I trace my fingers over the bars, staring at the empty spot where my baby will be soon.
I’m going to be a mom, with a little human relying on me to take care of them. And while I don’t have personal experience with a good mom, I’m going to use her as an example of what not to do.
And I won’t have to do it alone.
Chapter 21
Teagan
“Remember, anytime that your foot is in the air, it should be pointed like this.” I demonstrate to my 6–8-year-olds as I point my toes and curve the top of my foot.
It’s an easy skill, and the apparent best little gymnasts in the country, they seem to be forgetting this tidbit. But as I’ve learned since starting this job, while they are talented, they are still only so young and need reminders often.
“Like this, Coach Teagan?” Mabel asks for the fourth time.
“Yes, Mabel,” I say as sweetly as possible, trying not to lose my patience as we’re not even an hour into training yet.
To my surprise, I have more patience than I thought before starting this job.
“Hey, Coach,” Zoey greets me as she comes to stand beside me.
“Hey, Zoey. How’s your history essay coming along?” I ask.
Over the past few weeks with my students, I’ve gotten to know them personally, and I make sure to check in often when they tell me certain things. For example, with Zoey, she told me last week about her history assignment that was stressing her out, so I want to see how it’s going.
Zoey sighs, a frustrated sound leaving her. “I’m halfway done, but there’s no guarantee it’s any good.”
“I’m sure you’re doing a great job. Keep trying your best,” I encourage her, knowing how hard it is to feel motivated to do homework for a subject you find difficult.
“Thanks, Coach. What’s next, how can I help?” she asks. Zoey started volunteering to help with my younger groups two weeks ago and it’s been a huge help. She’s one of my most talented and kind seniors, making her the perfect candidate to assist me.
“Can you grab the bin with the resistance bands from the equipment room, please?”
Zoey gets right to it, and I gather the girls on the tumbling mat, where I explain that we’re going to be doing some stretching using the bands.
The rest of the training session goes as expected. We move from practicing handstands to bridges and finish with walk-overs. Creating training plans isn’t the hard part. In fact, I find that I like it a lot.
But you know what’s tough about this position? Putting on a cheery face every day while trying to keep these little spitfires in check. These girls are talented, but they’ve all got a personality, let me tell you. And I didn’t go to school to be a teacher. I don’t know the right things to say or how to solve conflict.
For instance, just last week, Mabel and Olivia got into an argument because Mabel said she wasn’t Olivia’s friend anymore. I struggled to keep my eyes from rolling and proceeded to tell Olivia, word for word,“Be friends with someone else then.”
I’m not sure it was the best thing to say, but Olivia made new friends and there hasn’t been a scuffle between the two of them since.
So maybe I’m doing okay at this dealing with kids thing. And the truth is, I want to be doing a good job. I care about these kids more than I thought was possible.
And to top it off, Nina released the news to the public a few weeks ago and it was the talk online. Sport networks praised how nice it is to see a celebrated athlete return to their roots and help the next generation. That’s the common theme amongst the talk online about it, which is exactly what Nina and I hoped for.
In time, hopefully Coach Samuel can see I’m serious about this new persona and will invite me back to the team.
Things are better than they were two months ago, and I hope that trend continues onward.
So long as this sickness goes away and I don’t need to puke during class again.
Our session comes to an end about an hour later, and the kids all get picked up by their parents.
I know many families that moved across the country to live in Detroit so that their child could start training at the academy as soon as possible. ESA is a coveted sports training facility, and once graduation comes, the students go professional if possible, or go to Rock Land University, the best college sports institution in the nation. It’s the next best possible option if going pro isn’t an option quite yet, as it gives students the best chance at expanding their skills and getting scouted.
As I walk through the pristine halls, memories of my time spent here hit me like they usually do.
