Chapter 39

“THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN a run and a sprint is collapsing,” Dennis told the girls as they lined up on the track for the first time on Monday. From the beginning of track season to the first meet was nearly a month. They’d arranged an intramural meet on the coming Thursday and the boys and girls would all be running together. Andy wasn’t particularly impressed with what he saw on the boys’ team either. The intramural meet would tell them what they had to work with.

“What do you mean, it’s collapsing?” Diane asked. “You mean the farther you run, the more likely you are to collapse?”

“No,” he laughed. “I can see I made a poor choice of words. I mean the difference is getting smaller. When you run the 800, you don’t have time to pace yourself comfortably. You run all out the full distance. There are 1500-meter runners who turn each 400 as fast as a 400-meter runner. We’re seeing faster splits all the way around. So, if Tori runs the 400 in 55 seconds, there is probably an 800 runner closing it down in 1:50. We’ll see times like that in competition. That’s why we’ll train for every race by running twice that far.”

“Why does everything seem harder this year than it did last year?” Amy asked. “I know I’m in better shape.”

“Your shape has really gotten shapely,” Natalie said. The girls laughed.

“That’s true,” Dennis said. “And it could be why things are harder. We’re all changing. At this time last year, I was eight inches shorter. That’s a lot of body to figure out how to move efficiently.”

“Eight inches is really great,” Judith agreed. “If you put it in the right place.”

“We might need to run a few more laps so we get focused again,” Dennis said, shaking his head. “Here’s the thing. Pardon me for being blunt. Amy’s got bigger boobs than she had last year. Daphne weighs twenty pounds more. Natalie is two inches taller. Debbie’s blonde. We’re teenagers. Our bodies are changing. Every change means we have to work to learn to use it and make it function the way we want. You might find you are best suited for a different race than you were ready for last year.”

“Help us, Dennis. I don’t want to be embarrassed when I step on the track,” Leanne said. “Or back into the classroom. People are wondering what happened to us last week. They expected us to win and we got killed.”

“Honey, I’m very proud of you. It’s not your fault that we were in the wrong headspace for that game. We were all looking behind us to see if there was a shooter. And we had a lousy schedule this year with too many teams that were too small. We’re working on getting a better schedule next year. We just weren’t challenged by good teams all year long. Suddenly we were up against a team that was as good as us and we didn’t know how to play them. Let’s put it behind us and move forward.”

“How?”

“Four laps before we go in.” The team started running.

Ardith and Dennis split their responsibilities during practice. After the conditioning exercises, one would work with runners and the other with field events. The next day they would switch. Ardith wanted each girl to understand that she was the coach and was paying attention to that girl. On the other hand, with the teams working more separately than they had the previous year, she needed Dennis’s expertise to complement her own. Andy, Jim, and Frank had all said they’d help her out, but they were focused on the male athletes.

“This is ridiculous,” Debbie said. “They have three team managers and three coaches. We have two coaches and no team manager.”

“I’m team manager,” Dennis said. “What is getting missed?”

“Come on, Coach. You don’t have time to run blocks to and from the track and still help Lana get over the bar and Corinne pump out the shotput. We need someone who does the stuff the guys do for the boy’s team,” Daniella said.

“What do you suggest?”

“That’s what I’m talking about,” Debbie said. “I volunteer. I’m not that good in the events. Face it, I tried out for track last spring so I could get a crack at Dennis. That’s still mostly why I stay involved with the sports. I’m strong enough to haul the blocks.”

“You’d really do that and quit running?” Amy asked.

“I wouldn’t quit working out and all, but I’d like to learn the taping stuff and some of the other things Dennis has been teaching team managers. Why not?” Debbie asked.

“Coach Ardith won’t like it. We have so few people on the team,” Dennis said.

“She won’t be that hard to convince,” a voice behind him said. He jumped.

“Coach!”

“I want people who want to participate. And I want them to participate in what pleases them most. If Debbie wants to learn team management, I approve. Teach her.” Ardith left the locker room and went to her office.

