Juice Read Free Page B

strange, but he had to knowwhat he was doing. “This is being converted to an equipment and conference room.”
    â€œWhere will the girls get changed?” I asked.
    â€œI don’t really know,” he said. “That’s not my worry. Oh, by the way, all of the football equipment, from sweaters to pads to cleats to jocks, will be brand-new. I arranged for us to be sponsored by a major manufacturing company that will remain nameless for now. In the back corner will be the conference area. Computer and projection system so that we can look at game film, do analysis and simulate plays. You’re going to be impressed with the software that’s available.”
    I couldn’t help but think about Coach Reeves using a blackboard and a piece of chalk.
    â€œThis wall will have a gigantic refrigerator that will hold ice and cold drinks. Water, power drinks, protein drinks. You name it and it’ll be there. It will be fully stocked all the time. Not just for games, but always, for any member of the team.”
    â€œThat’s amazing,” Caleb said.
    â€œBut who’s going to pay for all of this?” another one of the players asked.
    â€œAll taken care of. I have contacts, people who are willing to provide sponsorship in exchange for being involved with a winning program. But wait, the best is yet to come.”
    Caleb and I exchanged surprised looks. What could be better than all of this?
    We trailed Coach Barnes out of the dressing room, down the hall and into the weight room.
    â€œYou gentlemen probably spend a lot of time in here,” he said.
    â€œSome of us more than others,” I said, shooting Caleb a dirty look. He was always finding ways to avoid weights.
    â€œAll of the equipment in this room will be replaced. Everything.”
    â€œEverything?” I questioned. I’d spent so much time in here that some of the equipment felt like family members.
    â€œEverything. The stuff in here is from a different century. Each station will haveits own separate sound system, with headphones, and in all three corners there will be a television set. A forty-two-inch, flat-screen, high-definition television.”
    â€œMy set at home isn’t that big,” Robbie exclaimed.
    â€œYou may come to think of this as your second home,” Coach Barnes said. “Because if we’re going to be successful, you are going to have to spend a great deal of time in here.”
    â€œYou install a bed and I’ll move in here right away,” Caleb joked.
    â€œAnd you have people who will pay for all of this too?” another one of the players asked.
    â€œSponsors and the school. One of the conditions of me coming here was that they had to bring everything up to date. To create the best product you have to have the best ingredients and the best tools. Nothing but the best is what they promised me.”
    He walked over to the far end of the weight room. He pulled a black marker out of his pocket and began writing on the white block wall! In big numerals he wrote “4” and then“37” and finally “2.” He turned back around to face us.
    â€œDoes anybody know what these numbers mean?” Coach Barnes asked.
    We all looked at each other and then at him.
    â€œThe winning numbers in the lottery?” somebody finally asked.
    â€œYou’re half right. They are the winning numbers, but they have nothing to do with the lottery.”
    He circled the first number. “That’s the number of championships—Division
One
championships—that I have coached.”
    He circled the second number. “Thirty-seven. The number of kids I have coached who have gone on to full scholarships in college programs.”
    Next he circled the final number. “Two. The number of players I’ve coached who have gone on to play professional football.” He paused. We hung on his next words. “One of them was up in the big leagues for