Date: Thu, 02 May 2002 18:27:46 -0400 From: Stan Unknown Subject: Beating The Odds First, anyone can read this story, because there is no sex in it. But all the characters are real and lots of the parts of the story describing them is also real. The author retains copyright to this story. Placing this story on a website or reproducing this story for distribution without the author's permission is a violation of that copyright. Legal action will be taken against violators. E-mail responses to the stories, story suggestions or other 'constructive' comments or advice may be sent to: stan992001@hotmail.com. All e-mails will be answered. You can also visit the young gay guys support group I created after my "Matt and Mike" story at www.groups.yahoo.com/group/gbct or our web site at www.gayteensunite.org. There is a forum section there where you can enter comments about this story for everyone to see. All e-mails to me will also be forwarded to the eleven guys from the group that are in the story. Hope you enjoy it. Only 29 more chapters to go. hehehe If you are interested in my other stories on nifty, here is a list: You Can't Go Back Young Friends 05/29/01 Dear Diary Young Friends 04/18/01 One Big Happy Family Young Friends 11/24/00 Matt and Mike Young Friends 03/24/00 My New Life Incest 12/18/99 New Neighbor Young Friends 12/17/99 Sam Finds A New Father Adult/Youth 12/16/99 Billy and Jim Adult/Youth 12/13/99 Beating The Odds Chapter One "36! 29! Hut! Hut-hut!" The quarterback barked out the signals, the center snapped the ball, and the option play right started. The quarterback faked the ball to the fullback, then ran several yards behind his line, looking for an opening, as the halfback ran behind him and slightly ahead. Before he could decide what option to take, the middle linebacker burst through an opening between the center and right guard and was almost on top of the quarterback before he had taken more than three or four steps. He had no choice but to pitch the ball back to the trailing halfback, and lots earlier than he was supposed to. The middle linebacker shoved him aside with one hand, causing him to lose his balance and topple over backwards in a heap. He kept going, running as fast as the halfback, until his better angle on the play let him catch up to him and run him down near the sidelines for a 5 yard loss. But he didn't just push the halfback gently out of bounds, he rode him out and landed hard on top of him. The quarterback got up and ran as fast as he could to where both players were getting up. "Dammit, Kevin, see this red jersey? That means you can't hit me. Can't you get that through your thick head?" he screamed. Kevin walked right up to him until their face guards were touching. "I didn't fucking hit you, Matt. I just pushed you out of the way so I could go after Mike. You want me to show you the difference between a push and a real hit?" "Well, you hit me, ass hole! I was almost out of bounds when you creamed me. What's with you, anyway?" Mike yelled at him as he walked up. Kevin turned to face him and also got right in his face. "That's the key though, isn't it?" "What?" "Almost! You were ALMOST out of bounds. If you were out of bounds, I couldn't tackle you. But almost out of bounds means you were still in bounds, and I can hit you if I want to. At least that is what coach says. You have a problem with that?" Kevin asked to the much bigger Mike. "You keep hitting our guys like that and I'm going to beat the shit out of you," Todd said as he pushed his way closer. Todd was the starting right tackle, and at 6'3" and 260 pounds, dwarfed the lots smaller Kevin, who was only 5'10" and 180 pounds. Kevin was lots smaller, but all muscle from working long hours on his parent's farm. "Todd, you may be lots bigger than I am, but if I get you down, you aren't getting up," Kevin growled, as he stood his ground against the bigger boy. "Threet!!! Threet!!!!" The shrill sound of the coach's whistle broke up the altercation. Both the head coach and the defensive coordinator were running across the field to break it up before it could go any further. "What's the problem this time?" Carl Williams, the head coach, yelled. "Kevin keeps playing like this is the state championship instead of just a practice. He's hitting as hard as he can on every play. Someone is going to get hurt out here," Todd yelled. "Is that true, Kevin?" Carl asked. Kevin kind of looked startled. He looked around at all of his teammates like he was surprised at what Todd had said. "I don't know, coach. I swear I don't. I thought I was just doing what I was supposed to do. I guess I just don't know