I announced in the locker room after the first practice following tryouts. I set the box of game jerseys on the table and the players cheered as I pulled out the first one—number 88—and fired it across the locker room to Yash, who snagged it. “Be bout the only thing I catch this year, huh?” At least he was catching on. I smiled. “That’s the way the bone rolls.” I pulled out number 55. “Shermanater,” I said, and the boy stood and gathered it in. “Wear it well, son.” The next jersey in the box was number 40, but as I lifted it out and called “Schuler,” Elvis Jackson pounced, grabbing it out of my hands. “Thanks, Coach Sawyer,” he said. And as he moved past he looked over his shoulder, “I look forward to starting for you, sir.” Cause he wasn’t looking where he was going, he ran right into Brian Schuler, who flashed a phony smile and said, “Well, welcome to Athens City.”
