Page 108 of Love Me Boldly

Jonah giggled. “I’m seven!”

“That’s right. You ready to practice?”

“Always,” Jonah shouted. “Can you make me as good as you, Mr. Graham?”

I squatted down low. “Me? Tanner plays for a professional team. Maybe we can make you as good as him.”

“That’s right. I’m pretty awesome.”

Jonah shook his head. “I think you’re the best.”

I stood quickly and looked at Holly in the stands. She was smiling at us, perched on the edge of her seat like this was the most important game she’d ever seen.

Maybe it was.

With Jonah’s words, it was certainly about to be the most memorable of mine.

I’d told the guys last night about Jonah’s weakness and worries about shooting. Primary goal number one—give the kid some confidence while having fun.

“Remember what I said about the skates, right?”

Jonah nodded. “They need to be broken in, so I can’t be on them long. I have to either take lots of breaks or put on my old ones.”

“Right.” I held out my fist. His gloved hand punched mine right back.

We spent the next half an hour skating with Jonah. Tanner and Eli chased him around the ice. I set up obstacles for him to fly around, and every time he made one of his perfect passes, we pretended he’d scored a goal.

By the time he needed to change out his skates to prevent blisters and pain, he’d made three goals, never once dropping his shoulder or lifting it like he’d done at camp.

“I’m getting better, aren’t I?” he asked while I kneeled in front of him.

“Practice always does that, but do you want to know why I think you’re doing better today?”

“No.”

“Because you’re thinking about having fun. You’re not worried about missing. Or disappointing someone.”

“Well, I wasn’t really shooting at first. So it was fun. And it’s not arealgame. It’s a fun one.”

“Can I tell you something important? Something all people who play sports should know?”

“What?” He chewed on his lip like he wasn’t quite certain.

“Kids shouldalwaysbe having fun when they’re playing a game. It’s hard work, and you want to win, everyone does. But the minute it stops being fun, it means you’ve played a minute too long.”

“Really?”

“I mean, that’s what I tell the kids I coach.”

I might have used more adult words, but the premise was true. I didn’t want teenagers with attitudes on my team, taking everything too seriously. It always led to pride and egos and unnecessary fights. I wanted them out there dying to win because they were having so much fun they didn’t want to skate off the ice. I figured the more you loved the game, the more fun you had playing it, the harder you’d play.

“Huh,” Jonah mumbled. “I didn’t think it should be only fun.”

“There’s hard work, sure.” I finished tying his skates and got him to his feet. “And there’s lots of practice. But what’s the point of doing something you’re not enjoying?”

“I dunno.” He was silent for a beat. “So does that mean I can shoot more?”

We had ten more minutes on the ice, so I sent him out to where Tanner and Eli were taking slap shots at each other. Unpadded. Unmasked.

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