“I guess you just got a new job,” Dennis said to Debbie. She wrapped her arms around him and kissed him.

Dennis and Brenda were both happy for spring break at DMACC. Unlike the high school, the college got a full week off and it was always in the middle of April. Bartley High School would end the term on Thursday and they would all have Friday off. The high school spring break was still tied to whatever date Easter was. Many still called it Easter vacation instead of spring break. They’d get a long weekend, after the big meet on Thursday after school.

Dennis was showing Debbie where the starting blocks and shots were kept when two others showed up.

“Hey, Rae! Thoms! What brings you out here? It’s cold.”

“Yeah. I might need heavier sweats,” Rae said.

“I understand you’ve had a shortage of team managers for the Angelines,” Thoms said. “I’m kind of liking the work, so I thought I’d come out and help Debbie learn the ropes, so to speak.”

“That’s great. I want all three of you to learn the job thoroughly, then. Thoms, you can help Debbie and Rae learn the taping procedures and warmups. We’re going to be watching the athletes carefully and adding support where needed. Probably a lot more kinesio tape during track than during basketball or volleyball.”

“What is this?” Debbie asked, pointing to an odd-looking apparatus nearby.

“We’ll be using that today,” Dennis said. “It’s a starting block sled. The runner is to fasten the strap around her waist and practice starting from the blocks while dragging the sled. It should increase power on the start.”

“We never had those last year,” Debbie said.

“We were a poor afterthought last year. This year, coaches got to order any equipment they wanted with the sponsorship from AgCentral. All we need to do is use it appropriately.”

“Anyone who wants to run in any race can do so,” Coach Andy said Thursday after warmups. “You all have timing bibs and the record is kept automatically. In the most literal sense, you aren’t racing each other. The only thing we’re looking at is your time on the clock. Beat your best.”

A total of seventeen girls had stuck out the practices and wanted to run, jump, or throw. Ardith had worked with about the same number the year before, and thought she could make this small team work, except for the schedule problems. The number of practices and meets that would be missed by different girls because of other commitments was daunting. It would be a miracle if she had a full team for any meet.

They ran four heats of six runners in the 100-meter dash. Eleven girls and thirteen boys were running. Two heats were mixed boys and girls. The surprise of the race was freshman Jaydyn Davis. She beat everyone in her heat by a significant margin—boys and girls. When times were tallied up, the only runner with a faster time was Dave Overman.

The phenomenon was repeated in the 200-meter and the 400-meter. Jaydyn was fast. Daniella edged her out by five seconds in the 800-meter. It was obvious that Jaydyn was a sprinter and was happy to run any time. She wandered over to the high jump pit and managed a jump of 4’8”. Lana had been working hard at her jumping, and even though she managed respectable times in the 100, 200, and 400, she finally managed to clear five feet in the high jump. It was her best jump yet.

Corinne and Rita, fresh from their wrestling season, showed they had put on muscle for both the shotput and the discus. They were joined by Liz. Liz was not built as huskily as either Corinne or Rita, but wanted to build her body. Her throws were far short of the two older girls, but she showed promise. Dennis made a note to have Thoms work with her on weights as she had done with Corinne and Rita.

Of course, Janice shone in the long races as expected. The surprise was Bobbie. Bobbie ran in every race, usually placing near last. She was as determined a runner, however, as Liz was a shot putter. She showed sheer pleasure in running at any distance. Dennis thought about his sister and how much Bobbie reminded him of her when she ran.

“Okay, two weeks from today we travel to the Bulldogs for our first meet,” Ardith said to the girls as they gathered around on the bleachers. You’ve shown me that we have girls who want to compete. Dennis and I will be putting together the roster of who runs in what race as we continue to observe and train for the next two weeks. The Wolverines will also be traveling to the Bulldogs, so we want to look sharp and show them what a team is really like. That means no booze and carousing over the weekend. Nobody gets pregnant before the meet. No drugs. You all know the rules. The boys supposedly know the rules, too, but I’m not confident that they abide by them. Don’t screw up!”