72 Practice 3 (1/2)
The last hour of practice went by quickly as we ran these situationals. Chris came back from his run, but coach didn't put him back in. He did mini drills off to the side with some others.
Eventually coach called everyone into a huddle, including the pitchers, catchers, and spares. He took a good look around the group, making eye contact with everyone. ”The tournament this weekend has released the bracket. Our first game on Saturday will be against Villa Park High School.”
That meant nothing to me, but the team seemed to tense up at the name.
”Aren't we the third seed? Why are we playing a powerhouse school right off the bat?” Garret spoke up.
Coach sighed. ”The seeds were based off last seasons records. Last year, Villa Park had their worst record in thirty years. They only won three games last year so they were given poor ranking.”
”I'm sure they recruited some guys to transfer.” Dave said. ”A big school like them wouldn't want to suck two years in a row at any cost.” The rest of the team started to add on and talk to one another.
Coach blew his whistle and team got quiet. ”I have made my concerns known to the tournament adviser already, but no matter what we still have to play. They will make sure that all players have their paperwork turned in and are eligible to play for their school. If they do have transfers, then they have legally moved into their district lines.”
The whole team seemed full of sighs and downcast looks. I caught Zeke tilting his head at Noah.
Noah jumped up and down and grabbed everyone's attention. ”Why are you guys acting like you lost already? We're the best team Watsonville has had in decades. In fact, we would have won league last year if y'all had me on the team. Now that you do, the sky's the limit!”
Half of the guys laughed and the other half threw their gloves at him. As Noah got pelted with gloves, I noticed that the team's atmosphere didn't seem so gloomy anymore. Did Zeke and Noah plan this? I studied Zeke's face for clues, but it was expressionless as always.
”Settle down!” Coach demanded everyone's attention once more. ”This week, we'll start running more game scenarios to prepare. It'll be warmups, some light tosses, bp, then these situationals. Hopefully by the end of the week, we can get some background on Villa Park's new team.” He clapped his hands a few times. ”Good hustle today. Get home, eat, do your homework, go to bed. Dismissed!” He walked over to his assistant coaches and started their own discussion.
The team started to head back to the clubhouse in little groups. I wandered over to Noah first. I cleared my throat, preparing to ask him a question.
”Hey, Why was Chris running laps?” Dave put his arm on my head, leaning on me. ”We could see him running from the bullpen and wondered what was up.”
Noah's face scrunched up. ”That asswipe tried to give Jake a hard time because Jake made an error. Coach saw right through him.”