Episode 7: Down on Main Street

January 30th


(BLOG Post in italics)

There is this big event happening tomorrow. The town is honoring a championship team, and I'm supposed to be there. Of course, I have to be there, but I wonder what it feels like for those people being honored. The night before, but how do their partners handle this? Do the people being honored stand vigil like knights of old? What does that do to their partners? Do they stand vigil with them, or do they do other things? Have any of you be honored, or were you a partner of someone who was honored? If so, keep the conversation going down below.

Ravenhussar

T3 Collective


Chapter 276: Coach Scott

Monday, January 30th, Afternoon

(Song Lyrics in italics)

It's midday, which is her lunch hour, so she closed the door to her office in the guidance department. Once the door closed, Ashlyn Pierce-Scott let out a sigh and looked at her desk. Slowly, she took her place behind the desk and dug out her lunch, which she set out before her.

Taking a bite of her sandwich, she also put in her earbuds. Turning to her laptop, she stared at the monitor. Finally, she reached out and pressed a few on-screen buttons. Finally, the video player opened up. Ashlyn took a deep breath and finally pushed the play button.

The video started to play, and the opening that was on the previous episode ran. This one kept Ashlyn's attention, as it showed the two coaches on the sidelines. Every so often, Ashlyn would chuckle at something one of them would do. Since this was a newer opening, it caught Ashlyn off guard when the refrain hit her ear.

I

Will

Be

I will be heard.

The screen dissolved to the Tree Hill High School Television Studio, and Trey Terthero was sitting behind the desk; as he looked at the camera.

"Hello, I'm Trey Terthero, and this is Be Heard: A Championship Defined. Today, we close out the series with probably one of the most anticipated episodes of the series. Today we focus on the mastermind of this championship and one of the last students of the legendary Coach Brian "Whitey" Durham. So, please let us hear this story on Coach Scott," Trey said.

The screen changed to Angela sitting in her hotel room. "Coach," she said.

Next on the screen was Ashton in her doctor's office. "Coach," she said.

Ashlyn looked at her mirror self. "Coach," Computer Ashlyn said.

Devyn was next on the screen in her living room. "Coach," she said.

Evangeline, in her business office, appeared next. "Coach," she said.

Mackenzie sitting in the bleachers, was next. "Coach," she said.

Kelly sitting on her back porch, was the next person. "Coach," she said.

Cara appeared next on the screen sitting in her coaching office. "Coach," she said.

Anna appeared next on the monitor, sitting in the bleacher at Tree Hill Field House. "Coach," she said.

Monica filled the monitor from the River Court. "Coach," she said.

Kay appeared from her Chicago Apartment. "Coach," she said.

Jaslyn appeared from the River Court is on the monitor now. "Coach," she said.

The monitor changed to show Coach Scott as a high schooler scoring the winning basket in the high school championship game. The screen melted away to show him on the sideline of a junior college basketball game. Again, the screen melted away and showed Coach Sinclair sitting behind the desk in the basketball coach's office.

"When I found out I didn't get the coaching job, I asked why. They told me it was because they chose Lucas Scott. How could you compete with someone who was a hero in this town? Now how could I even match someone who learned to coach under a local legend? I was disappointed, then I got his phone call," Coach Sinclair said, "I told you already about the wooing process, but after joining up, except for a few times, I regretted nothing."

The monitor changed to Coach Scott sitting on the bleachers, looking up at the various championship banners. He lowered his chin and looked at the camera. He took a deep breath and let it out. "I was told once that I had a hand in more basketball championships for this school than anyone. After thinking about it, out of the eight championships, I had my hand in four. I never thought about it. Anyway, I've always thought my greatest impact is the girls that I help along their path to being women they've become," Coach Scott said, and shrugged, "It's all about the future of them; basketball is just a momentary thing. It's the skills that make them dedicated players serve them throughout their life. In case you're wondering or didn't know, I'm Coach Lucas Scott."

The screen changed to several clips of Coach Scott on the sideline. Coach Scott's images ranged from him sitting on the bench calm to standing up, suit jacket off, screaming at the players or refs on the court. Ashlyn laughed at some of the images, including one where he was yelling at Ashlyn.

Angela appeared on the screen. "I knew him two ways, at school, he was Coach Scott; at night, at home, at the café, he was Lucas, my older brother. When he returned to Tree Hill, when I was seven, he coached me until that last game before I turned eighteen. So, I was on both ends; I saw and felt the mind games, as well as the gentler side. I think without him, I wouldn't have the success I did have," she said.

