Page 14 of Tusk & Puck
“Okay, stop everyone!” Verog calls out. “I’m shutting this one down. Everyone circle.”
“Awww, Coach!” says one of the kids, standing up. “I had a cool plan!”
“Let’s go!” I say. “You heard what the coach said.”
The moment I say it, they start circling around us. Verog definitely notices it too, and I can tell he doesn’t like it.
“You’re going to turn me into the bad guy,” Hill says in a low voice. “And on day one. Something else, Jar. And this time, try thinking first.”
“Let’s do groups of three this time,” I say. I don’t know if Hill’s going to like this drill much better, but at least it’s not one I just made up. I used to practice this one with the team. Usually when we were a little drunk and the coaches weren’t there. Still, I think it’s a good one.
“This is a drill that’s all about being aware of other players on the ice. Each group picks one person to be the runner and two to be the chasers. The goal of the runner is to keep going for as long as possible. The goal of the chasers is to trap him between them.”
Immediately, the team is buzzing with excitement, and Verog is glaring at me.
“We’ll give this one a shot,” Verog says, obviously sensing that the team is getting into it. “But if I see people falling over or making a situation, we’re going back to our normal drills.”
He turns to me. “Look, you’re making me be the Mr. No-Fun-Bad-Cop, and I’m not enjoying that. These are kids. Their safety matters.”
“Yeah, but it’s hockey,” I reply. “Stuff happens.”
And stuff sure did happen. Almost as soon as the drill starts, players are crashing into each other, and not the ones who are trying to. One group’s runner is knocked into another group’s chaser. I flinch and grit my teeth. Another drill fail.
Verog blows his whistle just as the door opens. I stiffen as Melody walks in.
“What is going on here?” she’s practically screaming. Immediately, the team freezes. Or the one’s still standing, anyway. They start to circle around me and Verog.
Melody walks towards us, her eyes practically sparkling with fury.I take note of her blue and green glasses today, deciding now isn’t the time to tell her how much I love them. She leans against the rink’s wall and gestures for us to come to her. We all do. And quickly.
“I’ve had to do a lot to convince myself to not be worried about hockey,” she says as Verog and I take the brunt of her fury. Behind me, Ryan stands between two players with his eyes glued to the ice.
“Any sport can be dangerous sometimes, I told myself,” she continues. “They have coaches to watch out for them, I told myself. It’s a game. It’s not like they’re just crashing into each other on the ice like maniacs. And then, I open the door to get a glimpse of what’s going on and what do I see? A bunch of kids crashing into each other on the ice like maniacs!”
“Well, that’s sort of what I’m working on,” I try to explain. “This exercise is meant to develop–”
“You’re going to develop concussions is what you’re going to develop!” she interrupts. “I didn’t know about you, but Coach Hill, I honestly expected better!”
“You’re right,” Verog says. “I wanted to give Jaromir a chance to try out some of his ideas, but he obviously hasn’t thought them through carefully enough. I’ll be more careful in the future.”
“There is a point to them,” I say, rather than keeping my mouth shut like Melody’s glare suggests I do. “They were getting better! You could see that they were getting better. Sure, it was a little chaotic at first, but that’s the point! So’s a game of hockey!”
I know it’s not attractive to be defensive like that, but I can’t help myself. Hockey is what I know. And running that drill would have paid off. Could someone have gotten a jammed finger or some other little boo-boo while that was happening? Maybe, but that’s hockey. If I can’t have students crash into each other now and then, I can’t teach them hockey.
“Jaromir, safety is just a different matter on a professional team with orcs than on an elementary school team including humans,” Verog starts, and even though he’s got a point, I still roll my eyes. “They didn’t sign up for a career in professional sports. They signed up for a rec team. Keeping these kids safe is our first duty. Not turning them into ice warriors.”
“Okay, but that doesn’t mean we can’t have a little bit of fun, right?” I turn to the kids. “We were having fun, weren’t we? Was anyone not having fun?”
The kids don’t cheer this time, but they are on my side. Hard to totally shrug off safety when you’re talking to the school nurse, I guess.
“As the school nurse, part of my job is establishing safety standards.” She’s talking so formally, which kills me. I want her to like me, and instead, she’s acting like I’m some kind of bug. And maybe I deserve it, too.
“What I saw out there on the rink was completely unsafe and unacceptable. I don’t want to interfere with your ability to teach these kids hockey, but you have to not interfere with me keeping them safe. Is that clear?”
“Very clear,” Verog inserts before I can say something. Clearly, he thinks I’m going to say something stupid.
8
MELODY