how to play any other way." "OK, practice is over for you for the rest of the day. Go get a shower and meet me in my office. I'll be there as soon as practice is over. And don't you dare leave before I get there, you understand?" the coach growled. Kevin just hung his head, mumbled "Yes sir," and sprinted off the field. "Ok, you guys, run that play again. Jerry, send in Alan to replace Kevin." "Right, coach," Jerry said, as he and Carl started jogging off the field. He motioned to Alan, who already knew he was to replace Kevin. He had done it several times in the past few weeks. When they got to the sidelines, Jerry said, "I don't care what he's done, you have to start him. He's the best player on my defense." Carl just shook his head slowly. "I know. He just has some problems he has to work out." Jerry stared hard at Carl, and then said, "You know lots more about him than you're saying, aren't you?" Carl looked him in the eye, hesitated, but then said, "Yeah, but you know school board rules. You want him starting on your defense?" Jerry didn't bat an eye. "Yeah." "Then you have to trust me on this one. If I could tell you, I would. You still trust me, don't you?" Jerry stared at him for a few seconds, then grinned. "Hell no! I didn't trust you when we were on this same team in high school together, why would I trust you now?" They grinned at each other in mutual understanding and then went back to their jobs as the next play started. Yeah, they trusted each other. Did in high school, did when they both joined the army together during the Vietnam War, did overseas. They'd been together for as long as they both could remember. First grade on up. And this was the first secret either of them could ever remember having between them. 'This must be a really screwed up situation with Kevin, if Carl can't tell me. I hope he knows what he's doing,' Jerry thought to himself. Carl was thinking along the same lines. Both about keeping Kevin's secret from Jerry and also hoping he knew what he was doing with Kevin. Then football took over his thoughts. ********************* Carl walked into his office and found Kevin in the clothes he wore to school, reading a book he had been assigned for English. He hopped up quickly when Carl entered the room. "Sit down, Kevin. Relax. I just want to talk to you and tell you a story. That Ok with you?" Kevin looked puzzled. He had expected to be disciplined or maybe kicked off the team. He had mentally prepared himself for either. But now he was confused. "Sure, coach." "Did you know I used to play middle linebacker here too?" Kevin's eyes grew big. "Here? At this school?" "Yeah. Millions of years ago, I was the middle linebacker and Jerry played strong safety. Our team totally sucked. I started as a 9th grader and Jerry in 10th. No one seemed to get it except us. Our defense sucked. So did the whole team. We won 6 games in my four years of playing." "Wow! You must have wanted to quit a whole lot of times," Kevin exclaimed. "You know the truth? Quitting never entered my mind. Not once. Jerry and I became best friends and both swore we would do anything we could to make us the best team we could be, no matter how bad we were. Both of us got scholarships to Georgia Tech and both thought we would end up in the NFL. Once we started playing major college football, we both knew that wasn't going to happen. But you know one thing both of us and you have in common?" "No sir. What?" "We both gave it our all on every play. Just like you do. And I admire you for doing that." Kevin stared at the coach for a long time. "So, I'm not in trouble?" Carl just laughed. "No, not in trouble. But we have to come to an understanding. You have to do me a favor," Carl said, as he grinned at Kevin. I huge load was lifted off Kevin's shoulders. He was expecting the worst, just like everything else that was happening in his life. Maybe something good could happen to him. "Sure, coach. Anything!" "All I want is for you to go easy in practice when you see an opportunity. Don't hit as hard as you can. Let a running back run out of bounds without you hitting him, like today." Kevin's smile disappeared. "Coach, we both know this is the first time I have ever played football. You are the one who wanted me to go out for football. You talked me into it at the end of last year. You told me that all I had to do was go and kill the ball carrier, right? That middle linebacker was mostly all instinct, you go to the ball and do anything you have to do to get whoever has the ball down. You said you did the same thing, but I didn't know you played here. What am I doing wrong?" Kevin's eyes were