Ashton appeared on the screen next. She gave a smile and nodded. "He held nothing back, but that's made him a great teacher. I was seven-years-old when I met him at his family's car dealership where my dad worked. I was friends with his sister and soon started learning basketball with her. He found what was in me and worked me into developing that talent," she said.

Computer Ashlyn was next on the screen. "He never backed down, no matter how much you fought him. His coaching for me was making me feel like I was appreciated and challenged, never to accept anything but hard work," she said.

Devyn was on the screen now. "How he motivated me would probably be not practiced now. He found that I was self-conscious of being taken seriously because of my looks; he reminded me of this and made me step past it," she said.

Evangeline was on screen. "We were kindred souls, both fighters he wanted me to play smart, but mean under the boards. Coach always found ways to bring the fighting spirit out of me," she said.

Mackenzie appeared on screen next. "He coached my Sister Greer before me. Coach never let me forget it. It just kept me going," she said.

Kelly appeared; next, she looked at the camera. "He motivated me by challenging me, knowing I wouldn't back down," she said.

Cara looked back at the camera. "I was the one who the bar moved to keep it out of my reach," she said.

Anna appeared next on the monitor. "How coach handled me was to take me by the hand and led me to where I had to go," she said.

Monica was next on the monitor. "He acted as a father figure to me," she said.

Kay's face now filled the computer monitor. "He's also my dad, so our relationship is different, but as the youngest, I seemed to react better to being babied," she said.

Jaslyn appeared on the screen. "I was the one that he told what I needed to work on, was shown once, and went off to work on it," she said.

Coach Sinclair appeared on the screen. "Lucas has a way to find how people work and how to motivate them. It was just sitting back and watch him mentally dissect each player and set them on the path to improvement," she said.

The monitor went blank and changed to some footage of the basketball team practicing. This footage showed the current squad and Coach Scott wandering along the sideline. Every so often, he would comment or snipe at a player. He even blew the whistle once, walked out on to the court, and physically showed the player what he wanted them to do— Coach Scott's pacing best described as prowling the sideline that he acted like a caged tiger.

Coach Scott returned to the screen sitting in his perch. "How you motivate a team is that old story about leading with a carrot on the stick. Which is held out just before them, and as they reached for it, you pulled it out of their reach. Keep moving the goal; if you have a strong team, they keep after that carrot. Special teams will get tired of this, and they'll reach out, grab you by the throat and take the carrot. That's what I had with this team," he said.

Angela appeared on the screen. "Rarely, if ever did we practice offense sets, just enough to learn how they worked. Most of our practices were fundamentals and defense. Also, playing defense was the cornerstone we built our team and play," she said.

Ashton was on the screen next. "Every day, every practice, we worked on blocking out the opponent, or how to force this or that. It was a grind," she said.

Computer Ashlyn appeared next on the screen. "Defense win games, but offense gets the glory, that's an old saying, but it's the truly best way to win is keep the opponent from scoring," she said.

Devyn appeared next on the screen. "Crash the boards, block out, keep them back on their heels, god how many times I heard that in practices, but it led us to the championship and why we're here," she said.

Evangeline appeared next on the screen. "There's something to be said about our practices; we always practiced with our offense going against a defense with more players. We also did that the other way around, to make us more mobile on defense," she said.

Mackenzie took her place on the screen. "Coach always made a point of us having harder practices than games. That way, no matter how tough the game, we knew we could overcome it," she said.

Kelly looked at the camera. "Most of my practices were about improving my conditioning," she said.

Cara appeared on the screen next. "I remember being on the JV team my freshman year and watching the varsity team. I thought, thank god I wasn't them, and the next year I was on the varsity team. I learned how hard to train," she said.

Anna appeared on the screen after Cara. "There were days I would get home after practice I would collapse on my bed and cry," she said.

Monica replaced Anna on the screen. "I had no dad in my life, so a lot of my rebelling against a paternal figure was against Coach. Jaslyn uses to judge how hard practice we had was by how many teams Coach and I argued," she said.

Kay's face filled the screen now. "Practice was tough, and I tried to be what I thought a good daughter. I just kept pushing to meet the standards they set," she said.

Jaslyn appeared on the screen. "Yes, I use to rate how hard practice was that day by Monica's and Coach's arguments. I found my notebook just before this interview, and they're always unique," she said.

Coach Sinclair appeared on the screen. "Practices were interesting; the year before, I watched the team fall apart. This year I had to be the referee between Lucas and Monica. I think her attitude kept her on the bench. His methods didn't work the previous year, but it worked this year," she said.

