Mr. Miller shared some stories about the pitchers he has seen in the adult league. A part of me couldn't imagine an 80-year-old gramma playing pitcher. How could anyone hit the ball without worrying about hitting her? As for the tougher pitchers…I wasn't worried.
Zeke started to pass out the shirts, showing off the front and back. Only Mr. Miller and his friend Stu chose to go with nicknames. Funny nicknames. Mr. Miller's said 'Miller Lite' over his number while Stu had 'Beef Stu' on his. It made most of us laugh and it was a good way to end the lunch meeting.
Julian left with Andy trailing behind him. Mr. Miller and Stu left at the same time, while the girls texted for their rides.
"I'll see you guys tomorrow!" Alisha waved and headed for the door as her mom's car showed up in the parking lot.
"She's nice." KJ said, watching her go.
"She's a freshman like me." Kaylee told her. "We share some classes."
"Us too." Noah pitched in. He examined KJ. "So you pitch for the JV team?"
KJ answered. "Yes…"
"She's good!" Kaylee told us. "She's definitely going to help us win CIF next year. With Marie and her, no one will be able to outscore us ever again."
A slightly awkward silence fell. Noah and I didn't really pay attention to softball. I don't know how far they went, but it sounds like they loss.
Noah patted Kaylee's shoulder. "There's always next year."
"Not for the seniors though…" KJ said. "It's a hard way to end your high school career. Especially if they don't play college ball afterwards."
That's the most the sophomore softball player has said all afternoon. She must really care about how they lost. That's tough.
"Do you plan to play after high school?" Noah asked.
KJ nodded. "Hopefully."
"Where do you want to play?" He asked, interested.
"Anywhere that makes college cheap." She replied.
Noah froze. I think he finally realized that this was the girl that had money problems. Her mom worked two jobs and she couldn't afford the extras to play in the summer. That's why she was abled to join our team.
"Have you started reaching out to some schools yet?" Zeke asked.
KJ was surprised by Zeke's question. Then embarrassed. She lowered her head. "No. I've only played for the JV team. It's too soon."
"It's never too soon." Zeke told her, very straightforward. "Not every college is interested if you're on varsity or not. Some kids in the smaller schools will play four years on varsity and still won't make it on any college team. If you're looking strictly at scholarships, start putting together a highlight reel and send it to some division two schools."
"Is that really okay..?" KJ asked, very interested in what Zeke had to say. "I heard division two doesn't usually give out full rides though. They usually do partials?"
Zeke nodded. "They do a lot of partials, but some will still give full rides. It depends on your skill and determination. If you start throwing your name out there now, you'll get some attention. By next year, you'll probably have a year of varsity under your belt. If you get some more D1 attention, then those D2 schools might be more willing to give more financial aid."
KJ nodded energetically. "Wow. Okay! Thank you so much." She looked like she wanted to know more, but Marie showed up in the parking lot. KJ and Kaylee both got up and said their goodbyes.
With everyone gone, we packed up and got into the car.
"You were so nice to KJ." Noah lifted his eyebrows up and down.
"I'm nice to everyone." Zeke said.
Noah busted up laughing. "Don't be lying."
"I think Zeke is nice to everyone." I spoke up. "You and him are the same." Kind of. For the most part. Noah does have more of a temper though.
Noah shrugged. "Fine. If you say so. I'm just surprised how much you told her about the process of looking at colleges. You haven't even said that much to me and Jake."
Zeke glanced at Noah. "I don't need to worry about you guys. You both will attract attention and don't need the extra help." He focused on the road. "I think more athletes should be educated on what to expect and how to work the system."
"I guess that is nice of you." Noah gave in. Then scrunched up his nose. "You think the coaches would help out a bit."
"Some do." Zeke said. "But not all can. Not all coaches get paid the same so others will have a second job. Where can they find the time to promote their athletes. Especially athletes that aren't on top."
"Does our coach help..?" I asked.
Zeke nodded. "All of our coaches are very helpful in regards to this. From the freshman level on up. Julian didn't start entertaining the idea of playing at the next level until midway through the season. He now has a partial scholarship to Fresno State. Coach really did his part to call up the college coach there and spoke to him at length about Julian."
"That probably makes his parents a little bit happy." Noah remarked. He looked up at Zeke. "I thought Julian said his brother tried out for travel ball and that his parents would probably let him play. What happened with that?"
Zeke shrugged. "Everyone's family situation is different. Shouldn't you be happy that he came to play with us?"
Noah scratched his nose. "I don't know. He doesn't really give off the vibe that he wants to be here."
"I think you're wrong." I told Noah.
Noah was surprised. "Really? Don't you think he was kind of standoffish? And a little rude? Especially when we talked about positioning and pitching?"
I shook my head. "I think he knew a lot. Without even looking at the rules. I think he must have looked them up before we got together today."
"I had the same impression." Zeke agreed.
"You too?" Noah swiveled his head back and forth. He paused and thought about it. "Maybe…in hindsight…he did seem to know a lot. You guys really think he's excited about this?"
"If his parents didn't let him play travel ball, I can see how he'd be happy to play." Zeke said. "I don't know how close Julian and him are, but I can ask about his attitude and temper tomorrow at school."
"Good. I don't want to be stuck playing with a jerk all summer." Noah sighed. "I wonder if it's too late to find another player just in case."
"You can." Zeke shrugged. "No penalties for last minute additions. We just have to make sure the release form is in and the roster is updated. But, I suggest you wait a week or two. He doesn't seem like a bad kid to me. Right, Jake?"
I nodded. "I didn't think he was outright mean. Just…" I frowned, looking for the right word. "He is…I think he's just trying to hide his excitement..? Like his feelings? He was even willing to pitch. I think he really wants to play."
Noah conceded. "Okay, okay. I'll stop being picky. If Jake says he's okay, then I trust him. Jake is the pickiest after all." He smirked.
I rolled my eyes. My standards aren't high. As long as they aren't trying to beat me up, I don't really have a problem with others. Okay…that might not be true. I still worry with those ladies around my mom's age. I gulped. I couldn't imagine being alone with them.
