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“Yes. Let’s go.”
We stepped onto the field and a loud shrill sounded. The team seemed to break off into groups. Collin leaned down. “That’s the field goal unit. You’ll be with them.”
“Great,” I murmured when DiNardo glanced over with a narrowed glare.
“Ignore him. Worry about what your coach tells you. If anyone gives you any trouble—”
“I’ll be fine.”
“Good. Now go show them why you’re here. I’ll catch you after practice.”
A guy hiked the ball to a player who was crouched down on one knee. He held the ball with his finger, and then DiNardo ran up and kicked it.
“Please tell me that guy on one knee wears a cup.” A vision flashed in my head of me missing the ball and nailing him in his most vulnerable area.
Collin chuckled. “Yes, I’m sure he does. Stop procrastinating and go.”
I nodded and jogged away from my security blanket and into the fire. As soon as I approached the group, everyone stopped talking.
“Hey,” I said, trying to be as informal as possible.
A man with a little salt in his dark hair walked up to me. He had on a golf-style shirt with the Thunder’s logo on his left pec, and a whistle hung around his neck.
“You must be my ace, Charlie Nicholson. I’m Coach Tisdale. The other newbie on the team.”
I couldn’t help but smile. “Nice to meet you. I don’t know about your ace, but I am Charlie.”
He shook my hand and then looked down at the tablet he’d been holding. “We’re going to get warmed up, then head to the north end of the field. I want to see what everyone has before we break into workouts. DiNardo and Nicholson, you’ll be with Assistant Coach Jensen. Beckett, Richards, and Mooney, you’ll be with me. Let’s go. And remember, we’re a team.” He shot a pointed look at DiNardo. “I may have missed the meeting, but I didn’t miss what was said.”
We walked toward the thirty-yard line, where a football sat on a tee. Coach led us in stretches, and once we were warmed up, it was time to kick. A net off to the side was used first, and after my muscles felt looser, I stepped toward the ball.
“Ladies first.” DiNardo’s tone was snarkier than I thought necessary, but whatever. The only thing I knew for sure was how glad I was that my chest protector would prevent the pounding of my heart from being seen through my jersey.
As I’d done before, I lined up with the ball, took a few steps back, then three to the left, before glancing at the two small flags at the top of the goalposts. Since they were barely moving in the gentle breeze, I adjusted my stance a bit. Coach blew the whistle. I swallowed, made my moves, and kicked the ball. The good news was it went through the yellow posts. The bad news was it grazed the crossbar before it did.
DiNardo smirked before resetting the ball and then sending it easily through the uprights. When I glanced behind me, I noticed a few of the players on the other side of the fifty-yard line looking at us. I wondered if that was how a dolphin felt at SeaWorld. Everyone staring, waiting for you to perform. It was nerve-racking.
Coach had us kick a couple more, and with each one, my strikes became stronger. After increasing our distance, we both successfully nailed a few fifty-yarders before taking a break. Another thing I didn’t know was that kickers didn’t overdo it at practices. Which was fine with me, because my nerves were shot to hell.
After a bit of sitting on the bench, Coach Archer blew his whistle. Not sure what to do, I looked over at Collin, who waved me toward where everyone was gathering at the center of the field.
“Good practice.” He went on to talk about different plays, including a new one that we’d need to learn. He glanced over at me. “Next week, we’ll have you up against the defense.”
I nodded, knowing that part would be coming, but that didn’t make me any more confident that I’d be able to read the play. Knowing the offense was one thing. Knowing the defense was something completely different. Reese had mentioned once that it was all about a player’stell.I supposed that would come in time.
He clapped his hands once and told us to hit the showers. The team began to disperse, but I hung back a minute.
“Coach Archer, can I ask you something?”
“Of course. What’s up?”
“Well, I’ve watched some games and have spoken to Collin about this, but I know that at times, whether intentional or not, a play might call for a placeholder or sometimes even the kicker to throw the ball or even run with it.”
“Yes, that’s right.”
“I know this is a huge ask, but will you teach me how to throw? Just in case something happens?” Trent Archer was one of the best quarterbacks to hold the position. Learning from him would be amazing. When he didn’t answer right away, I felt as though I’d overstepped. “You don’t—”
“It’d be my pleasure. How about you meet me here an hour before our next practice? We’ll start with a few basics. I’ll talk to St. James. Doesn’t hurt that your mentor is the best receiver and is part of the special teams unit too. I’ll message him.”
