As I walk through the chute and the cold hits me, I smile and breathe it in, closing my eyes for a minute, letting my hand trail on the wall to keep me from falling over. If I’m honest with myself, the dread of never feeling this moment as I come out onto the ice settled as the end of last season approached.
I’d never considered coaching. Had Rainbow Dorset never approached me, I’m not sure it would have crossed my mind at all. I’ve always been the one being coached.
Stopping just off the rink, I watch who can only be Seth on the ice. He’s under the goal still but now on his stomach, his feet within the crease as he uses his stick tucked under his arm like a machine gun. His body shakes as if it’s shooting the goal at the other end.
He pauses, grabs one of the pucks beside him, and flings it down the other end before his body starts vibrating with the pretend shots. I can almost hear theratatatatat.
Then his body jolts and he groans before rolling onto his side in an awkward twist and sprawls out, unmoving. Amused, I shake my head, grinning.
Goalies really are weird.
I step onto the ice and glide over to him. When I hover just over him, I find his eyes are closed. “Who revives you?” I ask.
Seth’s eyes snap open and he stares at me. Then a grin splits his face. He sits up, shoving his helmet from his head, and gets to his feet. “Hansley Bardot,” he says reverently. Then he clears his throat. “I mean, hi, Coach.”
Chuckling, I incline my head. “Hello, Seth. Are you a zombie now?”
He grins, shrugging. “I’m pretty confident I blew them up first. The puck just exploded too close to me.” He shifts to look around me. I’m half tempted to glance back too, as if there’s something there.
Laughing, I bend and pick up his helmet, offering it to him. “How about you block some shots?”
He sighs. “If I have to.”
Grinning, I gather several pucks with my stick and bring them toward the center of the ice as Seth clears out his crease and gets ready. When I turn, he bends with his hands on his knees and gives me a nod that he’s ready.
For the next ten minutes, I shoot at him as if we’re performing a shootout. He looks equally smug when he stops one of my shots as when I score on him.
Then Leo joins me and it’s two on one. I’m impressed when Seth manages a much higher ratio of stopping our combined shots than he did when we were one-on-one.
Next comes Hakeem, one of our defensemen, who situates himself with Seth. They’re practically a wall now. Our play gets a little more aggressive, a little more serious, as Leo and I attemptto get around both Hakeem and Seth. They block several, but it’s almost a magic moment when Leo manages a score.
Cheers and catcalls come from the chute, and we find the rest of the team there. They spill onto the ice, with Denis taking up the rear. I smile widely in greeting.
“This everyone?” I ask, looking at Denis, who gives me a nod. “Great. Gather around, boys.”
I back up to the three players I’d been playing with and give each of them an affectionate slap on their shoulders, telling them they played well. The grins Seth and Hakeem exchange makes me smile.
“It’s great to finally meet you all,” I start. “I know I’ve corresponded with a few of you and I’ve studied your games via videos all summer so I’m excited to see what you can do in person. My goal this year is the Frozen Four.” The team cheers, hitting their sticks on the ice. “You’ve got a lot of talent, or you wouldn’t be here. We’re going to be working extra hard to hone that talent, expand your skills, and win some games. I want us to prove to everyone that Rainbow Dorsetisthe team to beat.”
The boys give a barking chant ofoooh oooh ooohthat has me grinning.
“First, we need some admin talk. Our budget is a little thin and I think we’re in need of some upgrades.” I glance at the half wall surrounding the ice. There are only a handful of logos there. “I think first we need to work on getting some more corporate sponsors.”
“Do they have to be local?” Braxton, another defenseman, asks.
I shake my head. “No. If your parents or family have a company and wants to sponsor, we can definitely make that happen. Generally speaking, it is local companies who sponsor. It looks like our nearest competition is Arizona State. But weneed to prove to the rest of the country that California has a team and we’re going to be kicking ass.”
Another round of bark cheers.
“I think we’ll get more after we get to the Frozen Four,” Damari says.
“Yes. Corporate sponsors are something we’ll have to revisit every year. The more we improve and become true competitors within the NCAA division, the more money we’ll be able to bring in from sponsors. However, we need some other ideas. New resources. Fundraising. I know your time is already thin, so let’s think of things that have the potential to bring in big money without excessive effort. Maybe something creative. Thoughts?”
“Before we talk about that,” Hakeem interjects. He pinches his jersey between his finger and thumb. “Is now a good time to petition for a new logo? This one is just… I mean, I love to walk around with a bugle horn on my chest as much as the next guy, but it’s lame, Coach.”
He’s not wrong. It’s a strange cartoony horn at that. If I’m willing to listen to the voices in my head, it looks like someone went on clip art and searched ‘horn,’ then plucked the very first option and called it a logo.
“I’ll look into that,” I concede, nodding. “I’m not sure how set on this the deans are and we might be a little late already to rebrand, but I’ll find out.”
