Coach Dave Season Three: Middle School: Coach Dave, #3

1

The text read, This is Fletcher Brandt. Congratulations to the Southburg All-Stars on a fine summer season. With middle school tryouts coming up in the spring, it’s not too early to start preparing. I will be coaching a team in the Southburg fall league. Tryouts next weekend. Hope to see your son there.

FLETCHER BRANDT WAS the win-happy coach who walked away from an assistant’s role on the all-star team, taking his talented son and one of the team’s alternates with him when he did. While Coach Dave Rivers was still cleaning up after our end-of-season Southburg All-Stars cookout, his rival was already trying to use his players to build his new team. I showed the text to Rob when we arrived home after the cookout.

He’s not wasting any time is he, Dad? Do you think any of the guys will play for him?

What do you think?

"Normally, I would say no, but with middle school tryouts coming up, I don’t know."

Really?

Well, most of us are seventh graders, and we’ll be trying out against eighth graders. It might help to play this fall.

Would you want to play for him?

No, but I think it would help to play this fall. I wish Coach Dave was going to be coaching a team.

Well, he made it pretty clear to the dads that he didn’t want to coach a team this fall. With this being his first year as a new teacher, that’s probably a good decision. Southburg Middle School is paying him to be the best history teacher he can be, so he wants to focus on making a good impression in the classroom. I think you guys are going to love having him as a teacher.

I hope we have Coach Myers for math.

The baseball coach? Why is that?

None of us know him very well. From what I have heard, he has been at the school for a couple of years, and he’s kind of quiet. Maybe if he already knows us from class, we will have a better shot at making the team.

I was interrupted by a buzz on my phone. Glancing at my screen, I could tell that the baseball dads’ group text was about to be active. I excused myself to the backyard swing. Tell Mom I’m out back texting with the baseball dads. This could take a while.

CHARLIE JONES: Did you guys get a text from Fletcher Brandt about starting a fall team? He didn’t wait long, did he?

Charlie was the pastor of the Southburg Community Church. His family had moved to town around Christmas break the previous year, about the same time my family had. His son Hudson was a versatile player, small but scrappy. Charlie’s older son had died of leukemia some years earlier, and Charlie’s perspective of the role of baseball in our boys’ lives had been enlightening to all of the other dads.

Dean Ford: Told you guys to expect it. Figured Fletcher wouldn’t let the paint dry on this season before he tried to load up his team for the fall.

Dean had played minor league baseball and, from all accounts, was good enough to play in the big leagues. His experience in the game—along with the injuries that caused his premature exit from it—caused him to have a longer view of youth baseball than most other parents. He stood in quiet but firm opposition to youth coaches like Fletcher Brandt who placed winning above teaching. Dean’s son was a youth league phenom who had obviously inherited his dad’s talent. No one doubted that Bryce would make the middle school team as a seventh grader.

Tyrell Barnes: Reggie doesn’t want to play for Brandt, but he makes a good point. He says that playing this fall would help when it comes time for tryouts.

Tyrell’s son Reggie was a solid catcher with the physical build of his dad, a rock of a man.

Brad Baker: Rob said the same thing. Sounds like we need to come up with a better solution for their dilemma. Anybody have any suggestions?

Several of the other dads from the all-star team joined in the conversation, but one was noticeably absent. Carlos Rosales, whose son was one of the team’s second basemen and a feisty top-of-the-order hitter, broke the ice, Rooster, haven’t heard from you.

Gary Rooster Hamilton had bristled at some of Coach Dave’s coaching process during the regular season but had slowly come around to appreciate the young coach’s methods of teaching the game while teaching life principles. Rooster was a fireplug of a man who was quick to speak his mind on any topic and who had proven an easy target for the humor of the other dads. He had also proven to be teachable and extremely loyal to Coach Dave during the regular season with the Scarlet Knights and during the all-star tournament season. His animosity toward Fletcher Brandt was very much out in the open. The two had exchanged words on a number of occasions, most recently at the all-star selection gathering when Brandt had first mentioned the competitive team that he planned to assemble.

Gary Rooster Hamilton: He didn’t ask David Wayne to play.

