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It was the weekend at the Cooper house, and the task of watching the kids had fallen to George.
He was currently sprawled sideways on the couch, enjoying a beer while re-watching the highlights from this year's Super Bowl.
Of course, he had also heard about the Medford High football team's invitational game that had taken place earlier that day.
When Georgie returned home with Mike and the others, George feigned indifference and asked, "So, Georgie, how was the game today?"
Even though he had been treated unfairly last year, George still kept tabs on the team's development.
That team was like his "baby."
Judging by their performance last year, this squad—which he had poured so much blood, sweat, and tears into—was on the verge of taking off.
"Not great. We lost to St. Jude by eleven points..." Georgie answered truthfully.
"What?" George, who had been expecting good news, sat up straight, unable to believe his ears. "That's impossible! What the hell is Wayne doing?"
George knew St. Jude High well; they were a bottom-tier team in the area. In his mind, with the current talent on the Medford roster, the players could have beaten them with their eyes closed.
"Coach Wayne is busy going through a divorce with his wife..." Still bitter about the loss, Georgie didn't hesitate to spill all the gossip about the coach.
"Oh... well, okay then."
Hearing about Coach Wayne's recent troubles, George, as a fellow middle-aged man, felt a pang of sympathy and didn't comment further on the personal stuff.
He took a big swig of beer and then asked his eldest son, "Tell me the details of the game."
Georgie, seeing that his dad needed something from him, slyly eyed the beer in George's hand. The implication was clear.
George immediately understood. He handed Georgie a beer and warned, "Be smart. Don't let your mother see this."
Having successfully scammed a beer, Georgie proceeded to recount the game play-by-play.
"You guys didn't lose for no reason..." George analyzed after hearing the recap. "When St. Jude switched to zone coverage, you should have changed tactics.
"Aaron could have easily used long passes to get the ball downfield. Then, with the guards screening for the wide receivers or the running back, you would have had plenty of chances to bypass their secondary defense...
"And I remember we recruited a lot of good talent last year. It's been six months—you guys haven't given them any playing time?"
George proved why he was a professional. With limited information, he successfully identified the solution to Medford's predicament.
At the time, all Medford needed to do was swap Aaron and Sam's positions to dismantle St. Jude's defense.
Worst case scenario, they could have sent in the rookies during the third quarter when they were trailing, just to shake things up.
Sitting next to Paige, Mike saw the frustration on George's face and took the opportunity to ask, "If you had been coaching this game, what would you have done?"
"If it were me..." George thought seriously for a moment. "Given the current state of the Medford team, I would have split them into two groups ahead of time..."
Thanks to their success last year, the Medford football team now had about a hundred members.
With that kind of depth, they had the ability to select the best talent and divide the squad into specialized offense and defense teams.
"For the defense, I'd build the line around Sam. That kid is much better suited as a defensive tackle than a running back..."
George continued with clear logic. "A good defensive unit gives the team a larger margin for error. As for the offense... Aaron's skills are solid; most teams can't stop him."
At this point, George glanced specifically at Mike.
Based on last year's performance, in George's vision, Mike was still the best candidate for quarterback.
Because he still held deep affection for the team, George's analysis was incredibly detailed.
Sensing the mood was right, Mike extended an invitation. "Do you want to come watch the game next week?"
"Uh..." George hadn't expected Mike to ask that so suddenly. He looked uncomfortable. "Let's talk about it later..."
To say he didn't want to watch the game live would be a lie.
But ever since he was fired, George's life hadn't been going great. Burdened with a "loser" mentality, he was afraid of going back to the school and "embarrassing" himself.
The more he cared, the more afraid he was.
"Okay. I'll come get you before the next game," Mike said, cutting through George's hesitation and making the decision for him.
---
Time flew by, and soon it was Monday. Everywhere you looked at school, students were discussing the weekend's invitational.
Tough love was in full effect.
The Medford football team's terrible performance meant the players were facing a reckoning.
And as the head coach, Wayne didn't escape the scrutiny. Students dug up plenty of embarrassing stories about him—even his family issues were dragged out and mocked.
However, after venting their dissatisfaction, everyone's attention shifted to the next invitational. After all, it was still their team.
During this time, many people began to miss Mike. Anyone with eyes could see the contribution he had made to the team last year.
In this atmosphere, the weekend arrived again—the day of the Medford football team's second invitational game.
When Mike arrived at the Cooper house, George was already dressed in a sports polo, clearly ready to go to the game.
Standing beside him were Missy, wearing a cute summer dress, and a reluctant-looking Sheldon.
Georgie had already gone to school early.
"Let's go," Mike said with a smile after hugging Missy, who had enthusiastically thrown herself at him.
"Wait..." When the moment of departure actually arrived, George got nervous again.
With an apologetic look, he went back to his room.
A few moments later, George reappeared wearing a large jacket and a baseball cap.
"Alright, let's go." Bundled up, George seemed to have found a sense of security.
However, in late March in Texas, the outdoor temperature was already quite high. Wearing a heavy jacket actually made him stand out more.
Watching George try to hide in plain sight, Mike shook his head slightly but didn't say anything.
So, the group—one adult and three kids, including Paige—hitched a ride in George's car to the school.
On the Medford field, although students were disappointed with last week's performance, a significant crowd had still turned out to support the home team.
"Come on, let's go to the sideline bench area. It's better for watching the game." Mike herded the three kids through the crowd toward the team zone.
Since Mike was already a prospective team member, bringing people into the designated area wasn't technically against the rules.
Behind them, George, back on familiar turf, looked around with a complicated expression.
He pulled his cap lower and followed Mike's lead.
"Hey, Mike." Inside the preparation zone, Captain Aaron greeted Mike and then started talking about the team's situation. "Our opponent this time is Garden High. If we can't beat them, we're in big trouble..."
The purpose of the Spring Invitational was to evaluate each team's capabilities. Generally, the invited teams were supposed to be evenly matched.
Medford's terrible performance in what amounted to a warm-up game last week had bad consequences. It made many high-level schools consider revoking their invitational slots.
Strong teams play strong teams; weak teams play weak teams.
As a top-ten state team from last year, if Medford couldn't attract opponents of the same caliber this year, it would be a huge blow to the team's reputation and morale.
So, against a weak team like Garden High, Medford didn't just need to win; they needed to win convincingly.
Under immense pressure, Captain Aaron wanted to discuss the team's future direction with Mike, his powerful future teammate.
But just as he was about to get into the details, he caught a glimpse of a familiar figure out of the corner of his eye. "C-Coach?"
Lacking much in the way of fitness management, George had gained quite a bit of weight over the last six months. Combined with the baggy jacket and the low hat brim, Aaron almost didn't recognize him.
"Long time no see, Aaron." George, having prepared himself to be recognized, lifted his head and offered a warm smile.
"It really is you, Coach George!" Aaron was both surprised and delighted. Seeing that familiar face gave him a huge sense of relief.
Nearby, the veteran players who noticed the commotion also came over one by one, greeting him with excitement.
"Alright, you guys have a game to play. Go get ready. I'm going to have a chat with Coach Wayne." After calming down the enthusiastic players, George walked toward Wayne, who was standing under the tactical board.
If possible, he wanted to help Wayne get his act together and lead the team out of this slump.
This was something George had seriously considered before coming here.
A soldier is only as good as his general.
Having been a head coach, George knew exactly how critical that role was to a team.