Coach

Clare’s work schedule makes it impossible for her to get away to Elmhurst and pick up her all-conference plaque.  So, I went yesterday and had lunch with Coach, to boot.

His office is what you’d expect, all clutter with photos and player info everywhere.  This one can hit, that one’s a good fielder, maybe they’ll all come to Elmhurst, and maybe they won’t.  “You never know,” says Coach.

We had a two-hour lunch, with a little bit of food and a lot of talk.  Coach remembers everything and everybody, though not necessarily in any kind of order.  Clare gets mixed in with five years ago, this season with all the summers he spent in travel.  If there are six degrees of separation with Kevin Bacon, make it two tops with Coach.  The best part came when he told me about a couple of balls Clare hit I didn’t know about.  One pretty much went the length of the football field during a scrimmage and the other happened when Clare helped with his travel team tryouts three years ago.  “Kids and their fathers just watched.  They couldn’t believe it.”

But, of course, I could because I’ve seen it.  That makes me Thomas.  Coach has to do it on faith, high school stats and instinct.  That’s why they pay him the big bucks.  If only.