Advantage Disadvantage (19 page)

“Jamal, what happened?” the trainer asked.

“I rolled my ankle a little bit,” he replied.

The trainer moved his foot back and forth asking
Jamal, which position hurt. She asked if Jamal could stand up – it
did not seem too severe from her analysis.

“I’ll be ok with a short rest.”

The trainer helped Jamal limp to the end of their
bench and rolled his sock to begin first aid. Venturi felt his
chest muscles tighten from the stress as he contemplated his next
move. He had 30 seconds to put in a replacement player. Venturi
looked down his bench.

“Austin, you’re going in. Give me a few good minutes
in there, ok?”

Alex Austin was shocked to get the call. He
ripped-off his warm up pants and nearly tripped on them as he
hustled to the scorer’s table to check in. The game restarted and
on the first possession Venturi’s fear materialized – Alex Austin
shot an air ball retrieved by a player on the Clyde High School
team.

The trainer was attending to Jamal’s ankle. She
sprayed some kind of freezing ointment that felt like topical
Novocain. He yelled out, “It is ok, Alex. Keep going – we need
you.”

The game was in the balance. “Imari, are you ready
to go in?”

“Coach, I cannot put any weight on it – I can’t
play.” He kept holding his ankle.

Venturi quickly concluded that the players on the
court would have to finish the game, including Alex Austin. He
called timeout and gathered the players around.

“Jamal has been there for you for many games, but
he’s too hurt to play anymore. You guys are going to have to do it.
You can finish this – play our game and let’s win this thing.”

Alex Austin settled into the game and using his
body, he boxed opponents away from the basket and snagged three
important rebounds. Later in the quarter, he made a short jump
shot. Finally, with three seconds left in this contest and East End
winning by one point, Alex grabbed the last rebound of the game
cementing a win for his team.

Jamal used a teammate as a crutch and limped ahead
of the players. As the rest of the team filed down the corridor
towards the locker room, Venturi saw Alex’s brother standing at
full attention, showing a military salute. Alex stopped and saluted
back to his brother, then tipped his head as if to say, “thank you
for coming to watch me play”.

Coach Venturi was so moved that he altered the
speech he wanted to deliver. He was mad about the sloppy first-half
play, and worse than that, there were the unnecessary fouls.
Starters were terrible except Jamal, but he was hurt and not
available. His first instinct was to explode in the locker room and
shake-up the team. He could threaten a tough practice the next day,
but then he thought of the moment that the end of the game provided
for Alex and his family. Some things were bigger than basketball.
He softened his approach.

“We had a tough game tonight – maybe we were lucky
to win it. Starters were called for too many dumb fouls and you
five guys put too much pressure on our substitutes. But they came
through, especially you, Alex Austin – without your fourth quarter
tonight I think we would have lost. Terrific job! Well men, even
great teams have off nights. Let’s practice hard tomorrow and put
this one behind us.”

The players and the few stragglers had left the gym
when Scott turned off the lights and set the alarm. He opened the
door to the parking lot and saw Jamal walking without any sign of
his game-ending injury.

“Hey, Imari,” Venturi called out in surprise to see
Jamal putting weight on his “injured ankle”.

Jamal turned back and looked at his coach. Jamal
winked. Venturi paused and then smiled. “I’ll see you tomorrow.
Rest your ankle, kid,” he chuckled and winked back.

The next day, Coach Venturi had a glowing voicemail
from Mrs. Austin thanking him for providing the opportunity for
Alex to impress his lifelong idol – his brother. She said that of
all of the teachers and coaches in Alex’s life, he made the biggest
difference. Alex was so proud of his brother’s approval. If he
never played another minute the rest of the season, it was ok with
her and Alex too.

The coach was so touched that he stayed up all night
thinking about what that experience meant for Alex Austin and his
family. He also marveled at the growth and maturity of the team’s
captain, even though Jamal was insubordinate to engineer the
circumstances that got Alex into the game. Perspective rang through
his ears. Compliments for anything other than wins were rare. Would
he ever experience this kind of satisfaction at the college level?
He wondered about the future. For now, his present situation felt
great!

