Chapter 5

Friday, March 7, 2031 – NovaCare Complex – Philadelphia, PA

Marques Williams and his agent, Bill Haney, showed up at 9:00 AM to meet with the Eagles team leadership and to tour the team facilities. Marques was the premier soon-to-be free agent left tackle in the league. He played four years at Indianapolis and seemed ready for a change of scenery. Troy Vincent jumped at scheduling a visit for Marques when his agent called a couple days ago. Troy Vincent, Julian Lurie, Kyle Martin and J.T. Hill took Marques on the grand tour of the NovaCare Complex and Lincoln Financial Field. Kyle excused himself and Ryan Reynolds took over helping woo the free agent. Kyle had to run over to LaSalle University to see his oldest son, David, perform at the District 1 Swim Meet. The Eagles brass gave Marques a choice of Pat or Geno’s Steaks for lunch. Kyle returned after lunch. The group took Marques out to Chickie’s and Pete’s for dinner.

The Ciacroccis still owned Chickie’s and Pete’s, though Pete Senior was mostly retired from day-to-day operations. His sons, Peter, Blaise and Anthony, looked after the restaurant chain now. The restaurant was updated from Kyle’s college days when he used to eat there, but it was still the same atmosphere. The crab fries were just as tasty too.

“What do you think of our operation?” Julian asked as they noshed on appetizers. Troy, Kyle and J. T. were with Marques and Bill at their table.

“I am impressed with everything,” Marques replied. “I would love to work with Coach Hill.” Turning toward J. T. “You had such a spectacular career in Pittsburgh. I would love to learn from you.” Looking over towards Kyle, he added, “You smoked our asses last year with the offense you’ve created. I want to be a part of all this.”

“Provided a contract can be worked out,” Bill Haney cautioned. “Marques is a stellar player and deserves to be paid accordingly.”

“We would love to have you come home to the Delaware Valley,” Julian said. “What will it take?”

“It would be great to come home,” Marques replied. “I grew up across the river in Trenton. I was an Eagles fan when I was growing up. Still, it would take a boatload of money, like Bill said. I am twenty-five and this is probably my one shot at a payday. I have to make the money while I can.”

“We would love to have a hometown boy come back to us,” Troy said. “We don’t expect that you would work at a discount just because we are your home team. We are prepared pay you appropriately for your services.”

“But we can’t talk dollars and cents until 4:00 PM on Monday,” Bill Haney added. The 2031 NFL season officially started at that time. Free-agent players were allowed to visit other teams before the deadline but teams were not allowed to talk money until the season kicked off.

“I am looking forward to that conversation,” Troy agreed.

Marques and his agent visited the Rams, the Titans and the Dolphins before returning home to Trenton Sunday evening. His agent contacted the Eagles and asked for 4:01 PM meeting to start negotiations for Marques’ contract. It took them most of Monday evening to hammer out the agreement, but they got it done. Tuesday morning the Eagles unveiled their big acquisition – Marques Williams.

The porous Eagles offensive line just got stouter on the left side. Whoever ended up quarterbacking the team could depend on NOT getting blind-sided by defensive ends. Ryan, Ed and J.T. were ecstatic to get a pro-bowl caliber left tackle.

Friday, March 7, 2031 – LaSalle University – District 1 Swim Meet

Coach Bunting drove the nine District 1 Swim Meet boys in a district van to LaSalle University in north Philadelphia. The drive up to the university was painfully slow through the rush hour morning traffic on Route 202 around King of Prussia. Mrs. Conrad, the girls swim coach, would follow in her car with the four girls who made it to the District 1 meet in a few hours. The girls’ warm-ups and events were in the afternoon.

Thanks to the heavy traffic, the boys barely made it in time to change and warm up before the meet formally began. David surveyed the scene, surprised at the size of the crowd in the university’s pool building. There had to be between 150-200 boys, all preparing for the meet.

“Hey Mike, is this normal for a District 1 meet?” David asked Mike Hoover, his good friend. “This is a larger group than I saw last year at District 12’s meet. That district is all of southwest Pennsylvania including Pittsburgh.”

“I have no idea, Dave,” Mike responded. “This is my first time at districts. I guess our district is big too. We cover all of southeast Pennsylvania.”

“I guess,” Dave agreed. The boys waited a while, until it was their turn for pool time to warm up and prepare for the competition. Jake Berk, Mike Hoover, Rory Keen and Kaiden Randall didn’t have long to wait. They were in the first heat of the first boys’ event of the morning – the 200m medley relay.

Coach Bunting and David reminded the swimmers of the tips they had been practicing the past few weeks. Mike Hoover dropped into the end of the pool in his lane as the first heat of the preliminaries prepared. The rest of the relay team waited their turn, Jake Berk their captain and anchorman, at the end of the line.

Mike had a look of determination on his face as the start sounded. He blasted off the end of the pool and began backstroking. To his surprise, the swimmer in the next lane had half a length’s lead. Mike grimly worked his way back even with the other swimmer. Both boys were dusting the other six boys in the pool easily. Mike did a better flip turn and came out ahead as they stroked their way back to the start line. Both his hands hit the side of the pool a couple feet ahead of the other swimmer.

