Page 89 of Never Say Never
BK: Before Kiss. AK: After Kiss.
I chuckle to myself, corny as that is. Can’t help it. I’m high off the memories of our first kiss, of making that shot, of the promise of more…
Get it together, Battle.
Iamthankful for this first AK day to hone in on the Waves’ playbook. I knew this going in, but it’s insanely more complicated than the UT one.
“It’s the size of a dictionary,” I complain to Connor as he walks into the kitchen area and raises a brow at the sight of me studying. “So much to fucking remember.”
I trust in my ability tounderstandthe concepts, even learn the terminology and play calls.
But to remember all of this information on the fly and apply it in practice—it’s intimidating. I need to get this shit down as preseason advances, and doubts are creeping in.
A split second of hesitation when the ball is snapped could cost us a play and me a starting spot, not to mention give the talking heads new excuses to bash me.
They’ve started us rookies slowly, but now I need to show I got this. However, I’m not sure I do.
“You know what worked for you in the past with your playbooks, right?” Connor asks.
“Yeah, I like to visualize everything while repeating the words.”
“Until the routes you run are ingrained, yeah?” he says. “So you build your confidence that you’re rock-solid on the plays.”
“Yup.”
“Do it the same way, only on a bigger scale. I mean, if it takes longer, that makes sense because it’s more plays, more details. But you’ll get there.”
I blow out my breath, trying to loosen my nerves. Connor’s right. And not for the first time, I’m fucking grateful for my little brother.
I have my eyes closed as I work through a play in my head when my big brother comes in. Grover trails behind him, dragging his leash.
“Look at you,” Landon says when he sees me. “Love to see that dedication, Rawls.”
“Thanks, Landon. I’m trying.”
He cocks his head at that. “Can’t just try, Rawls. You got todo.”
“Do or do not. There is no try,” Connor says in a mock Yoda voice, smirking at Landon.
“I’m serious,” Landon replies, now sounding earnest.
Fuck, he can be such adad.
“I got this. I have my own method. It’s worked before, I just need to magnify it to match all this—” I gesture to the playbook.
“Okay, I can make flashcards or something,” he offers. “Like when you were young.”
Never mind that the flashcard method wasn’t what helped me.
Still, I know he’s coming from a good place. I just need him to lay off.
“I’m going to take care of it,” I say more definitively.
He nods and lets it go. While he pads into the kitchen, Connor links eyes with me and dips his head. A silent affirmation that I handled that right.
Regardless of our brotherly dynamic, though, I do need to get my act together on this front. So I spend most of the day out in the yard, visualizing, acting out, and reading out the plays. Trying to make them stick.
A welcome interruption comes in the late afternoon when Avery texts me.
