smell the air of pre-game warm-ups, a combination of just cut Ryegrass, Kentucky Blue, and the first sweat of the evening thrown in for good measure. All that was missing was the aroma of hotdogs and the buttery fragrance of popcorn from the concession stand behind the bleachers.
    He took a long pull of the cold water. His throat welcomed the cool relief. For a moment he could taste football. For a moment he hungered for it – hitting the sled until you could hit it no longer, the pleasingly sore muscles, jumping through mental and emotional hoops week after week. Butterflies danced in the pit of his stomach. Barry wanted football to start now.
    He took another cool gulp from the garden hose and tossed it down. With a cleansing breath, however, Barry realized that like Christmas, football would eventually come, and it would be his last.
    Barry sat on the cold cement of the front porch. It felt good. He flipped through the small stack of mail when a plain white envelope caught his eye. It was personally addressed to him. ‘Coach Annese’ was stamped as the return address. Why would Coach send him a letter in the middle of summer? His heart pounded noticeably while he slowly, deliberately, opened the envelope. He reverently unfolded the letter and read it word for word, like a kid reading the assembly directions to his favorite game. He felt his heart rate twist a notch when he read the last half of a letter addressed to Montrose Football Players:

. . . When double practices begin, we will commit our practice time to fundamentals and execution and not to physical conditioning. If you want to contribute to the success of a championship team prepare yourself physically and mentally now.

    We will conduct conditioning sessions for two weeks. We will start these sessions at 7:00 PM and finish no later then 8:30 PM. You are required to attend these sessions unless you are on a family vacation or are involved in another important commitment. Remember, it is your football team and you must become accountable and responsible to the team. It is my hope that you would anxiously participate in these conditioning sessions for the simple reason that you want to prepare yourself to become a contributing member of the team. Seniors should start to take a leadership role during these conditioning sessions.

    Remember, the most important qualification for becoming a CHAMPION is an intense, burning desire to succeed! If we believe that we can win the championship, and if we work relentlessly to achieve that goal, we will win it. Birch Run week is only seven weeks away so begin to think of accomplishing our first goal – ‘Beat Birch Run.’

Respectfully,

Coach Annese