The well-tread footage of the final seconds of the championship game filled the screen. It showed the Adams-Friendship player Gracen make her two foul shots and Devyn get the ball, calling a time out. The team is in a huddle, and players leave the huddle to check-in at the scoring table. The five girls walked out onto the court, and its Angela Scott, Kay Scott, Cara Gyles, Kelly Burke, and Ashton Perry. Ashton takes the ball from the referee and sends a pass down nearly the court's length; Kay catches the ball while Cara and Kelly set a screen. Kay goes up for a shot releasing the ball as the buzzer sounds, and makes the basket for the win.

Coach Scott appeared on the screen. "I think all good coaches are at heart gamblers. That's why instead of taking the loss or going into overtime, I sent the shooting team out there to win it all," he said.

Angela appeared on the screen. "It was all or nothing; I think that will be his legacy, go out fighting no matter what," she said.

Ashton's image filled the monitor. "I wouldn't have been out there if Coach didn't want to let it ride," she said.

Computer Ashlyn appeared on the screen. "I remember seeing an interview where they compared Waylon Jennings to a River Boat Gambler, all I was thinking is that's Coach," she said.

Devyn appeared on the screen next, "Coach Scott the gambler and his legacy are linked. He was always willing to take a chance, and most times it worked," she said.

Evangeline appeared next on the screen. "There is some sort of restless mental energy behind Coach's eyes, that's where his willingness to go for broke comes from, and that's what created his legacy," she said.

Mackenzie was next on the screen. "He was, at least when I was there, a mix of a mad scientist and high stakes gambler; every so often he would play with the line up to have an advantage, that's the mad scientist part. The gambler part was taking the risk to use what he experimented with. As for his legacy? He wins, that's it," she said.

Kelly appeared on the screen. "He took a gamble on me, my junior year, and he did it again my senior year; it showed he would take risks to win and go with players that helped him win," she said.

Cara appeared next on the screen. "I don't know about the rest of you, but I want to end this now. I want to go for broke. Win or lose, are y'all with me? That's what he said before we went out to win the championship; that's the gambler in him," she said.

Anna appeared on the screen next. "We used to joke that he clanked when he walked; that's how he called our games," she said.

Monica replaced Anna on screen. "Game time he would get mad, at us, at the refs, but when it came time to make that risky call, he's cold as ice, just like a professional gambler," she said.

Kay appeared on the screen. "He wasn't like that at home; he's generally relaxed and helped to run the house with my mom. Game time he's different and would handle people differently, but he wouldn't gamble at home; my mom would've killed him," she said.

Jaslyn appeared next on the monitor. "I think he was a genius with risk assessment; he would take in all the factors and make his moves based on those odds, so, yeah, a gambler is a good term; he's just like those good professional gamblers," she said.

Coach Sinclair appeared on screen, again, "I've coached with him for twenty-six years, and I still barely understand how he could read and make these calculations. Maybe, it's just the way he's wired," she said.

The screen went blank, and it returned to the moment after Kay sank the game-winning shot. The next moment the bench and the stands went wild. The camera caught Coach Scott hug Coach Sinclair then went onto the court to congratulate the team. After receiving the trophy, Coach Scott holds it over his head, then hands it first to Ashlyn, who cradled it like a baby. Ashlyn gave it to Angela, who held it at length and just took it all in. Angela handed it off to Ashton.

The screen dissolved to Coach Scott sitting on the Tree Hill High School Whitey Durham Memorial Field House's blenchers. He looked at the camera, nodded, gave his enigmatic smile, and nodded again. "Be heard," he said.

The screen changed to clips from at the end of the Championship Game. Coach Scott made sure to visit with each player. Finally, he found his pregnant wife and greeted her. After holding the image of the two of them, the screen dissolved again. The image that finally filled the screen showed Coach Scott standing there with three championship trophies. The screen faded away to black, and as the light returned, the studio at Tree Hill High School and Trey Terthero.

"Mastermind, Gambler, and master of mind games are words to describe Coach Scott. He's now considered one of the best high school girls basketball coach in the state. We started to trace his coaching tree and found several notable names. With this team, his success started, that one-shot by a freshman, who was the youngest player on the team, to win it all. For those watching this on the day we release this video, tomorrow this team will be honored before the varsity girls' basketball game; please join us for that event. For those in the studio, the factuality, and staff of Tree Hill High School, thank you, and this has been Be Heard: A Championship defined, and I've been Trey Terthero," Trey said, and the video ended with credits.

Ashlyn removed her earbuds and nodded, the series is finally over, and she survived it. She sighed and closed the browsers. All she did is finish her lunch.