D-Day arrives. Coach Antonelli is always easy to talk to, but I dread our upcoming conversation as I trudge down to the gym on Thursday afternoon. I don’t know if I’ll even be able to get the words out.
Who knows what the meeting is about? The season is still more than a month away—but it hardly matters now. I slip into the gym five minutes before the 3 p.m. start. Some varsity players and guys returning from the JV team are already there.
I see Coach Ant by his office door looking at a clipboard and walk up to him. “Coach, can I talk to you for a minute?”
“Not now, Mark. Let’s talk after the meeting,” he says before ducking back into his office.
“But Coach—”
The office door closes before I can get his attention, and reluctantly, I join the other players. Breaking the news to Coach An