Rory Keen, the slender senior, timed his entry perfectly, his feet leaving the starting platform an eye blink after Mike’s hands touched the side. He had a length lead when he surfaced and began breast stroking down the pool. Mike climbed out and stared up at the split times. The scoreboard showed his time as 23.91 seconds. Mike high fived Kaiden Reed, the short sophomore, who would swim the butterfly leg.

Mike was beaming from ear to ear as he climbed into the stands to rejoin his team. “23.91!” Mike remarked to David and his other teammates. “My best time before today was 25 something.”

“You did great buddy!” David exclaimed. They looked up in time to see Kaiden dive in as Rory completed his leg. Rory had maintained the lead on the team in the adjoining lane. Rory’s teammates congratulated him as he rejoined the cluster of Avon Grove swimmers. They cheered on Kaiden, who improbably managed to hold off the challenge from the 6’-2” senior swimming in the next lane. Jake Berk dove in and swam on.

David checked the team listings and found out the team in the adjoining lane was from Conestoga High School in Berwyn. He knew of the school. His dad student taught there years ago when he was finishing college. His dad also substitute taught there when his family first lived in Landenberg when he was younger.

David and the other Avon Grove swimmers cheered their hearts out as they watched Jake battle the anchorman from Conestoga. He caught Jake twice and then Jake would surge ahead. The duel continued as they swam for the finish. Jake managed to stretch out and touch his hands to the side of the pool a split second faster than the boy from Berwyn.

1:35.46 flashed up on the scoreboard for Avon Grove. The boys went wild, cheering, hugging and slapping each other’s backs. They had bested their best time by nearly six seconds! Coach Bunting smiled and enjoyed the boys’ joy at their feat. The team was on fire. He had experienced it a couple times before, once as a high school swimmer and then once as a coach. Now all he had to do was channel that enthusiasm and energy and direct it towards their goals. His boys’ confidence was complete. They would not allow themselves to be beaten.

The team relaxed and waited as more preliminary heats were run for the 200 MR. The boys found out as they watched that they needed to be wary of Owen J Roberts, North Penn, Methacton and West Chester Rustin along with Conestoga. All posted times within a second or two of Avon Grove. Methacton was the leader with a time of 1:33.29 at the end of the preliminaries.

The teams lined up for the final two heats. Methacton was in lane 4, WC Rustin in Lane 5, Avon Grove in Lane 3 and Conestoga in Lane 6. The other four qualifying teams filled the remainder of the lanes. The starters took their position on the side of the pool. Mike glanced across at the other swimmers. ‘No one can beat us!’ he thought.

The swimmers in the four middle lanes battled for the lead. The remaining swimmers were keeping pace, not too far behind the leaders. Mike would surge ahead and the Methacton swimmer would respond. Rustin’s man would pull to the front. Mike responded with increased effort, pulling ahead again. The swim back to the start was equally close and tense. Mike and Methacton swimmers both surged ahead and appeared to touch the wall simultaneously. The Methacton swimmer dove into the pool a split second ahead of Rory Keen.

David thought he saw what he thought he saw. He glanced over at Coach Bunting and saw Coach had a big smile. He knew the Methacton swimmer mistimed his leap. His team would be disqualified from consideration. Coach’s smile told him he was correct.

Rory Keen kept the team in contention. Kaiden Randell did better with his butterfly lap. Avon Grove led when Jake Berk dove in the pool for the final lap. Methacton’s anchor was determined to catch and beat Jake. Rustin’s anchor pulled alongside as the three battled for supremacy. Methacton’s anchor surged ahead in the final twenty feet, tapping the wall first. Jake and the Ruston swimmer appeared to tap the wall at the same time.

The swimmers climbed out of the pool and waited for the results. Startled cries of “No way!” came from the Methacton swim team when the scoreboard showed DQ under their time. Both Avon Grove and Rustin’s team cheered when their times flashed up. 1:34.97 for Rustin and 1:35.01 for Avon Grove.

The Avon Grove team had to wait for the B finals to finish but their second-place finish held up. The top five teams were automatically invited to States. Avon Grove would be competing in the 200m MR in a couple weeks.

The whole team waited through the 200m free style. No one from the team qualified for districts. The next event was 200m individual medley.

“You ready for this, buddy?” David asked Mike Hoover.

“Totally,” Mike agreed. “I feel great. This is going to be a special day for the [Avon Grove] Red Devils. I can feel it.”

“I feel it too,” David agreed. The boys took their positions on their start platforms. The swimmers flew into the water at the start signal. David was in the lead already when he surfaced and began his butterfly stroke. Every stroke increased his advantage as he pressed his way down the pool, flipped and headed back.

Kyle Martin walked into the pool area as the 200m IM was happening. He spotted the Avon Grove kids and wandered over to join his son’s team and supporters. He walked up to Coach Bunting, who did a double take when he saw Kyle.

“I’m Kyle Martin,” Kyle said politely as he shook the coach’s hand. “How’s my son doing?”

