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But so did Dillon.
By every definition he was a leader. He never went easy in practice. He always executed his coach’s vision.
Helped the guys who needed help.
Checked the guys who needed to be checked.
Inspired all of them to work harder.
And he looked really hot doing it.
That was not something I was thinking about. At all.
After our conversation the other day, he hadn’t done or said anything to me. We passed each other in the hall and he gave me the same chin nod he gave everyone. Like I was no one special.
Which of course was the plan, but I didn’t love it.
Whatever. I was here to do a job. Whatever the guys thought of me, I had knowledge that could help.
“Remember. Respect.” McKay said to his guys, and then turned to face me. “Coach Branch, they’re all yours.”
The sensation was like breathing to me. That first glide out onto the ice. With the dimensions of a standard US hockey rink, I could feel the size of the guys on center ice. If one of them barely bumped into me I was going to go flying, but I wasn’t going to let that bother me.
Overcoming fear was something I’d been doing since my crash and burn.
Recovery had been a slow and steady journey. I had to relearn how to walk, then run, then bicycle. Until finally, a year after it happened, I was able to step back on the ice.
That day I’d cried the entire time I skated. Scared out of my mind, but so happy to be flying again, even if tentatively. It was like no emotion I’d ever felt before. Not even winning Olympic Gold had felt like it.
So this was another fear I just had to conquer. Facing down a large group of men and telling them what they were getting wrong.
I set out my cones, bending to shift one over a few inches. Someone whistled as I bent over, and I had a good idea who. I knew I couldn’t respond to the sexism. The second I did, I would be called difficult and I’d lose even more of them.
But honestly, you’d expect more from a group of professionals.
“Excuse Novek,” O’Rourke said. “He was raised on the back of a mule.”
“Fuck you,” Novek said, good naturedly. “I was raised on the front of the mule.”
A few of the guys laughed.
Yeah, that guy could be an ass and I had to just keep working.
There was a strategy to earning respect. Always.
Take down the big dog first.
I turned and faced the team, all leaning on their sticks, looking like they’d been born on skates.
“Right leg, inside out drills.”
“Come on,” Skalsberg groaned. “Give us a challenge.”
“Show me you can meet this one and I will,” I shot back.
The boys oohed and Skalsberg scowled. Dillon’s eyes met mine and something about his gaze was intense. I tried to have no reaction, so I blamed my suddenly hard nipples under my team training gear on the cold air.
“Novek,” I said. “Why don’t you go first?”
