Chapter 15

“THERE’S ONLY TEN of you—now eleven—and you’ve been operating this season without a coach. Tell me how you’ve managed to win seven out of thirteen games, and come close on the other six,” Ardith said as they settled into ribs and burgers at the Roadhouse. The girls all looked to Makayla, a black girl on the team who seemed the least in shape of all the members to look at her, but kept up with every drill Ardith ran them through.

“Well, Coach, those five—Payton, Jillian, Gloria, Eve, and Laura—were our starters last year. They really got used to working with each other, so we’ve kept the arrangement this year. I love the game and love to play, but I’m not first string caliber. I know that. But I want to coach when I get out of here, so they’ve kind of let me manage the bench and substitutions. If we’ve got a good lead, I jump in to play in the last five minutes or so.”

“You’ve done a good job, Makayla. I’m going to depend on your advice and knowledge as I get in sync with the team. So, let’s see. Payton, Gloria, and Laura are seniors and Jillian and Eve are juniors. Oh, yeah. Grace is a junior. And Makayla?”

“I’m a senior. Donna’s a sophomore—the only one who survived last season. And don’t ask me how Madison and Caitlyn got here. They’re the only freshmen who showed up this year. But they’re hot and will make a great contribution to the team,” Makayla said. “We lost four players when Coach Amber passed away. They just packed up their lockers and left. I know one of them is doing well for the Knights, and one transferred up to Minnesota.”

“Well, Brenda’s a sophomore on transfer, so we’ll have a few people to build with next year,” Ardith said. “I’m not going to make any big changes. We’ll start with the same lineup on Wednesday night. I might be substituting more often than you are used to. I want you to get used to running hard for the entire game and to do that, you need to rotate off the floor to catch your breath. So, Makayla, count on more playing time earlier in the game.”

The girls greeted that news enthusiastically and all high-fived their student coach. It was obvious that she was loved by her team as Dennis was by his.

Ardith sighed. She really wanted to call him and tell him he’d do great. He had the skill and respect to guide the team. All he needed was the confidence. But she’d seen him when he was thrown into a situation he wasn’t prepared for and he always rose to the top. And it would only be a few months...

“Good morning, students,” Ms. Morris’s voice came over the PA system in the school. Dennis was glad it was hooked into the athletic pavilion so everyone there could hear the morning announcements. “I hope you all had a fun and relaxing winter break and that you are back and ready to pursue your academic goals with renewed energy.”

There was laughter in nearly every classroom. Unfortunately, Dennis couldn’t hear any of it since he was in the coaches’ office in the athletic pavilion instead of in class. Classes at DMACC didn’t start until the tenth. He was glad he couldn’t see his fellow students as the announcements continued.

“We have several very important announcements to make this morning, so please pay attention. We are sad and happy at the same time to announce that Coach Ardith Graves has resigned in order to take over coaching responsibilities for women’s basketball at Salter University. I am informed that her first recruit to the Crusaders is Bartley alumna Brenda Grant, who has been doing a stellar job in her basketball career at DMACC. The transition is immediate which will leave us with some difficult decisions to make on how to fill the vacuum Coach Graves’ absence leaves.”

Throughout the school, students gasped at the realization their winning basketball coach was no longer with them. The team, especially, was shocked and sat with mouths open, and many had tears in their eyes. They gathered around the veterans who knew anything and simply hugged each other while the rest of the announcements were read.

“Ms. Phillips, who served Bartley for many years until her retirement, has agreed to return as a substitute in the Latin classes until the end of this term in two weeks. I think those of you who are taking Latin classes will have a rare treat to work a couple of weeks with Ms. Phillips. Unfortunately, Ms. Phillips cannot take on the burden of girls’ PE. We have hired substitute teacher Ms. Josie Kelly to take over the physical education classes for the high school girls. Those of you who don’t know Ms. Kelly will enjoy meeting her. She has substituted in various classes over the fall and is enthusiastic about taking on this responsibility.”

Dennis smiled at that. It was a really positive thing and last night he’d talked to Coach Kelly’s wife on the phone.