starting to show signs of tears. "Calm down, Kevin. You didn't do anything wrong. All you are doing is what I want you to do in a game. You just have to learn to go slower in practice." "Why? Won't the other team have people going just as hard as I do on their side?" Carl was momentarily stunned. He really didn't know how to answer that. "Yeah Kevin, you're right. But you do want us to score some points every game, don't you? You don't want it to be 0-0 every game? You want us to win, right?" Kevin just grinned at his coach. "Sure I do. I sure don't want to only win 6 games in 4 years." Carl grinned back. "So, who is going to score enough points for us to win our games?" "Well, Matt and Mike, with Todd blocking for them, I guess. We ought to have a really good offense." "Oh, is that the same Matt, Mike, and Todd who you were ready to take on all by yourself at practice today?" Kevin blushed profusely, but kept his eye contact with coach. "Ok, I can see your point. What you are trying to tell me is go slower in practice because it doesn't matter if they gain more yards than they really should have. Save my energy for the real games, then I can do what I was doing in practice. Right?" "Exactly. You can't make enemies with your offensive teammates. They have a job to do just like you do. If you embarrass them, they'll resent it, especially if who embarrasses them is just a little mutt like you are. You may be little, but you have a lot of heart, which can make up for lack of height and weight. I don't want to have to kick you off the team. I think you can really help us. But I can't have one player who is the enemy of the whole offense. You get what I'm saying?" Kevin thought for a few seconds, then said, "Yeah, I guess so. But really coach, I just thought I was doing what I was supposed to do." "Really? And what is that?" "Uhm, you said to go find anyone who had the ball and destroy them. Tackle anyone who has the ball, no matter what. Right?" Carl just smiled. "Yeah, that's what I told you. There's only a few positions on the football field where you can just walk on with talent but no football knowledge and get to play. Where you are is one, but you have to have special skills to do it. You have them. You want to hunt down the ball carrier. You are doing exactly what I told you to do, and that is why I don't have a clue what to do with you!" Kevin took in the information and paused to think about it. "So I'm doing good?" Carl just smiled at him. "You are doing lots better than good. You may be the star of our defense. If we just had a big defensive lineman, we could have a really good defense. Just ease off in practice, like we talked about, Ok? Save it for the games." "Anything you say, coach," Kevin said, as he got to his feet. He was feeling great, all his current fears had been lifted off his shoulders. They grinned at each other, shook hands, and Kevin turned to walk out when he thought of something. "Uh, coach." "Yeah?" "I know this friend of mine. Well, he really isn't a friend, but we have been in the same class several times in middle school. If we want to win, he could be a great defensive tackle. His name is Brian Zachary. He's a really nice guy, but kind of shy. If you could get him to play like you did me, I think our defense might be lots better." Carl just smiled at Kevin. "Yeah, I've tried to talk him into playing before. I know who you're talking about. Maybe I should try one more time. I'm glad you brought him up. I want you to think more about the team. We win as a team and lose as a team. I'll try and talk to him again, Ok? And I'll tell him you recommended him to me." Kevin just smiled back at his coach. "That's fine with me. Thanks for spending the extra time to make sure I understand what I need to know." Kevin grinned one more time, and started to walk out the door. "Kevin, one more thing." Kevin turned around with the same grin on his face. "Sure." "How's the thing with your Dad going?" Kevin's face clouded over immediately. "Nothing's really changed. We still have no idea when the trial is going to start." " I'm sorry about all the trouble. You know I'm here for you any time you want someone to talk to, right?" Kevin hesitated, then said softly, "Sure coach. I have to go now, OK?" he turned around quickly and was out the door before Carl could say anything else. Carl just sat there for several minutes thinking about Kevin, wishing he could help more than he was. ************************ "Hey, Brian." `Oh God, not again. Won't he ever leave me alone?' he thought as he slowly turned around. "Hi Coach." "Hi. Have you changed your mind about coming out for the