Till Next time
Till Next time
Jason held his arms up in the air with closed fists in victory as his teammates surrounded him. They hoisted him up into the air as he smiled and looked out at the crowd.
His eyes only settling when he found some familiar faces standing amongst the fans. His mom and dad were holding one another as they both jumped up and down in excitement.
'We did it mom, dad. We got past the team that eliminated us last year and earned a spot at the state finals.'
But his joyous mood didn't last long as his gaze drifted over to High Bridge's bench where Rudy was still sitting with a towel over his head.
'What the hell happened Rudy? You went to the bench towards the end of the third and never came back in?'
During the game Jason had been so focused on playing that he didn't pay much attention to Rudy on the bench.
But he still managed to notice his bad body language 'Head down, slumped over, didn't talk to his teammates or coach for the rest of the game. Something definitely had to have happened, but what?'
Jason was pulled out of his thoughts as Kyle and the rest of his teammates began to toss him into the air.
"We did it!" "We knocked off High Bridge!" "One step closer to that trophy!""One more game and we state champions!"
The cheerful shouts of his friends put a smile back on to Jason's face 'Whatever happened all I can do is be there for him.
On the court there ain't no friends but the game is over now. And I'll do what I can to help my boy out. He's earned that much from me.'
Out on the floor Jason and his friends all cheered and celebrated as it took a few minutes for all of them to calm down enough to proceed to the end of game handshake.
During that time one of the local news reporters had gone to interview both Coach Swendel and High Bridge's coach Mr. Hickson.
Coach Swendel was all smiles as the corners of his mouth stretched from one end of his face to the other "Haha thank you Rachel.
Although I really have to say that all the credit really goes to my players tonight. In a game like this where the acumen of both Coaches are so close and both teams are determined to stick to their game plan it all boils down to how long the players can play hard.
Thankfully for us all of the kids on the team are used to playing these kinds of hard-fought games and we were more comfortable digging deeper and pulling out all the stops."
The blonde-haired reporter wearing a professional-looking dark blue blazer smiled "Such a humble response but certainly you must be feeling very proud of yourself Coach Swendel.
You had an incident happen last year forcing you to go on a temporary hiatus. So this is technically your first appearance at the state tournament.
Being able to defeat a seasoned coach like Coach Hickson who has multiple state and even a national tournament appearance has got to be a confidence booster."
Coach Swendel straightened out his suit a bit before confidently running his right hand through his hair "I guess I must be a lot like my players. Just like how their lack of experience doesn't reflect their true abilities the same can be said for me."
He then excused himself from the interview to shake hands with the opposing team's coach as his players lined up to shake the hands of their opponent.
As Jason made his way down the line of players from High Bridge he respectfully shook their hands with a firm grip while making eye contact.
"Great game man." "Good game." "Y'all made us work for it." "It was a contest every step of the way." He continued to give words of encouragement to all the kids he shook hands with.
He felt a great amount of respect for these kids because he understood that for the majority of them who lacked the natural god-given talent that Rudy had they must have poured in numerous hours of hard work and practice.
Seeing their dejected and defeated looks he was brought back to memories of his past life where he and his teammates sported the same disappointed looks on many occasions after a bitter defeat.
Although his current status as a young and rising star of the basketball scene would paint him differently the life he lived before this gave him a rich amount of experience.
He knew better than most what it was like to give so much of yourself to something only to taste the bitter taste of disappointment.
'If only I had made that shot.' 'If only I had hustled a little bit harder for that loose ball.' 'If I was just lucky enough to have won that scramble for possession.' 'If only I had worked harder.'
For Jason that last thought in particular haunted him for a large majority of his career as a young athlete.
At the start of his basketball career he constantly failed to get into the rotations of his teams whenever he joined.
He had to start from the very bottom and work his ass off just to earn some minutes and scrape out his own spot in the rotations.
Not just that but the team for his high school wasn't anything special. They were able to get some wins but they never got past the state tournament.
And even when he finally started to get a taste of major success in college Jason only ever served as a defensive specialist.
For four years he worked himself down to the bone but year after year all the praises and cheers that surrounded his name always went quiet after the season.
No interest from professional scouts or trainers, no managers or agencies interested in representing him.
Someone that worked great as a specialist role player at the college level but didn't show any potential for jumping to the pros.
Has a great mind for defense, a good teammate, great hustle for every minute he's on the floor, doesn't stir up trouble on or off the floor.
Level of ball handling is too low compared to the competition, shooting is too unreliable, lacks the athleticism to be a serious threat attacking the basket, stature and physique limit potential ceiling.
The same evaluation year after year. No matter how many hours he spent in practice working on his skills. Or hours he spent in the gym trying to bulk up.
As he was thinking back to those bleak memories Rudy's wilted figure appeared before him. Now that they were close enough for Jason to get a good look at his face he got a clue as to what the problem was.
He could instantly recognize the look that was on Rudy's face despite his best attempt to avoid locking eyes.
The expression that Rudy was wearing on his face was one that he was very familiar with. And even the severity of it.
'I only managed to move through those demons because of Coach Butler back then. God only knows how I would have ended up if he wasn't there.'
Feeling the responsibility of an adult watching a child go through a difficult trial that he had once weathered Jason's eye's shined with resolve for a brief moment.
He dapped Rudy up before pulling him into a hug, despite the split second of resistance felt on the other end. Patting him on the back as he did so.
"That was one hell of a game bro. That improvement on defense blindsided me like crazy. You sneaky shit."
As the two of them separated Rudy saw the genuine smile on Jason's face, a bit of the oppressive atmosphere he was feeling lessened.
"Thanks Jaya... Great game tonight." He had to force himself to push out those last words. Trying his best to suppress his feelings of embarrassment and shame.
'This whole season I've been trying my best to get better and it didn't mean a single thing. Not only did I lose I couldn't even stand staying in the game.'
But before he could drag himself deeper into his own negativity Jason took off his jersey showing the compression shirt he was wearing underneath.
"This was the hardest game we played so far and it might even be the toughest one this year. If you don't mind I'd like to swap jerseys for the last time we'll ever play against each other in middle school."
Jason began to offer his jersey to Rudy who was stunned by his action. His hands that were shaking at his sides calmed down as he looked at Jason.
He couldn't sense any arrogance in his smile, all he could pick up was his genuine respect. A look flashed through his eyes as he confidently removed his jersey.
"That would be awesome dude. A keepsake of our last game against each other in middle school." Their jerseys changed hands as cameras began to flash on the side capturing their small swap.
The two teams began to make their way to their respective locker rooms. The expression on Rudy's face now vastly different from the one he had just minutes before.
As Jason was about to be the last one to step through the doorway Rudy gripped on to the jersey he held in his hands and shouted out.
"Yo Jaya! You better win it all! Ima have to come back with a vengeance arc if you get whooped at Nationals!"
Having seemed to have heard Rudy's voice Jason didn't turn around to face him. Instead simply raising up his arm with a closed fist.
"Haha come on bro! That was always the plan, see you next year in high school."