Kiss List (Book I of the List Series)

Chapter 20 - The State Championship Game

"And now," Coach Dumfy thundered, reaching the climax of his speech, "you have an opportunity. Moments like this only happen occasionally in your lifetime. You strive for them, yearn for them, sweat for them, bleed for them, and shed tears for them. You give up everything just to have them. And when they arrive, you can do one of three things. You can surrender. You can do your best. Or you can reach deep within yourself and seize the very core of your being with two hands and strangle it, screaming 'Give me more! It's not enough. Your best is not enough. I need more!' 'Citius, altius, fortius,' the Olympians say. 'Faster, higher, stronger.' It's never enough. Not nearly enough. Go faster. Jump higher. Be stronger. Play the game harder and better and smarter."

Coach Dumfy paused and stared deep into our eyes. He needn't have looked for intensity burning within us. We were enraptured and right there with him.

"Are those Churchill girls good? Yes. Should you be afraid of them? No. Know why?"

We didn't. Tell us, Coach Dumfy.

"Because this championship game is our darkest hour. In order to be triumphant, in order to be champions, we must first prevail over our greatest pains, fears, and failures. Ladies, in moments of despair, it can feel as if the sun itself has been blotted out and we are walking through a valley of shadow full of beasts that go bump in the night. But we have gone through more suffering and pain than anyone and have a desire that burns like an inferno. We have turned ourselves into beasts beyond comprehension and as Churchill walks through our valley we shall come upon them with a vengeance! We are the biggest beasts in the valley and we will crush them!"

We roared with approval.

Coach Dumfy stopped to take a breath. "Have you ever been afraid of the monsters under your bed?" he asked solemnly.

Yes! Most of us still were.

"Did your mommies and daddies tell you that they didn't exist? Sure. But you didn't believe them, did you?" he said rhetorically, rapidly gaining volume. "You knew deep down there were monsters under your bed and they wanted to get you!"

Totally. We were actually quite certain of that fact.

"Well I'm here to tell you that those monsters are real. Very real. And do you know what to do? Don't pull the cover over your eyes and quake and quiver in fear. Don't whisper to yourselves that they aren't real. We do not relent. Do you hear me? We do not relent! We do not give in to fear!" he raved, reaching a fevered pitch.

Yes! We will not fear the monsters under our beds!

"I say grab your baseball bat and go under your bed and beat those little buggers down until they fear you and they shiver and shake and tell tales to their parents about the monster on top of the bed!"

So that just got weird. We're not with you anymore, coach.

Coach Dumfy's chest heaved as he drew in ragged breaths. "Listen to me girls," he said. "If you want to make a change in this world you need to start by challenging yourselves. We're athletes. We tear our muscles apart and run our bodies down so that they will build up stronger. You're also students. You study as hard as you can so you will know more and become smarter. The world challenges us every day. If you want to change the world, you need to take on those challenges with a passion. When you do, you will make a better world for us all."

He looked at all our faces in satisfaction.

We were completely lost.

"I think I've just given you all a lot to think about," he said. "We've got another 10 minutes or so before you need to get on that field so I'm going to do something I've never done before. I'm going to leave and wait for you on the field. I can't fight this challenge that you're facing today. Only you can. So, I want you to talk to each other about what I've just said and when you burst onto that field I want there be nothing but conviction in your heads about what you are going to do today."