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“My pleasure,” he said, with a little more smarm than was necessary. His dark mullet streamed out from underneath his helmet. Hockey hair, honestly, were these guys fourteen? He skated up to me, and I was reminded of our size differential. If he wanted to, Novek could knock me halfway across the ice.
“Right leg only, stay between the cones, stay low. Head up. Speed and control.”
“You think I don’t know this?” he said to me, the smarm gone under an edge of defensive superiority.
“Let’s go, then,” I said, lifting my watch. Novek got positioned and I blew my whistle. “Captain,” I said. “You’re next.”
I got them all moving. Each of them five loops. Then I moved the cones closer to each other.
Smith, the goalie, groaned.
Another five laps. I moved them closer.
Now half of them groaned. I smiled. The tiny muscles used to stabilize their legs would be screaming at them.
Across the ice, Dillon smiled at me. I had to look away.
This round I started to give some corrections. O’Rourke soaked up my coaching like a sponge.
Ron grumbled but gave it his best shot. I made a note to give him some of my ankle mobility exercises.
Then I went after my big dog.
“Novek, when you dig you’re making two mistakes.”
“Mistakes?” his voice practically cracked on the word. “I don’t makemistakesonskates. See what I did there…with my rhyming?”
“Very clever,” I snorted, and rolled my eyes even as the guys were laughing around me. Pretty sure at my expense.
“You’re cutting down your momentum in the c-cut. You have all this bulk that you’re not using to your advantage.”
“Novek, I think she just called you fat,” one of the players commented.
Again more laughter from the group.
Just power through this, I thought. If I show them techniques that actually work, and I can prove it’s going to increase their speed, they will listen to me.
At least I hoped so.
“In the middle of the c-cut you shift your weight back, when you need to be pushing even more of your weight forward, out over the skate-”
“No,” Novek said, cutting me off.
I blinked. “What do you mean no? You didn’t even let me finish.”
“Hear her out, Novek.” Dillon’s voice cracked across the ice.
Oh God. I did not want Dillon getting involved. I needed to fight my own battles.
“We are the best skaters in the world,” Novek said, facing the team. “What does this…womanknow about what it takes to do our job.”
I gritted my teeth. “If you would just trust me-”
Dillon talked over me. “Novek, shut your mouth for once and let Coach Tyler-Branch talk.”
Yeah, did I mention he only ever called meCoach Tyler-Branchin front of the other guys?That was fun.
“Novek,” I said. “Your time on that drill was three seconds slower than O’Rourke’s.”