Chapter Twenty-eight. In Search of a Bench Coach

Coach Venturi met Elizabeth in their favorite park.
She constantly sought attention from him, but knew that his time
during basketball season was scarce. She still wanted a future with
Scott and decided to encourage him to seek other college coaching
jobs after this season – to pursue her dreams and his. Elizabeth
wanted to move anywhere with him; the life of a revered college
coach was etched in her mind.

“Elizabeth, this has been a magical season for me.
Jamal is my first Division I scholarship player, the team is
undefeated so far, the principal finally knows who I am and attends
games – it’s been great”

“I’ve gotta believe that college coaches will take
notice soon,” said the single-minded Elizabeth.

“No. Let me continue. I have had an epiphany. The
joy I have received from watching the development of these young
men at basketball and many kids in mathematics classes has been
incredible. I watched something happen for Alex Austin and his
family that not many have seen. Along those lines, I take great
pleasure in helping kids like Jamal grow into men. Yes, his
basketball accomplishments are terrific, but basketball is just the
context in which I am working. Year in, year out I can transfer
training, maturity, sportsmanship and other gifts to a new set of
players. I am flying high.”

“What are you smoking, Scott?” asked Elizabeth
sarcastically.

“I discovered myself and my purpose. Yes, I have to
try to win basketball games, but I also am helping generations of
kids mature and grow. I realize now that I am in the right place –
I was put on earth to teach and coach high school players.”

“What about our plans for the future? You promised
to take me out of here to some quaint college town where we would
become important people in the community.”

“I’ve found that importance right here. I can make
an immediate difference to some of these kids and their
families.”

“Scott, you’re talking crazy. Do you want to spend
the rest of your summers in smelly gyms, watching endless tapes of
teenagers playing a stupid game for the lousy amount of money they
pay you? Get real! Call me when you come to your senses. EPSU was
just not in the cards. You’re giving up on your dream, like you
caution your players not to do.”

“Elizabeth, you’re insulting me by dishonoring my
accomplishments at East End. You know what? We are done! Your dream
is not my dream. Being with you – it was a huge mistake. It cost me
a friendship with Marcus, the best friend I’ve made since moving up
here.”

She slapped Scott in the face. “You call me a
mistake. Screw you, unmotivated loser!” she yelled as she walked
away.

Coach Venturi left the park resolute that he was
making a terrific life decision. He knew by her reaction that
Elizabeth was not in love with him. They were attracted to each
other, but she was in love with the college coaching dream. This
was a dream that might have happened, almost happened, but was not
a better proposition than his current assignment. He was happy, but
he had an old score to settle with Marcus.

***

This was a great time to strike because the
principal and athletic director were both anxious to help in any
way to continue the success of the team and the program. In between
games during Christmas break, Venturi had several meetings with the
school’s administration. He was finally ready to roll out a new
program. He called a mandatory parent-only meeting, but Jamal was
the only player to invite his dad.

“Scott, what’s the deal? Jamal told me there was a
parent meeting scheduled, but I think you have tricked me. I don’t
know what I’m doing here,” his old friend snapped at him.

“Marcus, the boys miss your coaching and I need you
on the bench.”

“Well, you fucked that up by humping my wife.”

“I know; that was inexcusable. I was led to believe
that you were separated and on your way to divorce. What I regret
most was sleeping with one of my players’ moms. That needs to be
out of bounds. If Jamal knows, he is not showing it, but it is
probably putting undue pressure on him. As for you, most of all, I
regret losing a great friend.”

“You know, my soon-to-be ex-wife hasn’t really been
good for me either. Ever since I got tangled up at O’Hare and lost
my job, she’s been looking for a social climbing mate. I just could
not measure up to her recent standards. She is definitely not the
same person I married. I don’t think I’ve changed, but she has,” he
said in a sedated voice.

“I’d like you to come back to our coaching staff,
for me and Jamal,” begged Scott trying to focus away from
Elizabeth.

“Are you done with Elizabeth?” asked Marcus.

