“Haley offered the same thing, but—oh my gosh, Chase, remember my freshman homecoming, when you got me chicken and set up dinner in the garage?”
He laughs. “I thought I was so suave.”
“You were actually. It was sweet.”
“You want to do that again? Keep me all to yourself?”
“I’m sure you want to go in the limo with your friends.”
“I was thinking of bailing. Don’t want to be the third wheel, you know.”
“Yeah, but it’s not just about your date. It’s about the memories you’ll make with your friends. With your sister.”
“If you really feel that way, you’re going to come with me. We never did get to go to Homecoming together. I’m assuming somewhere in that closet of yours, you have a fabulous dress you could wear.”
I laugh.
“What?” he says.
“I was told to wear something simple but pretty for the crowning, but I do actually have a gorgeous dress that I’ve never worn. My mom made me get it when we were shopping this summer because it looked so nice on me. I thought it was silly, but”—I grin, warming up to the thought. The thought of going to the dance with Chase. It’s like I’m getting the most incredible do-over ever—“I’m glad now.”
“It’s settled then.” He glances at his watch. “Kiss me. One more time. Tell me I’m going to have a great game.”
I do as he asked. Kiss him deeply and then gently slide my hand down his throwing arm. “You’re going to have one of your best games ever. That’s what I think. Let’s see, your best ever game was last year, just over four hundred yards passing. Four twenty-six, right?”
“Yeah,” he says, looking at me in amazement. “I’m surprised you know that.”
“I know all your stats, Chase. I also predict, tonight, you will have something like four sixty.”
“All right, well, what do I get if I do?”
“Hmm. Fame and glory, I would suspect,” I tell him, running my finger down his chest. “But I could probably throw in a couple of pizzas after the game.” I press my lips against his ear. “And me. In the tent.”
He kisses the side of my face. “I like the sound of that. Okay, so I have to get some food and then head to school.”
“And I need to go see my family. Good luck, tonight, Chase.”
Something to remember.
Chase
I once read that sports is ninety percent mental and ten percent physical, but even though most people agree with that sentiment, the large majority of sports practices revolves around physical as opposed to mental abilities. Damon and I are really lucky that his dad was an elite athlete because even when we were kids who didn’t really comprehend the importance, he was teaching us mental toughness and having us reading books about a positive mind-set.
Imagine an athlete who needs to drop a long putt, hit a buzzer-ending three-point shot or game-winning free throw, make a two-point conversion after triple overtime. And although we try to avoid those situations by playing solidly all game, many times, it happens to a player—that single moment where it feels like the whole game is riding on your shoulders. That it’s up to you whether your team wins or loses. And those moments can be quite daunting, mentally. If you get the correct result and win, you’re the hero. If you don’t, people say you choked. It isn’t due to lack of skill when that happens; overinvestment and fear of failure are often the cause.
Isn’t that weird—that fear of failing can make you do the very thing you fear?
For the last few years, I’ve been working my mental “muscles”—confidence, intensity, motivation—as a part of my daily practice. By using mental strategies—such as controlled breathing, imagery, and positive self-talk, combined with goal-setting and routine development—an athlete can maintain the optimal physical and mental states for being successful.
We’ve all seen it happen. A quarterback throws a couple interceptions or takes a few sacks, and all of a sudden, the whole team starts playing poorly and making mistakes. Failure snowballs into those embarrassingly lopsided losses.
As a quarterback, who is the leader of the offense on the field, it’s my job to control the huddle and the mental management of the team. How we rebound from a missed opportunity does affect all of us. I’ve never lacked motivation. I have a large amount of internal drive. Not pressure, but I just like to succeed. And in football, each play is a chance to do so. A series of small successes can lead to really big success.
The team we are playing tonight has one of the worst records in our district, and games like these often bite athletes in the butt because they assume they will win, that it will be easy. So, instead of focusing on the current game, they look forward to the big opponent they might face the following week. And we’ve all seen that happen, too. The unranked team with nothing to lose, playing out of their minds and knocking off one of the best teams in the nation.
And you always wonder, How does that happen? And the answer to that is that their heads weren’t in the game.
It’s a personal and team goal to have another undefeated season, winning the state championship. I never have personal goals for myself regarding yardage gained or number of passes thrown, but tonight, I will admit, Dani has made me think twice about that. And although I definitely want her in the tent in my room tonight after the game, it would go against all my mental training to focus solely on the goal she set for me.
But, I might have to give it a shot tonight. Our offensive plan already revolves around us airing it out. Showcasing our passing and receiving ability against a team with a weak secondary.
So, when the offense comes off the field mid-third quarter, ahead by three touchdowns, I know Coach is probably going to put my backup in soon. So, for fun, I ask how many passing yards I’ve had tonight. The answer is four hundred and eighteen.
“Mackenzie,” Coach says, “you want one more set of downs?”
Honestly, I know from a possible injury standpoint, it’s smart to get taken out of the game when we are winning big, but it’s something I’ve always hated.
I’d like to be out there playing the whole time, so I answer, “Yeah. What would you think of trying that play we were working on?”
“Ah hell, why not? Give this homecoming crowd something to remember.”
Our opponent gets a field goal and then kicks off to us. The offensive unit goes out to the twenty-yard line. Instead of lining up under center, Pace—our running back—takes what is called the wildcat formation, meaning the ball is snapped directly to him. Technically, whoever takes the snap, regardless of their position, becomes the “quarterback” for the play, and usually, the wildcat is done so that there’s no need for a handoff. The running back can get snapped the ball and immediately take off running. In this case though, Pace takes two steps back and throws the ball to me laterally, meaning I’m still behind the line of scrimmage.
In the meantime, Damon is doing what he loves the most, shrugging off his defender and flying down the field as fast as he can, which, in this case, isn’t as hard as it should be because his defender is sticking closer to the line in anticipation of the run.