I ate with Zeke and Bradley, while Dad stuck with Coach Leroy to ask about more amenities that baseball players have access too. Oliver was there too, but he never sat still, constantly moving around the room and going in and out. Every time he came back in, it was like he was escorting his teammates in.
When he came in the nth time, he was with a familiar face. Rhys!
“Hey, what do you know, it’s one of those Atkins boys.” Rhys came over with a backpack on his shoulder. “Kyle sent me a text earlier, bragging about his stellar performance against the big school. Didn’t think I would see you at lunch. Now be real with me, how good was Kyle?”
“Good! Very good!” I nodded energetically. “He kept them to one run over six innings!”
Rhys grinned. “How about the strikeouts? Any walks? Hits?”
“Nine strikeouts. No walks. Only two hits given up to the same guy. Who had the solo shot off of him in the fourth inning.” Zeke broke down Kyle’s stat line.
“Damn. I thought he was exaggerating.” Rhys laughed. “That kid is storming on up.” He knocked on the bill of my cap. “You guys are going to absolutely dominate this year if Kyle can do this against a top tier school like University. Practically a free ride until CIF. Never mind the fact that they got you in the lineup too.”
I felt my face heat up. “Yea…”
I was starting to put my anxiety attack behind me. I was back to feeling good about our win over University. Accomplished. A bad loss that hovered over us for almost year was returned to them.
Eventually Zeke and his team had to get a move on. Players started to change into their pregame outfits to go warm up. Rhys had to leave even sooner so he could start throwing the ball with another pitcher.
“Whatever you decide to do, it’ll be okay.” Zeke patted my shoulder. “Dad and Mom will be there the whole time.” He cracked a smile. “And you know Noah. He wouldn’t let anything happen to you.”
I nodded.
Zeke went out with the rest of his teammates.
“I’ll walk you guys out.” Coach Leroy announced to me and Dad.
“You don’t have to.” Dad told him. “We can go the way we came in. We understand that you’re busy on gameday.”
Coach Leroy let out a chuckle. “Not much I can do before the game besides watching them warmup.”
“What if they slacked off?” I asked as we started to leave too.
“On gameday?” He laughed again. “No, not on this level. Every one of them wants a chance to do something more. At this level, if you aren’t giving it your best the whole time, there’s a coach or worse, a scout, that’s going to notice. If one of my assistants tell me that Zeke didn’t do his bp work, then it’s the bench for him. They’re all little adults. They know what’s expected of them. Whether they get it done is a different story.”
“What if one of them does all their work and puts in the most effort, but isn’t performing well during the game?” I asked, referring to a slump.
“That’s where I have to put in the most work.” Coach Leroy told me. “It’s not hard coming up with a lineup. The hardest part is ensuring that the lineup is one that can succeed. You have a bunch of young men trying to adjust to their newest phase of life. It’s not easy. Mentally or physically.”
I nodded, thinking how tired Zeke sounded when he came to visit earlier this week. He had a bad game Tuesday and then came down to see me Wednesday when I had had a bad day too. “So what do you do?”
“It depends. Every player is unique and therefore unique in their needs.”
“What about Zeke?”
He laughed outright. “Zeke is easy. I do nothing.”
My jaw dropped.
“Zeke has his own motivation from within. He also has great self-control and self-awareness.” He explained. “He can take a step back and see where he’s going wrong. He can reset and readjust himself.”
“And what if he can’t?” Dad spoke up. “What if he gets stuck.”<> </>
Coach Leroy shook his head. “Zeke won’t get stuck. He’ll simply find a new route to get to his destination. A small detour or two is no big deal. Now, if there comes a time that I think his detour is taking too long, I’ll simply remind him to turn on the gps.”
“Uh. What?” I was getting confused. I hate metaphors.
“The gps will have Zeke’s path to being a great player. You got to get back to the basics. What made him get here in the first place? Zeke’s one of my easiest guys though. Him and Bradley have a different kind of mindset compared to others. They know the Majors are waiting for them.” We walked out of the stadium and Coach Leroy stopped. He looked down at me. “Do you remember how you got to where you are?”
I nodded slowly. I’m still young. I haven’t forgotten anything.
“Do you feel like it’s been a long road?”
I shrugged. “Sometimes.”
“Now you have shortcuts to get back, because you already know the road.” Coach Leroy stuck out his hand. “It was nice having you here, Jake. I wish you the best of luck in the rest of your tournament this weekend.”
I shook his hand lightly.
Coach Leroy turned to Dad. “Good to see you, Wayne. If you have any concerns about Zeke’s wellbeing, don’t be afraid to contact me.”
Dad shook his hand too. “Good luck on your game this afternoon too, Coach.”
Coach Leroy walked back, leaving me and Dad on our own.
Dad looked down at me. “So.”
I looked up at him. “I feel better.”
“I do too.” Dad smiled. He pulled out his phone. “I don’t know if this helps, but Jeremy didn’t know that you and his cousin would run into one another. And I believe that. It’s been years since he was in high school and it’s a special case considering you two are in two different divisions. The odds were small.”
I sighed. “What do I do now?”
“Jake, do you want to play baseball today?”
“What do you mean?” I asked, confused.
“That’s the only question you should be asking yourself.” Dad told me. “Do you want to play baseball this afternoon? I can guarantee it won’t be against Carson. What I can’t guarantee is whether they’ll be there.”
I rubbed my stomach, feeling unsettled. “What if they want to talk to me?”
“You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do.” Dad stated firmly. “If they approach you, I’ll cut them off. For a civil discussion. We can push this off until later. For now, ask yourself, do you want to play baseball this afternoon? If not, we can go back to the hotel and get cleaned up. Maybe sightsee. Or we can even stick around and watch Zeke’s game.”
I was tempted. Watching Zeke’s game would be easy. No confrontation. No worries of another anxiety attack. But…I was still worried about the team. Like Rhys said…we can dominate. I didn’t want to let them down. I’m sure they’re all worried too.
Dad waited for my answer without pushing.
I rubbed my hands together, nervous. “We won’t play Carson today, but there might be a chance tomorrow.”
“That’s only if you win and move on to tomorrow. And if his team wins their second game and move on too.” Dad pointed out.
“I can play today.” I looked Dad in the eye. “I mean, I want to play. Maybe we won’t even make it to tomorrow and that will make me feel bad for missing out this afternoon.” I’ll worry about tomorrow, tomorrow.
“Okay, let’s head back then. Your brothers and team are waiting for you.” He smiled.
