Jack

Chapter Ten

Chapter Ten

Jack

While I was acting like it was no big deal I was shitting myself. I was a journeyman minor league player and I had never, and I mean never, played in the National League. I told the kid it was no different, I lied. I was still shitting bricks when we walked in the door, the whole first line of the Storm.

"Great, glad you are all together, we have some rooms for you in the hotel for later, but we have to get you acclimated as soon as possible. Eric and Barry if you would follow me I will lead you to the locker room where you can meet the guys and get changed. Jack, alternate captain Lebroise will be here in a minute to escort you, here he comes now." The energetic man said as I turned to see Pierre LeBroise heading toward us.

I heard the others walk away but my focus was on the man coming toward me. He was as big as me if not a bit bigger and he looked like a man you didn't mess with. I was a fan of the game and knew he was our first line Right Defenseman and probably the best overall player left on the team. So yeah, I was shitting bricks again."

"Jack," he asked with a French accent and a raised eyebrow.

"Yes sir, Mr. Lebroise." I said holding out my hand.

"Just call me Frenchie, everyone does, follow me." He said and then he led us in a different direction from where the other two guys went. I knew I was gaping; I had never been in the stadium before, even as a fan, so this was all knew to me.

He led me to a set of double doors that said restricted access and pushed them open and we went up two flights of stairs. We got to the top and we were in actual office space. I followed him down a long hallway till we came to a conference room and we entered and there were two other people there.

I recognized both immediately, the first was Coach Braun, Coach of the Buffalo Blizzard and the second was Coach Sorensen, my former coach at Springfield, who immediately jumped up as I came into the room.

"Jack, it's good to see you." He said shaking my hand like there was no tomorrow.

"You too sir, I don't understand, have I been traded back?" I mean it didn't seem like it but hell, who knew in this league.

Coach Braun laughed and so did everyone else in the room. I smiled because it seemed like that's what I should do.

"Actually Jack, it's me who has been traded. Upon your recommendation they thought I would be the perfect assistant coach to work with all the new talent coming onto the team." He explained.

"Oh, that makes sense, you are the best skill coach I have ever worked with and you do seem to find ways to bring out the best in guys, so congratulations." I said meaning every word.

"Please everyone have a seat." Coach Braun said and we all did. "Jack, your whole line has been brought up, why?"

He didn't act like he was questioning the decision it was more like he wanted my take on things. "Easy, we need to give the fans hope, and we need to make the kid look good so we can sell seats for next year. The team is a business and fans are the customers, we have to sell the kid to them."

"See. That is why I like older players they get it." Braun said and Sorensen just nodded. "So what do you have to do to make that possible?"

"First, I protect the kid. Second I put him in place to score, third and most important I think of the kid first and myself or Cussman last." I said thinking I had it all right.