football team yet? You still have time to learn the plays. You'd pick 'em up really fast." "I told you before, Coach, I really like playing in the band and I really don't like football. I played it for two years when I was 10 and 11 and I dreaded it every day. I just did it because my Dad wanted me to." "Yeah, but just think how proud your parents would be to see you starting at tackle on offense and defense. And we really need you. You would be our biggest lineman. Strongest too, probably, even though you are only in the tenth grade. Why don't you just come out and give it a try? If you don't like it, you can always quit and go back to band." "I'll think about it, but my parents have already paid for me to go to band camp next week. Plus, the band has been practicing for two weeks already. We've just finished and I was on my way home." "When does the band practice again?" "Tomorrow at 8 o'clock. I hate getting up early in the summer." Coach just laughed. "That's why we wait until 10:00 to start our practice. That way, the boys get to sleep a little later and we still quit before it gets really hot. Will you at least think about it tonight and stop by and talk to me tomorrow?" "Yeah, I could do that." `Anything, just so long as I can leave now,' he thought. "You promise?" "Yeah, I swear, Coach, I'll come see you as soon as we have finished tomorrow. But I really like band and I still think I want to be in it." "Ok, but just think about it, OK? See you tomorrow." "Ok, bye Coach." Brian said, as he hurried away. `God, I hate being big sometimes.' Brian thought. `Why can't people just leave me alone? Why does everyone think I should like football or basketball? Why can't I just like the things I like to do and nobody try and change my mind?' Brian was almost jogging now as he headed for home, which was his sanctuary. ******************* "Jim, why don't you go outside for a while? All you have done all summer is stay on your computer." his Mom asked as she stuck her head inside Jim's room. "Mom, I'm close to getting my web page set up like I want it. School's going to be starting in a week and I won't have as much time to work on it then. Just leave me alone, OK? You and Dad agreed that when I paid for my DSL line that I could stay on as much as I wanted to." "Yeah, but we thought you meant an hour or two a day. Not constantly. It's really pretty outside. You ought to go out and enjoy the nice weather." "Come on, Mom. Give me a break, will you? I'm really close to finishing my web page. This means a lot to me. Let me just stay on for 30 more minutes, OK? If this was school work, you wouldn't be bugging me all the time." "That's true. Your school work is the most important thing for your future. But this is just for fun. It isn't the same thing." "Mom! We've talked about this. I'm going to major in computer science when I go to Georgia Tech in two years. You know that. This is really the same kind of thing. The more I learn now, the better off I'll be." "Well, I guess so. I just worry about you. I have to go to the grocery store and then run some errands. I'll be gone for a couple of hours. Will you promise to go outside in a little while? Maybe you could go swimming. The pool won't be open much longer, you know." "Sure Mom. Anything. Just let me try and finish my web page, OK? I'll call Fred and see if he's going to go swimming. If he is, maybe I'll join him." "Just make sure you aren't still on the computer when I get home, OK? I'm going. I Love you." "Love you too, Mom," he answered as he rolled his eyes. `Thank God she's finally leaving. Does she purposely try to drive me crazy? It sure seems like it at times. No way in Hell am I calling Fred!' Jim continued to work for a while on his web page until he was sure that his Mom was gone. Then, he got up and went downstairs and looked out the back door into the garage to make certain. Only when he knew her Lincoln Navigator was gone and the garage door was pulled down did he run back upstairs, save his changes to his web page, and access MSN and ICQ. Time to see if any of his net friends were on line. To Be Continued E-mail responses to the stories, story suggestions or other 'constructive' comments or advice may be sent to: stan992001@hotmail.com. All e-mails will be answered. You can also visit the young gay guys support group I created after my "Matt and Mike" story at www.groups.yahoo.com/group/gbct or our web site at www.gayteensunite.org. There is a forum section there where you can enter comments about this story for everyone to see. All comments will also be forwarded to the eleven guys from the group that are in the story.