Teaching Elementary, My Dear Watson

8 - Tryouts

8

Tryouts

Monday, September 19

Kevin grabbed his lunch and looked for his whistle. I'm sure I left it in my top left drawer. Hmmm. Oh, I should have checked around my neck.

Amused, he headed out onto the huge playground while munching on a crunchy peanut butter and raspberry jam sandwich. The day was warm, but not as oppressively hot. The freshly cut grass had a familiar smell. He'd spent so much time on athletic fields that they felt like home. He wore sneakers, comfortable old faded bell-bottom jeans, a Mountain College baseball cap, and a matching short-sleeve Eagles logo shirt. Fun coincidence that the Valle Grande mascot is the same as at my alma mater.

A few clouds cast shadows, but he felt the sun, so Kevin wore aviator sunglasses, and he had applied sunscreen, which he did more often since SPF ratings began three years ago.

Ladies first. The gentlemen would try out during the second half of lunchtime. Several girls clustered around him immediately, ready for the tryouts, talking to each other excitedly. Kevin reached the side of the marked lines on the football field, dropped his lunch bag and water bottle, and then turned toward them.

"Hey, Eagles! Gather round and sit on the grass so you can all see and hear me." He waited. "Good. Now listen up." He glanced down at some notes on his clipboard. "Welcome to the Valle Grande flag football team. We'll have tryouts the next two days, then I'll select those who earn uniforms and will play the most, but no one will be cut. So long as you are willing to practice and help as needed, you will be a member of the team." The girls glanced at each other, some nodding, others smiling. "I expect you to work together, support all members of the team, and show each other respect. Has anyone been on a football team before?" No hands were raised. "No worries. A coach is a teacher. It's my job to help you learn both the game and sportsmanship."

Just then, he heard and then saw a minor scuffle in the back. "Ouch. Quit pulling my hair!"

Kevin intervened. "Stop that right now. Tell me your names."

"I'm Sonya Botticelli," said a brunette whose long hair hung in a single braid down her back, over her navy blue t-shirt and black shorts. Kevin remembered hearing about her from Julie.

"My name is Erin Larson," said a platinum blonde with short straight hair, her bangs trimmed just above her eyes. She sat cross-legged, in jeans and a white short-sleeved t-shirt.

"You will each get a turn to speak, but no interruptions when it's the other's turn. Understood?" He waited until each of them nodded. "Okay, Erin, did you pull Sonya's hair?"

"Yes, Mr. Watson, but she deserved it."

"No, I didn't."

"Sonya, you will get to speak. But this is your warning. Interrupt again and you'll have to leave." She nodded, looking upset.

"Erin, why do you say that she deserved it?"

"Well, we were all walking here from Ms. Bronson's class, and Sonya started bragging, saying she was smarter and stronger than the rest of us, so she'd be more valuable to the football team."

"Sonya, is that what you said?"

"Only because it's true, Mr. Watson."

Kevin paused to collect his thoughts. "Okay, Erin and Sonya, listen to me carefully. Erin, we use our words when we disagree. And if it's anything about the team, you tell me first. Otherwise, you will not be allowed to play football with us. I want to include everyone, but only if you work together. Is that understood?"