Gladiators of the Gridiron

'Good luck! Have fun!' Megan called out to me as I rode off on the BMX. It was finally the day of the first team practice.

I felt as if I was weightless as I glided down the streets and towards my destiny. I could finally get back to living. Even if it was just preparation for the wars to come.

I slowly came back down to earth as I eased onto the breaks, leaving my bike at the rack outside of the school before making my way over to the empty field.

I checked my phone—I was an hour early, but that's alright. I wanted to be the first one there and the last one to leave, and I wanted to warm up on my own.

I set my bag down near the sidelines, taking a long drink from my water bottle before switching my sneakers to my cleats.

I started with some light stretching. My eyes closed as I focused on my breathing as my muscles loosened up. My tranquillity was only broken by the occasional car passing by.

Afterwards, I moved on to running laps around the field, taking it easy and going at a sustainable pace.

I was alone for half an hour before someone else finally arrived. I looked over to find Coach Long, Coach Hoang, and a girl I'd never seen before making their way onto the field.

'Practice doesn't start for another twenty-eight minutes, you know?' Coach Long said to me after checking his watch.

I wiped my mouth after getting another quick drink, grinning at him. 'I'm just eager to get started, I guess.'

'Hah, that's the spirit. Just make sure not to wear yourself out too quickly, son.' He thumped me on the shoulder before moving away.

'Bella, mind helping your old man get things set up?' Coach Long said as he walked towards the storage shed.

'Yes sir,' Bella responded as she followed behind her dad. I looked her over as she went past.

She looked to be around my age; we were also around the same height. Her short, brown curls fell around her face. Her skin was a lighter shade than both mine and her dad’s, and she loosely wore a baggy Dodgers jersey.

'Trying to get some extra brownie points by showing up early for the year's first practice? Very clever, Samuels,' Luke said.

'Not at all. Don't think this is some poorly thought-out ploy I'm using to try and get myself in the good graces of the coaches. You can expect me to be the earliest person here every session.'

He looked up at me, staying quiet as his eyes stared into mine, his face was stern before he slowly cracked into a smile.

'Hah! Yeah, I'm sure ya will be, Samuels. Just don't push yourself too hard.'

'I promise I'm not going to hurt myself.' I started slowly jogging with high knees down the field, Luke wheeling along beside me.

'You're pretty serious about this… for now at least. I really hope ya stick with it, Samuels.'

My lips curled with disgust as I heard this. I stopped and looked down at him.

‘Trust me. There’s nothing I hate more than those who had it all but refused to dedicate themselves to their craft and threw their life away. I’m not going to be one of those players that are looked back upon as everyone asks “what if?”.’

Luke got silent again as I resumed my exercise. Eventually, he spoke up again and said:

‘So, you’re not going to end up like me?’

Once again his words forced me to a stop. ‘What?’ was all I could say as I looked at him.

He had a faint smile on his lips, though his brown eyes conveyed a sad longing as he looked at me.

‘Well. I don’t know if anyone else really cared enough to remember my time as a player and think, “what if?” but I know that I find myself regularly thinking back and wondering… what if I never got hurt,’ he said softly.

I looked him over in silence, gaze lingering on his atrophied legs. I didn’t know what to say.

‘I thought…’

‘That I was always like this? Always stuck in this chair?’ He tapped the side of one of his wheels. ‘Nope. Believe it or not, I used to be a player. A Safety.’

I frowned, looking into his eyes. I almost didn’t want to ask. ‘What happened?’

He sighed and looked away. ‘What happened? Football happened… it wasn’t anything that doesn’t happen dozens of times a game. I guess I was just one of the unlucky ones.’

He paused before continuing. ‘It wasn’t even a special game or anything. Just another regular old game in my junior year. There was a pass over the middle, it lofted over the intended target and the Middle Linebacker’s (MLB) heads.

‘I went to make a play on it. I always could jump pretty high back then.’ He chuckled softly. ‘I got my hands on the ball. Man, it was probably the highest I ever jumped. Then I felt my legs shoved out from under me.’

He stopped smiling. ‘I’m sure it wasn’t anything untoward. The player who laid the hit, his name is Gary. He’s a good guy, we’re friends now I guess. He sends me a big box of chocolates every year. He was just trying to stop me from making the interception.

‘Next thing I know I’m falling and I’m upside down. I’m still holding onto that ball as tight as I can the whole way down. I don’t even remember the impact, it must’ve thrown me through a loop and made me black out for a second.

‘All I remember is seeing the ball lying on the turf and reaching out my hand for it. I tried to crawl to it but I couldn’t move… doctors told me I was lucky not to have broken my neck, and that I was only paralysed below the waist. Hah! Can ya imagine that? Being told you’re lucky you only lost the use of your legs?’

I could only respond with a mumbled, ‘I’m sorry’ as a tear fell from his cheek.

‘Shit. No… I’m sorry. I shouldn’t be telling ya such depressing shit, especially on the first day of practice. That ain’t what ya wanna hear,’ he said as he wiped his face clean.

I looked away, rubbing at the back of my neck. I only looked down at him again when I felt him firmly grab a hold of my wrist.

‘Hey. But don’t you feel bad about it, and don’t you let it scare you from following your dream. I don’t regret a thing about following the path of Football. The only thing I regret is that I never reached my full potential. But I’ll be damned if I don’t help as many kids as possible become the greatest version of themselves they can be.’

His eyes held a fire that lit a spark within my own chest. I grabbed onto his arm and nodded.

‘Don’t worry… I’ll give you a front-row seat to watch me become the greatest of all time.’

He laughed again, loudly. ‘Samuels… ya talk a whole lotta shit, ya know that?’

His words made it sound like I was joking, or just another young, impassioned, and naive kid that was full of himself. But his face was that of serious contemplation. He knew I meant it, and would do everything in my power to achieve my goal, no matter how outlandish.