|
Showing 1 - 9 of
9 matches in All Departments
"Howie Thompson shares his insights about the game he loves. Wow He
even uses me in his story. Unbelievable Hey, this story is
fascinating as it depicts the love for the game by the local PTPer,
a prime time performer and a superstar, who comes back from being a
player to coach at his alma mater." Dick Vitale Trey 'Shooter'
Parrish looked at his coach of four years and said, "Get me the
ball, Coach, I can make it." Dripping from sweat, exhausted beyond
his thoughts of what he could endure, the star high school senior
was ready for his day in the sun. The aged and revered coach of
South Willow High School designed a play that would set a triple
pick for Trey and bring him out to his favorite spot just beyond
the three point line at the top of the key. Coach Jones was
seventeen seconds away from his nineteenth straight state high
school boys' class 4A title, and it all rested on the talented hand
of his senior shooting guard. He had seen Trey make this shot many
times before, and every time he knew it was good when it left his
hand. That's why he had no trouble drawing up what he believed
would be the final winning play of his storied career. Coach Jones,
after twenty-five years at South Willow High School, was hanging up
his whistle and giving up coaching the game he so loved. After
twenty-five years and eighteen State Titles, he was saying farewell
to the hardwood and taking his wife on a long cruise. The school
had thrown a party for him about two weeks before the state
playoffs, and this was to be the final play of the last game of a
storied coaching career. He looked at all of his players, a trace
of a tear in the right corner of his eye, as he said, "Men, you are
the best group ofplayers I have ever coached. Whatever happens now,
I will never forget you. Thank you." With that, Jones brought his
players' hands together, and like he had done an uncountable number
of times before, looked them all in the eyes and said, "You're the
best. Go get 'em " The hands broke as they all yelled, "We
are...TEAM " Off the five players went to mid-court. As they
trotted out onto the hardwood floor, Trey glanced up at the
scoreboard. Any doubts he had during the timeout huddle that there
wouldn't be enough time to run Coach Jones' play disintegrated as
Trey realized they still had seventeen seconds left in this second
five-minute overtime. Trey would take the ball out and then circle
behind two concealed picks and come off a third pick at the top of
the key to receive a pass from his middle school and high school
teammate, Ron Gentry. Ron was one of the best passers in high
school and led the nation twice in assists. Trey thought to himself
how perfect this would be for him, his coach, and Ron - how they
would all celebrate yet another state title after the game.
This is a fiction murder/mystery novel about 2 women and 4 men who
were a hit team in the 70's-90's. They topple governments, begin
and end WWIII and WWIV.
The night air was crisp, even at the 72 degrees that enveloped the
2000 fans that sat and watched as the Westland Dragons took on the
Dallas Sting for the U-21 Women's National Soccer Championship at
the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Field. Both teams had
battled to a 1-1 tie over 90 minutes, and now both were coming to
the end of the second 15-minute overtime tied at one goal apiece. A
shoot-out was inevitable, and how ironic I thought. This is how it
all began for this team; this is what set this team apart from
others when they were only 12 years old back in the fall of 1994.
The whistle of the center official sounded and I knew what lie in
store for our girls. They had been here before; they had all been
through so much. Ashleigh, Jessie and Kendall were all on the bench
due to injuries, and our back-up keeper, Christa, was asking me why
she had to do this. I knew this time was different, this time it
was for so much more than a trophy or a title. This time it was for
all the games, all the seasons and all the players that had come
and gone. This was going to be a game of a lifetime - this was
their game for all seasons. The Lady Dragons were born on July 7th,
1994, and I remember it like it was yesterday. It was a warm night,
and the heat of the day had parched the already dry field to a
golden brown, with spots of green, as 45 young 12 year old girls
showed up in mass to a tryout for the "New Premier team" about to
be formed. Forty-five young girls all with the same dream: to
someday play Women's Major League Soccer. But now, it was a much
smaller dream that lie ahead, they were all very sure that they
would be the one, the one out of 45 that would catch the Coach's
eyeand be chosen to be part of the 18 player roster.
"Howie Thompson shares his insights about the game he loves. Wow He
even uses me in his story. Unbelievable Hey, this story is
fascinating as it depicts the love for the game by the local PTPer,
a prime time performer and a superstar, who comes back from being a
player to coach at his alma mater." Dick Vitale Trey 'Shooter'
Parrish looked at his coach of four years and said, "Get me the
ball, Coach, I can make it." Dripping from sweat, exhausted beyond
his thoughts of what he could endure, the star high school senior
was ready for his day in the sun. The aged and revered coach of
South Willow High School designed a play that would set a triple
pick for Trey and bring him out to his favorite spot just beyond
the three point line at the top of the key. Coach Jones was
seventeen seconds away from his nineteenth straight state high
school boys' class 4A title, and it all rested on the talented hand
of his senior shooting guard. He had seen Trey make this shot many
times before, and every time he knew it was good when it left his
hand. That's why he had no trouble drawing up what he believed
would be the final winning play of his storied career. Coach Jones,
after twenty-five years at South Willow High School, was hanging up
his whistle and giving up coaching the game he so loved. After
twenty-five years and eighteen State Titles, he was saying farewell
to the hardwood and taking his wife on a long cruise. The school
had thrown a party for him about two weeks before the state
playoffs, and this was to be the final play of the last game of a
storied coaching career. He looked at all of his players, a trace
of a tear in the right corner of his eye, as he said, "Men, you are
the best group of players I have ever coached. Whatever happens
now, I will never forget you. Thank you." With that, Jones brought
his players' hands together, and like he had done an uncountable
number of times before, looked them all in the eyes and said,
"You're the best. Go get 'em " The hands broke as they all yelled,
"We are...TEAM " Off the five players went to mid-court. As they
trotted out onto the hardwood floor, Trey glanced up at the
scoreboard. Any doubts he had during the timeout huddle that there
wouldn't be enough time to run Coach Jones' play disintegrated as
Trey realized they still had seventeen seconds left in this second
five-minute overtime. Trey would take the ball out and then circle
behind two concealed picks and come off a third pick at the top of
the key to receive a pass from his middle school and high school
teammate, Ron Gentry. Ron was one of the best passers in high
school and led the nation twice in assists. Trey thought to himself
how perfect this would be for him, his coach, and Ron - how they
would all celebrate yet another state title after the game.
|
|