Thoren Knight's promising WNBA career was derailed by a devastating ACL injury in the final game of her college senior year championships.
Now 26, Thoren embraces a new role as the girls' Varsity basketball coach at Eastwood High School, which is kn...
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Sofia's POV
We just took a quick water break, and we're all dying. Trying to catch our breath feels impossible after Coach Knight's intense training session. Harper has already thrown up from all the running. I've lost count of the endless suicides and bleacher laps she's had us do. Coach keeps saying it'll pay off, that we need better endurance.
Then, we hear the dreaded whistle. "Back on the line, ladies!" Coach yells, and we all groan as we trudge back.
"Did I say you could walk? Move it, ladies!" Coach barks, prompting us to quickly run back to the line.
"I can't feel my legs," Ava complains to me.
"I think I'm gonna barf again," Harper says.
"We told you not to eat that pizza at lunch," Chloe chimes in, rolling her eyes.
"I'm impressed. Only three of you barfed," Coach says with a laugh, eyeing Harper. "That was hilarious. Must've had a heavy lunch," she smirks.
Harper salutes her back. "Thanks, Coach," she says, and we all snicker.
"Look, I know you must hate me right now, but I promise all this running will pay off. You'll be outpacing the other teams," Coach says, shooting me a quick glance.
Another girl named Connor spoke up, trying to catch her breath. "Coach, I have a question," she said.
"I'm listening, Con," Coach replied.
"Are we running any plays today? If so, I have a proposition for you," Connor said with a grin.
Coach laughed, "Oh yeah? What's that?"
Connor straightened up, her eyes gleaming with mischief. "Have a shooting competition with us. If we win, we skip the rest of the running and go straight to plays. But if you win, we'll continue to run until you kill us," she proposed. The other players reacted with a mix of "oohs" and laughter.
Coach Knight rubbed her chin, contemplating. "Please don't pick me, please don't pick me," I silently begged myself.
"Okay, Connor, you've got a deal. You all decide who will be my victim," Coach said with a grin.
We all huddled up, discussing and voting amongst ourselves. "It should be you, Sof," someone suggested. Before I could speak up, Harper interjected, "Nah, she tweaked her wrist." I shot Harper a grateful look, silently thanking her.
As we argued back and forth, we heard Coach call out, "Come on, I'm waiting," in a singsong tone.
"Fuck it, I'll do it!" Ava exclaimed suddenly, and we all smiled. "Hell yeah!" I cheered. "You got this," Zoe chimed in. We all turned around to see Coach had taken off her hoodie and was now in her black tank top. I had to quickly close my mouth. "Damn, Coach is so buff and ripped!" Chloe exclaimed.
