Chapter 319: Before the Game
Tuesday, January 31st, Afternoon
Lucas sat at his desk and watched as his two assistant coaches went into the locker room. Once the door closed, he took a moment and let out a sigh. Lucas placed to hands on the desk and looked around.
This day had finally arrived, and the clock ticked minutes down and not days or hours. Lifting his left hand, he could see it tremble. Nerves, he never got nerves, not after all these years.
Lucas sighed and turned around in his chair. He picked up the picture of his first championship team, the one this ceremony is for. He looked over each girl and knew that each had grown up to be a decent person. Sadly, only one of them wasn't here tonight.
Shaking his head, he put the picture back and reached for a photo of his family. Picking up the picture, he looked over the photo of his family and smiled. It was a professional shot by Haley's sister Quinn. He looked at him and Peyton sitting in the middle. Standing behind him was Candi, and behind Peyton was Keith. Next to Keith was Izzy, and next to Candi was Sawyer. The twins were on the ends of the kids, with Kay next to Sawyer and Ellie next to Izzy. The grandkids sat on Lucas and Peyton's laps, with Nomi on Lucas's and Ellis was on Peyton's. Lucas smiled and studied the younger of his family.
As he went to put the picture down and his hand slipped. After making sure the picture was set down. There was something stuck behind the photo. Lucas turned the picture around and saw that behind the frame, a piece of paper was stuck. Lucas pulled the paper clear and looked at it.
If you find this, remember what I said.
Lucas looked it over and knew the handwriting very well. He nodded and put the piece of paper down next to the picture. He knew the script well. Shaking his head, he turned around.
After another sigh, Lucas reached over to a file and opened it. After looking through the reports of their opponents for the night and what to expect from them. He had it mostly memorized. It was meant to distract him from the random thoughts that drifted through his head.
Slamming the file shut, Lucas put it back on the desk. He looked up to the wallclock; they were in the final hours until this is all done. Lucas couldn't wait for this to be all done and over with.
The locker room door opened, and Ashlyn popped her head in. "They're ready," Ashlyn said.
"Thank you," Lucas said.
"You're welcome," Ashlyn said.
Lucas stood up and came out from behind the desk. He stood by the door and took a deep breath. He turned the door and opened the door; he stepped through into the locker room. Sitting on the benches were all twelve of the girls of the basketball team.
"Good afternoon, Team," Lucas said.
"Good afternoon, Coach!" The Team replied.
"How are we feeling?" Lucas asked.
"Feel good, Coach!" The Team replied.
"What are we going to do tonight?" Lucas asked.
"Beat South Brunswick, Coach," The Team reported.
"The ceremony tonight, it is, well frankly, not important, and don't let it be a distraction. You know your warm-up drills, warm-up. Tonight, I don't want you to play down just because your coaches have some sort of distraction," Lucas said.
"Yes, Coach!" The Team replied.
"Bigs control the paint, and watch for the out pass," Lucas said.
"Yes, Coach," The Post Players replied.
"Coach Sinclair?" Lucas asked.
"We have the size advantage, so we're going to play feed the big girl until they stop it," Coach Sinclair said.
"Yes, Coach," The Team called out.
"How many big girls do we have in the paint?" Coach Sinclair asked.
"Two Coach," The Team called out.
"Cameron," Coach Sinclair said.
"Yes, Coach," Cameron Garcia, a freshman forward, said.
"What's your jersey number?" Coach Sinclair asked.
"Fifteen, Coach," Cameron said.
"I want that many offensive boards tonight," Coach Sinclair said.
"Yes, Coach!" The Team replied.
"Coach Pierce-Scott," Coach Sinclair said.
Ashlyn stepped forward and looked around the team. She nodded. "Let's keep the ball moving," Ashlyn said.
"Yes, Coach," The Team said.
"Don't pass for the sake of passing, be smart and avoid the turnovers," Ashlyn said.
"Yes, Coach," The Team replied.
"Miss Ambrose," Ashlyn said.
"Yes, Coach," Faye Ambrose, the junior starting point guard, said.
"Are we ready for this?" Ashlyn asked.
"Winning, Coach," Faye said.
"Coach Scott," Ashlyn said.
Coach Scott took his place back at the front of the team. "Tonight is about the past, the next game, our last home game for the season will be about the present. I'm proud of all of y'all. Now, let's go out there and show South Brunswick what we've trained to do," he said.
"Yes, Coach," The Team called out.
"Coach Scott," Ashlyn said.
"Miss Pierce-Burke!" Coach Scott said.
"Yes, Coach!" Brett called out.
"You're one of my captains, right?" Lucas asked.
"Yes, Coach," Brett replied.
"You're also one of my seniors if I'm not mistaken," Lucas said.
"Yes, Coach," Brett said.
"Well, lead my team out there for warm-ups," Lucas said.
"Yes, Coach," Brett said, stood up, and looked at the team, "You heard, Coach."
The team stood up and grouped together, and put their hands in. The Coaches walked over and added their hands.
"Who are we on three," Baylee said, "One, two, three."
"Ravens," The Team said.
Brett headed towards the door to the field house; the girls fell in line behind her. One of the equipment managers handed out a few basketballs. Before Lucas got to the hallway, the girls were out the door.
Lucas looked to his left, then his right, and smiled at his assistant coaches. The two assistants headed out to the field house. Lucas paused, looked around the locker room, nodded, and headed out to the field house.
The stands were packed. Lucas looked around and stood there amazed. Shaking his head, he didn't expect to see that many people in the stands.
His moment of silent awe quickly ended when someone in the stands noticed him. Suddenly, several loud cheers went up and followed by thunderous clapping. Lucas silently waved to the crowd and walked towards the bench.
Coach Sinclair looked at him, "I guess we're rock stars," she said and laughed.
"Well, I guess you're right," Lucas said, "Let's try and not let it interfere with winning tonight's game."
Coach Sinclair shook her head and turned to watch the girls warm-up. Lucas went to a spot and watched the team as well, but the ceremony was rapidly approaching.