Dean Ford: He might as well not have asked Bryce, either. Bryce knows how I feel about Fletcher and probably won’t even bring it up, even if he wants to play.

Carlos Rosales: Yeah, but Bryce doesn’t have to worry about getting cut from the middle school team. Everybody knows he will make it. What about kids like Little Carlos who might not?

Tyrell Barnes: Well, it’s not like we have to decide right now. I mean, we just finished summer ball. Let the kids go fishing and swimming and play video games for a while. The fall season doesn’t start until September.

Dean Ford: Don’t be so sure. You know how Fletcher is. He will want to have his team in place as quickly as possible so that they can start practicing right away to be ahead of the competition.

Gary Rooster Hamilton: That’s for sure. I’m telling ya, I wouldn’t be surprised to see him build some dorms out there by that field next to his house and start training year round so that he can keep filling that trophy case of his. And he won’t care how many pitchers’ arms he ruins in the process.

I shook my head at Rooster’s accurate portrayal of Fletcher Brandt’s drive to win. He was right about the arms, too. Fletcher didn’t mind his young pitchers throwing curve ball after curve ball if it meant a victory for his team. His pitchers already had a history of arm injuries to back up Rooster’s sarcasm.

Tyrell Barnes: I respect Coach Dave’s insistence that he and the boys take a break from baseball for a while, but I wish there was an alternative for the boys who don’t want to play for Brandt. What are you guys going to do?

Charlie Jones: I’ll just say that I hope we’re adult enough to maintain the friendships we have made, even if some of us let our boys play on Fletcher’s team. That said, Hudson won’t be playing. He wants to try out for the school basketball team, anyway.

Dean Ford: You all know my answer, but I’ll make it official. No for Bryce.

Gary Rooster Hamilton: Neither answer for David Wayne. He wasn’t asked. Would have been a no anyway. You boys know how I feel about Fletcher Brandt and that little notebook he keeps to relive every play of every game in Southburg all the way back to T-ball.

Tyrell Barnes: Fletcher didn’t hurt your feelings by not asking, did he, Rooster?

Gary Rooster Hamilton: Heck no! Would have given me a chance to tell him what I think of him, though.

Tyrell Barnes: Yeah, and that would have come as quite a shock to him, eh, Rooster?

Gary Rooster Hamilton: Well, no, but still...

Tyrell Barnes: Just messing with you, Rooster ol’ boy. As for me and my house, we are going to be involved in football and basketball. No time for Fletcher’s shenanigans.

Hunter Logan: Just seeing the texts, guys—had to charge my phone. Looks like I checked in just in time to pick on Rooster a little bit.

Gary Rooster Hamilton: Wouldn’t be right for Tyrell to have to do all the ribbing by himself. Just a matter of time before you and Big Carlos joined in.

Hunter Logan: Ha ha. I’m with Tyrell on the question at hand. Wyatt will be going out for football and basketball, too. I know Fletcher would love for them to specialize and play baseball year round, but that’s not happening in the Logan household. I say let them play as many sports as they can for as long as they can.

Brad Baker: I’ll join the chorus of no’s. Rob wants to try out for basketball. He could still play baseball in the fall, but I think we’ll pass.

The conversation sat idle for a few minutes. Several of the dads who usually joined in our group texts at some point were noticeably silent. Dean Ford finally put the period at the end of the conversation.

Dean Ford: The no’s have been pretty outspoken, but several of you guys haven’t responded. Don’t know whether you are not reading the texts yet or whether you are thinking about letting your kids play this fall. Look, I understand that making the middle school team is a big deal. We really don’t know what Coach Myers will be looking for, and playing in the fall may help our boys’ chances to make the team. No hard feelings if you decide to go that direction, okay?

The dads who had already spoken up agreed with Dean’s sentiments. The lack of usual participation in the group chat, though, hinted that a number of dads were considering Fletcher Brandt’s offer for their sons to play for his team. They wouldn’t be able to stay on the fence for long. The summer was winding to a close, and he had a team to prepare. I decided to let Rob enjoy the rest of the evening with only talk of the summer season that had been...at least until his friends started texting.

That didn’t take long.

