Page 12 of Fight for Me
“I volunteer with parks and rec during the fall season. So do several other students,” he went on, oblivious to her internal monologue.
“You do?” Lexie gasped, bringing her attention back to their conversation. “You’re telling me I’ve been trying to track people down for hours when I could have just gone across the hall?”
Jake chuckled. “Happy to help. What do you need?”
“Well, I’d like to find out exactly what everyone is doing and why and how it impacts the community. Can I interview you?”
“Sure, and I can give you the names of a few other coaches I know,” Jake said, pulling out the chair across from her as she reached for her voice recorder and turned it on.
Lexie stopped and looked up. “Other coaches? You’re a coach?”
“Yep, kids’ soccer,” Jake said. He sank down into the chair and rested his forearms on the table. “I played in high school, and community service is part of my scholarship, so I figured it was a good match.”
Lexie made a few notes on her pad. “So, what kind of time commitment is involved with being a coach?”
“Well, the season just started last week, so we’ll have practices on Tuesdays and Thursdays for a month or so. Then, in October, we’ll have games on Saturday mornings against the other teams in our age group. I’m with the four-to-six-year-olds this year, so it’s basically bumblebee soccer,” he said.
“It’s what?”
“Bumblebee soccer,” he repeated. “They’re so little, they really just run around in a huddle wherever the ball goes—like bumblebees. There’s very little strategy and no focus on positions. I’m just teaching them how to kick a ball with both feet and not use their hands.”
Lexie nodded. “And what do you get out of it?”
Jake smiled and leaned back in his chair, crossing one ankle over his knee.
“Well, of course, it’s required for my scholarship, so there’s that. But honestly, I enjoy working with kids. I love soccer, and while I’m not playing at the college level, that doesn’t mean I can’t work on my skills by teaching another generation of players,” he said. “The kids are hilarious, and they really remind you why sports are supposed to be about having fun and not just about trophies and titles and records.”
Lexie nodded, remembering how natural he’d seemed with the elementary school students at the pep rally. Colt tended to grimace and walk the other way when he saw kids coming.
Not that she was making comparisons.
“I feel like I need to see Coach Tanner in action. You know, for the sake of journalism,” she said, making the most serious face she could.
Jake laughed. “Anything you want, Lex,” he said, his dark eyes trained on hers, and for the briefest second, she wondered if he was still talking about soccer.
By Thursday, Lexiehad everything she needed for her article. There was norealreason to attend a practice in person, and yet she still found herself parking outside the Cypress Valley Rec Complex at a quarter to six. Climbing out of her silver Infiniti, she scanned the large practice area for anything that would point her toward field three—but there wasn’t a single sign in sight. The open expanse of grass beside the parking lot was dotted here and there with miniature soccer goals and teeming with people of all ages. Lexie stood beside her car, unsure what to do next, until a young woman in athletic leggings and an oversized T-shirt passed nearby.
“Stay with me, Hannah,” the woman admonished, squeezing the hand of a little girl with a swinging brown ponytail. “We have to find Coach Jake and your friends before you go running off.”
Lexie’s ears perked up, and she fell in line with the young mother, who seemed to know where she was going. The practice area was enormous, and kids clumped together in color-coordinated groups, each set of bright T-shirts displaying the name of a local business sponsor. Hannah’s shirt was black with gold lettering identifying her as an “AutoZone Blackhawk.”
Finally, after weaving their way past the concession stand and through a snaking line of parents near the restrooms, Hannah released her mother’s hand with a squeal.
“There they are!” she cried, racing toward where a cloud of black-clad children was gathering with Jake as its center. He towered over them, and Lexie couldn’t help but notice how his wide shoulders filled out his black coach’s shirt. Her eyes automatically traced the line of his torso as it tapered down to comfortable athletic shorts.
She had a boyfriend, but she wasn’t blind.
“Coach Jake, Coach Jake, look!” a little girl beside Hannah exclaimed, her shrill young voice lifting above the hum of activity. She thrust one small foot out expectantly, and Lexie smiled as Jake dropped to a crouch to admire her tiny pink cleats. Whatever he said made her bounce excitedly, and her blonde pigtails flopped in all directions. He chuckled and patted her shoulder before rising and scanning the field, his mouth moving silently as he counted the little black meteorites flying wildly in all directions. His gaze landed on Lexie standing near the goal, and his look of concentration melted into something else entirely.
“You made it! I brought you a chair in case you didn’t have one,” he said, closing the distance between them and steering her gently toward a tan camp chair near the midfield line. “I’ve got to get started, but I’ll find you after, okay?” he said. Then he lifted a shiny whistle to his lips and gave a few quick blasts as he jogged toward the center of their designated practice area.
“Alright, Blackhawks!” he shouted, clapping his hands, and the kids gravitated toward him like tiny electrons. They obviously adored him, and Lexie couldn’t help but smile as Jake patiently demonstrated the day’s exercise by weaving his ball back and forth around a series of low cones. He exuded an easy confidence that Lexie envied.
“Little kicks. Keep control of your ball,” he reminded the players as one little boy sent his ball out of bounds.
“That one’s mine. He has too much energy for his own good,” the woman in the next chair said. She leaned over with a friendly smile. “I don’t think I’ve seen you on the sidelines before. I’m Tabby.”
“I’m Lexie, and this is my first practice,” Lexie responded. “I’m writing an article about some of the student coaches from CVSU.”
