward with a grin. "Nice to meet you, Sof. Wait, can I call you Sof?"

Sofia chuckled, nodding in approval. "Please do"

"Awesome. I'm Azzi, this is Nika," she gestured towards the brunette who was busy exchanging hugs with Lynn, "and this is KK," she added, bumping her fist against Sofia's.

"TWINNNNN!" Their introductions were cut short by Nika's excited yell as the rest of the team poured into the room, led by a blonde whose presence made Sofia's heart skip a beat.

"TWINNNN!" Paige ran up to Nika, enveloping her in a tight hug. As she glanced over Nika's shoulder, her eyes locked with Sofia's, and Sofia couldn't help but break eye contact, feeling a flush creep up her cheeks.

"Hey, Geno, you didn't tell me we had a new player" Paige remarked, a playful smirk dancing on her lips as her gaze lingered on Sofia.

"Actually, now that everyone's here, I'll let her introduce herself" Geno replied, shooting Sofia an encouraging nod.

With all eyes on her, Sofia took a deep breath, steeling herself for the attention. "Hey, everyone, I'm Sofia, but you can call me Sof. I'm a junior, just transferred to UConn, and I'll be your kinesiologist for the season. I can't wait to get to know all of you, although if you could avoid landing in my office too often, that'd be great" she added with a grin.

A few chuckles rippled through the group as Sofia finished her introduction, and she couldn't help but feel a sense of relief wash over her.

"Well, you're in for a treat, Sof. We've already got three players injured from last season," Nika laughed.

Paige stepped forward; her gaze fixed on Sofia with an intensity that sent a shiver down her spine. "Yep, sorry to say that Nika's right. We're about to become very familiar with your office" she teased, her lips quirking up into a knowing smile.

"I'm sure you're so sad about that" Nika giggled behind her. Sofia feigned deafness and so did Paige.

"Anyway, I'm glad to see you're actually in the team" Paige concluded.

Sofia blushed slightly, "Actually I hadn't received the confirmation yet," she said laughing.

"It would have been a shame not to have you here," Paige's smile widened into a full grin.

Sofia didn't have time to reply as the girls were called to the centre of the pitch to start training. She sat down on the bench, turned her attention to the Ipad in her lap and started reading the girls' files. And boy, was Paige's file long. The girl had a number of injuries to her knee and Sofia knew she'd have to spend a lot of time looking after her. Not that she minded of course.

She took notes and started working out exercises for the girls, fine-tuning her schedule to determine when she would be open, occasionally checking in on the training. 

She tried not to stare at Paige for too long, but there was only so much a girl could do. The way she effortlessly knocked down 3 pointers after 3 pointers, passing the ball at the most opportune moments, the way she flexed her shoulders when celebrating with Nika...  Sofia reminded herself to keep her jaw from hitting the floor. This was about to be a long season.

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Working on new chapters right, please please leave comments if you like it so far!