2

Little was said about Fletcher Brandt and fall baseball over the next week-and-a-half. Rob knew that some of his summer teammates were considering playing on the team, but they mostly spent their time making the most of what little summer they had left. The first day of school brought another text from Brandt, revealing that only a pair of open spots remained. I asked Rob what he had learned about the team at school.

"Obviously, Coach Fletcher’s son, Hunter, is going to play. We heard that he went to the doctor about his arm, and the doctor told him not to throw any more until next spring. Hunter is supposedly going to play first and third but not pitch. Jud Franklin has a strained muscle in his shoulder. He’s playing but not going to pitch much.

Devan Counce is going to play. That was kind of a surprise, but I think Coach Fletcher convinced Devan’s dad that he would be their ace. A couple of the guys that played on the Scarlet Knights but didn’t make the all-star team are playing: Cody Trimble and Jimmy Garrison.

Really? I asked, genuinely surprised. Bruce Garrison and I carpooled to work, and he had said nothing about his son’s playing for Brandt’s team.

I think they just decided today for Jimmy to play. Here’s another one that will surprise you: L.C. is playing.

Wow, when the guys were texting about whether or not our boys were going to play, I noticed that Carlos was unusually uninvolved in the conversation, but I never thought he would want L.C. to play for Coach Fletcher.

He didn’t, but then Jesse Winfield joined the team. With tryouts coming up in the spring and only room for a few middle infielders, I think L.C. figured that he needed to keep up with Jesse if he wanted to have a chance to make the team.

Okay, I said, counting the team on my fingers, Hunter, Devan, Cody, Jimmy, L.C., Jesse—who else?

Umm, Rob pondered, oh, L’Marcus Meeks, the catcher from the Yankees who was the other alternate with me on the all-star team. L’Marcus had exited the team along with Fletcher Brandt and his son when Coach Dave had removed Hunter from a game. That’s seven.

Billy Henderson is thinking about playing.

What about Bo? Bo Nelson could play just about any position on the field and had established himself during all-stars as a fine hitter and a shutdown closer on the mound. His parents had gone through a nasty divorce less than a year ago, and he still felt very much caught in the middle of their conflict.

Bo had a great time playing baseball this summer—except for that night at the Pettyville tournament where his parents got into that fight in front of everybody—but he was ready for baseball to be over. He wants to concentrate on soccer. I heard he’s really good.

Good for him. I was just trying to account for all the guys you played with this summer. I got a text today from Coach Fletcher that said he just had a couple of spots open. I wonder who else he has lined up.

I think he is bringing in some guys from other towns. Freedom and Ashford aren’t very far away. Their teams weren’t very good, but they had a couple of good players. I’ve heard he’s trying to get them to play.

Son, I realize I haven’t given you much of a choice in this, so I’ll ask straight up: do you want to play on Fletcher Brandt’s team this fall?

No sir. I want to play basketball and have a life.

Just making sure. So, how was school today?

Rob told me the news of his first day of seventh grade at Southburg Middle School, mostly droning on about which of his friends were in his different classes and what time he went to lunch and so forth. When I asked him about his history class, his face lit up.

First of all, it’s world geography, not history. But, Dad, Coach Dave is going to be just as awesome in class as he was as a coach! In every class I’ve ever had since kindergarten, the teachers have gone through the same routine on the first day. First, they call roll and find out what every kid wants to be called—I always feel sorry for the kids who go by their middle names. Anyway, they talk about what the class is about and tell us how much they’re looking forward to teaching us. Then, they scare us half to death with all the classroom rules and what’s going to happen to us if we break them. By the time they relax enough to ask the class what we did over summer break, everybody’s afraid to talk.

I laughed, recalling my own first-day-of-school experiences. Not that way in Coach Dave’s class?

"Not at all. As soon as the bell rang, he started off by saying, ‘Let me tell you about the adventure I had this summer.’ Bo and Kevin and Reggie are in my class, and we all looked at each other like we knew what he was talking about. But he starts in on a story about the Pyramids and the Great Wall of China and the Australian Outback and how he found treasures at all of them. Bo raised his hand and said, ‘Coach, we were with you all summer. When did you have time to do