“He’s in Lane 5,” Coach Bunting said as he pointed towards the pool. “This is the 200m IM.” Kyle got a big smile on his face.

“He’s leading,” Kyle remarked. “Excellent!”

“It’s great you came to visit, Coach,” Coach Bunting said. “I didn’t expect you would have time for something like this.”

“Call me Kyle,” Kyle responded. “I’m just a proud father here, not a coach. Of course, I made time to come and watch. How many more times will my son be in a district meet like this?”

“Judging by his performance the last couple weeks, I think you can count on one more District meet when he is a senior next season,” Coach Bunting said. The two men watched as the battle continued in the pool. The swimmer in Lane 3, from Upper Dublin High School, started catching up with David when they began the backstroke leg. The kid from Upper Dublin had cut David’s lead in half, to around one and a half lengths when they switched to breaststroke. David surged ahead again. Butterfly was David’s best stroke, but he was more than competent at the breaststroke.

David had three and a half lengths lead when he flipped and began his crawl. Determination and heart drove the boy through the water. Other swimmers tried to eat into his lead but ran out of gas before they completed the final lap. David powered into first-place, with swimmers more than three lengths behind him when he touched the wall.

David ripped off his googles and bounced up and down, celebrating his win with his arms in the air. Mike Hoover, two lanes down, high fived David when he finished his laps. Times flashed up on the scoreboard. David had finished in 1:39.80.

“The winner David Martin of Avon Grove, finished the 200m IM with a time of 1:39.80, one hundredth of a second off the PIAA AAAA state record set earlier this season by Mr. Martin,” the announcer added.

Mike helped David out of the pool before the two walked back to their team’s section in the bleachers. David got a big grin on his face when he saw his father standing with Coach Bunting. He hurried over to be with his father.

“I didn’t think you were going to make it,” David said as he faced his father. “I thought you had a big free agent visiting today.”

“I have Coach Hill, Coach Reynolds and Uncle Ed covering for me for a while,” Kyle replied. “They are taking him on a tour of Philly and stuffing him full of cheesesteaks.”

“A lineman?” David teased. “Stuffing him full of cheese steaks? Are you planning on getting him so big that he can’t get on an airplane and fly off, so he has to play for you?”

“Shhh ... that’s my top-secret technique,” Kyle joked back. “Actually, he drove over here today. He is from across the river, over in Trenton. He grew up a Philly fan. Hopefully we can sign him next Monday and allow him to stay here at home.”

“That’s cool,” David said. “How much of the race did you see?”

“I came in somewhere between the backstroke and breaststroke legs,” Kyle said. “You looked great.”

“Hopefully I can do as well in the finals for this event,” David said. “This was only the preliminaries.”

“I am sure you will do well,” Kyle replied. David filled the time while they waited through the other preliminary heats to introduce his dad to his teammates. Most of the kids had already surmised or had recognized Kyle Martin. It was an enormous honor for them to meet an honest-to-God, soon-to-be NFL Hall of Famer and the head coach of the football team most of them cheered for.

David maintained his first place in the 200m IM throughout the preliminary heats. Mike Hoover made the first group of the finals too. The two Avon Grove swimmers took their spots as the race was organized.

David pressed hard through the water, trying to maintain his lead throughout the race and perhaps beat his own state record. He won, hands down by almost four lengths, but the timer reported his time as 1:39.84.

David sat with his dad, observing the meet. Avon Grove had one entry for the 50m free style, Caleb Cicarelli, a senior. Caleb didn’t make it into the finals for his event. Kyle was wearing an old Pikes Peak ball cap and sunglasses, in order to blend in a little and cut down on the fan adulation. Even so, a few spectators recognized the famous receiver now coaching of the Eagles. Kyle did autographs and shook a few hands.

Mike Hoover and David were up for the last event of the morning, the 100m butterfly. It was David’s best event. The boys lined up for their preliminary heat and took off at the start. David easily outpaced the rest of the swimmers in his heat, coming in over four lengths ahead of Mike Hoover, who placed second. The boys rested while the remainder of the preliminary heats were completed. David and Mike both made it into the first heat of the finals. David raced ahead, though not achieving as large a lead this time. He finished his final lap three lengths ahead of his nearest competitor. David’s time was 0:47.01, just 0.11 seconds slower than the PIAA AAAA record he set a week earlier at the meet with Bishop Shanahan. Mike placed fifth with a time of 0:51.22. Both Mike and David would be invited to the state meet in a couple weeks.

“You did great, son,” Kyle said as he hugged David after the meet.

“I wanted to push the record even lower,” David protested.

“You beat Hunter’s time again,” Kyle replied. “You placed first in both events. You came within a tenth of second of meeting your own record. It has been a good day for you.”

“Thanks for saying that, Dad,” David replied. “Thanks for coming to the meet too. I know how busy you are.”

“I am working tomorrow but I should be able to slip up here for an hour to see your last event,” Kyle said. “When is it on the schedule?”

“Late morning,” David answered. “I’m guessing 11:00 or 11:30, like today,” David said.