“Yep. She couldn’t stand that I won’t be going into
the college ranks.”

“Well, I’m not surprised. I guess I could forgive
you for being with her. Made the same mistake myself,” he
joked.

“And I can forgive you for Jamal’s early signing
with EPSU. That ended my chances for that job,” replied Scott.

“Get real, man. You never had a chance for that job.
That recruiter strung you along just to secure Jamal.”

“I guess I’m coming to realize that now. It really
soured me on college jobs. I can do more of the things I like right
here in high school.”

“I hate to admit this, Scott, but you are great with
the boys and Jamal has grown up considerably under your watch,”
said Marcus.

“So, you’ll come back to the coaching job?”

“Well, if you need me so badly, although you
wouldn’t know it from your team record … you haven’t lost a damn
game yet.”

“That’s great that you’ll be back, but I have a
surprise for you as well. You are looking for a job, right? I have
always thought that you would make a great teacher. Anyway, the
principal has agreed to hire you starting Monday when Christmas
Break ends as a teacher’s aide. You will probably start out
monitoring study halls and conducting detention. Eventually you can
sub for absent teachers. It’s a full time assignment with full
benefits.”

“Why have you done this for me?” asked a shocked
Marcus.

“It’s partially selfish. I need you back on the
bench with me and I want you back as my friend. I also feel like I
owe something to Jamal – he is a great kid who has taught me a lot.
Finally, our school needs passionate people to lead and motivate
students.”

“It sounds ok, man. I haven’t worked in so long I
won’t know what to do or wear.”

“Just tell me that you’ll take the job, and I’ll
call the principal right now – he’s waiting to hear the great
news.”

“This is so unexpected. I cannot thank you enough
Scott. I am unworthy of this, but yeah, I need the job. I have been
jealous of teachers like you who get to work with young people.
Sure, I want the job.”

“You have to coach with me – it’s part of the
package,” Scott cautioned.

“Of course. I hated sitting with the crazy parents
anyhow!”

“Alright, hold on. Let’s call him.”

Scott picked up the phone and dialed the principal’s
number.

“Yes, it’s Scott Venturi. Yes, it’s great news. Mr.
Imari wants the aide job and is willing to rejoin me on the
bench.”

After a pause Scott continued, “No sir. I did not
tell him about that yet. Ok. Ok. I’ll have him see your secretary
on Monday to get started with paperwork – he’s East End’s newest
employee.” He hung up the phone.

While holding out his hand, Scott said, “Welcome to
the East End High School Staff.”

“Hey I’ve got a question,” Marcus said, stopping the
handshake. “What did you mean when you said you didn’t tell me
about something?”

“Oh yeah. Part of the deal is that you will take
classes under the district’s tuition reimbursement program. The
principal wants you to finish your degree with night classes and
summer school. Then, after you student teach, we can hire you as a
certified, full-time district teacher. It will take you a couple
years – but we will help you. This isn’t just an aide job for now,
it’s your future.”

Tears streamed down Marcus’ face. He thought of his
mother’s dream that he graduate from college – a far journey from
the Robert Taylor Housing Projects. Even though it had been several
years since his original dream died, a new path to a college degree
amazingly reappeared. His mom was still living on the south side,
and he could not wait to tell her.

Scott’s eyes welled-up. What other job in the world
could he make people’s dreams come true: Jamal Jonathon Imari, Alex
Austin, Marcus Imari and countless others? He confirmed to himself
that he was in the right place, right here at East End.

“Hey coach,” Scott said when they finally stopped
crying of joy. “Let’s watch some game tape of our next
opponents.”

“Roll the film, brother” Marcus replied.

Chapter Twenty-nine. The Referee’s Finest Season

Billy Rechter was having a great season. Since he
became a certified state observer and rules interpreter, his
schedule improved with the help of several local assignment
chairpersons who were eager to please the IIAA state sports
coordinators. He had already worked a Super-Sectional Final Game
the year before and he anticipated the possibility of moving on to
work the downstate championship. He was working a hard, tough
schedule in important games in conferences around the city and
suburbs.