Read Online The Walk On by John Feinstein - Free Book Online Page A

fifteen? Did you hold back a year?”
    “No sir. I’m fourteen.”
    Coach Gordon considered that for a moment.
    “Well, you might want to give some thought to doing that. Lot of kids do it now, you know. Gives them another year to grow. And, in your case, you’d have three years to play once Matt graduates, instead of two.”
    “I don’t think my parents would like that idea,” Alex said. “Being honest, neither do I.”
    Coach Gordon shrugged. “Your mistake to make,” he said.
    He pushed past Alex and headed for his office. Alex wondered if all successful football coaches were complete jerks. Then he turned and walked toward the field as the sun continued to climb into the eastern sky.

    Alex didn’t really mind the running. The hard part of the punishment had been getting out of bed before sunup. Once he was finished, he felt good. His father had told him once that athletes—regardless of their ability—always felt better after a workout because of something called endorphins, which were some kind of enzyme released in your body that energized you.
    He felt energized after his fifth lap up and down the steps.
    “Problem with you, Myers, is you’re too young and too strong to know this should hurt,” Coach Hillier said. “Nexttime I’ll put you on the clock and demand a certain time from you each trip up and down.”
    “Won’t … be … a … next … time,” Alex said between breaths.
    “Good.”
    Coach Hillier put a hand on his shoulder. “Look, Alex, I know you’ve got plenty of talent and loads of potential. Believe it or not, Coach Gordon knows it too. He’s just not going to tell you that anytime soon.”
    “Why not?”
    “It’s not his way.”
    Alex took a long gulp of air.
    “He just asked me coming out of the locker room if I’d consider staying back a year so I can have three years of eligibility after Matt graduates.”
    “What’d you tell him?”
    Alex gulped air one more time. The sun was up by now, and even though it wasn’t hot yet, it felt warm after his stair climbing.
    “I told him I didn’t like the idea and I didn’t think my parents would like it either. I’m a good student. Why would I want to go to high school for an extra year?”
    “It might increase your chances to get a college scholarship.”
    “Do you think I’ll need an extra year to have a chance to get a scholarship?”
    “It’s hard to tell. You’re just a freshman.”
    Alex’s breathing was back to normal now.
    He smiled at Coach Hillier.
    “Well,” he said. “I think I’ll be okay.”
    This time, it was Coach Hillier’s turn to smile.
    “Christine was right about you.”
    That got Alex’s attention. “Christine?” he said. “As in Christine Whitford?”
    “Mm-hmm.”
    “What did she say? When did you talk to her?”
    “At our first meeting for the school paper. She introduced herself after the meeting and asked if I would read some of the stories she’d written while she was at Whitman.”
    “Whitman?”
    “That’s the middle school a lot of the kids here went to last year. I had mentioned when I introduced myself to the new kids that I was one of the football team coaches. She said, ‘I met one of your new players today.’ ”
    “She did? Did she say anything about me?”
    Alex wondered if the burning in his cheeks as he waited for the answer had anything to do with his workout. He suspected not.
    “She said you were extremely confident.”
    “Did she say it like that was a good thing?” Alex said, knowing he was being reeled in but unable to resist.
    “Not really …” Coach Hillier turned to walk away. “See you at practice. Run the plays I call.”
    He left Alex standing there knowing that the burning in his cheeks had
nothing
to do with the workout.

    Alex ran all the plays as they were called for the next several days in practice. There weren’t many and none of them called for him to throw deep. Every once in a while as hestepped into the huddle and called