“That leaves us with the biggest hole in our staffing schedule—the undefeated Angelines basketball team.” There were cheers for the team which made some of the girls feel better. “This is an unusual assignment, but Athletic Director Neil Griffith has assured me that it is the right move. We are promoting Student Assistant Coach Dennis Enders to take over coaching the Angelines. We will now be dropping the word ‘assistant’ from his title. Dennis has shown his ability in substituting for Coach Graves in the past and in leading conditioning and fitness sessions for our entire school and community. We are confident that Student Coach Enders will come through for our team. There is, however, one other assignment to be made. In addition to her duties teaching Phys Ed, Ms. Kelly will also move over to assist Dennis with the girls’ team. That means there will always be an adult female traveling with the team and monitoring activities. Ms. Kelly is excited to take on this responsibility and to work with Dennis.”

When Dennis had talked to her late the previous night, he’d been pleased with her response. She was excited to take an active part in the school and was especially happy that she had a co-wife to keep the home fires burning. Dennis liked Josie and they got along well.

“That concludes our announcements. Afternoon classes will be on assembly schedule today so we can wish our Angelines and Wolverines luck as they travel to the Trojans for tonight’s game. We’ll see you there.”

The announcements ended and Dennis heaved a huge sigh of relief as he sat back in his chair. Maybe this wouldn’t be too bad.

The pep rally in the afternoon was insane. Everyone was wanting to congratulate Dennis and to wish the teams well. Principal Morris introduced the teams and the coaches. It was the first time many students had ever seen Josie Kelly and there were a few inappropriate whistles when she was introduced. At nearly forty, she was certainly still a bit of a fox. The Angelines headed straight for their bus to make the hour-and-a-half trip to the Trojans.

Once there, they were shown to their locker room and the girls started getting ready while Dennis went to meet the Trojan coaches.

“Are you running messages from your coach?” the woman coaching the Trojans asked.

“Uh, no ma’am. I’m sorry. I thought everything had been communicated up the chain. I’m Student Coach Dennis Enders. Our coach, Ardith Graves, took a job at Salter U coaching the Crusaders over the winter break. That kind of leaves the team to me,” Dennis said.

“You’ve got to be kidding!” she said. “Okay, look, Dennis. I’m Jan Nichols. Surely you have an adult with you, don’t you?”

“Oh, yes, ma’am. My assistant coach, Josie Kelly, is with the girls while they get ready. She’ll be up with the team for warmups. I also have two team managers, Lana Brown and Debbie Stackhouse. I’m the only guy with the team.”

“You’re really running the team for the game?”

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Well, the Angelines have a big reputation. I’d have preferred beating them when they had a real coach. But we’ll take a win any way we can get it.”

“I’m sure you would,” Dennis said, holding her eyes. Her confidence wavered.

“Tracy and Beth are our team managers. Have one of your managers get with them and they’ll get them equipped with practice balls. If you need help with anything, talk to one of the girls. They know as much as I do. Good luck.”

“Good luck to you, Coach.”

Dennis went back to the hall outside the locker room and heaved a sigh. He knocked on the door and Josie stuck her head out.

“I need Lana to run up and get practice balls and give the starting lineup to the officials,” he said.

“Gotcha. Lana? The boss needs you.”

Lana came out of the locker room giggling.

“I sure hope he needs me,” she said as she reached him.

“Strictly business this time, I’m afraid,” he said. “Here’s the lineup sheets. Beth and Tracy, the Trojan team managers, are up there to show you practice balls and all. When can I get in to talk to the girls?”

“Oh, I think they’re waiting. Let me check.” She opened the door of the locker room and poked her head in. She turned back to Dennis. “It’s all yours.” Lana took off for the court to give the lineup to the officials and get the practice balls for her team. Dennis went into the locker room.

“Man in the room!” he called as he entered. No one screamed, so he walked on in. Nearly everyone had their warmups on, though a couple of the starters wore only their uniforms. “All right, team. You’re looking sharp.”

“Hey, Coach!” they called back.

“I know we all are a little shocked with Coach Ardith taking off. Believe me, this was all a surprise to me, as well. I hope you can accept me and we’ll just keep winning like always.” He looked at the team and one girl had a hand up. “Carrie? Got a question?”

“Kind of a statement, Coach,” the freshman said. “I got delegated because we freshmen have only worked with you this year while all the other girls have had you around, like, forever.” They all laughed. “Anyway, we all loved Coach Ardith and we knew she could take us all the way to the state championship. But we’ve all come to love you ... when we aren’t hating you for running us so hard. We want you to know that we have the confidence to follow you and know you’ll take us to the championship. We have faith in you as our coach.”