September 5th, 2017 cont.
3:15.
I was in the stadium parking lot closest to the stadium, waiting for Sean. I had to run home to get my soccer cleats, which were 2 sizes too small. I had grown from 5'4" to 5'7" and my feet had grown from size nine to eleven from the last time I played soccer, which was last year at Belltown. Then, I saw Sean.
"Eh, come here bro!" Sean yelled from his car, about 30 yards away.
I went to Sean's car to see what was up.
"You ready bro?" Sean asked.
"Yeah, I guess." I said.
"Alright, let's go."
We walked into the stadium, onto the field. The stadium looked about 10x bigger and 100x newer than Belltown's. We walked down the left sideline when we saw varsity coach Chris Pratt. He was 45, but he still looked like he was in his late 20's.
"Coach, I heard there were tryouts for kicker and punter, but where are they at?" Sean asked very calmly. This kid was like Tom Brady in a 2 minute drive all the time.
"Over there." Coach Pratt said in a stern voice as he pointed to the endzone facing the field. There were about 10 other guys besides me and Sean, so there was going to be some stiff competition.
Eventually an older looking man came over to us. At first I thought he was trying out, then I realized it was Jason Hanson, the former Lions kicker.
"Ok guys. I'm Jason Hanson, the old Lions kicker. Today, I will be evaluating you guy's kicking skills and find out who our kicker and punter will be for this year. Our first game is Friday, so be ready. Let's start with the kickers. If you're trying out for punter, go sit down."
I realized literally only 3 people went to the sidelines, including Sean.
"This is going to be tougher than I thought." I thought to myself.
"Ok, let's start from 20." Jason said, before he pointed at me. "You first." he said.
I stepped up to the tee and took a deep breath. I took two steps back, 3 steps left, just like one of my old friends told me. I ran up, kicked it....
Money.
Only one person missed from 20, then Jason moved things back to 30. I preformed the same routine...
Money.
This time, two others missed, dwindling the number the people still having a chance down to six.
Jason moved it back to 40.
Still money.
4 left.
The longest kick I made before this one was 37, so I was genuinely surprised when it went in. Then, Jason moved it back to 50.
Same routine. I was 99% sure I would miss this one. When I kicked it, I didn't feel good about it. The ball went end over end, through the air, hit the bottom crossbar, and....
Money.
In the end, I was the only person to hit from 50, meaning I won the job. Sean easily won the punting job, meaning we were both on varsity.
Jason sent us to Coach Pratt afterwards.
"So, we have numbers 1,2,97,88, and 62 available, so which numbers do you guys want?" Coach Pratt said, still quite sternly.
"I'll take 2." I said.
"I guess I'll take 1." Sean said.
"Alright, here are your jerseys. Our first game is Friday against Cass Tech at home at 7:00. Make sure to come to practice tomorrow as well." Coach Pratt said before walking away.
"VARSITY PUNTER!" Sean yelled.
"VARSITY KICKER!" I replied.
I knew this year would be good.
10-27-2014, 08:47 PM
