~~Austin POV~~

Dad called up the players to start running plays, he may not have said it but I knew that the guys he called up were gonnabe the starters for varsity. It was obvious since they were already the starters for Varsity last year.

"Alright we're going Thunder Smash" Dad showed the plays to the players, who could understand it quickly since it was a similar playbook to what they had last year.

It was a walk-through play since the players have pads on, "Blue 42...Blue 42...Hut" Travis called for the ball and the center snapped it, the rest of the offensive line simply got in their blocking stances.

Marcus walked his post-route, running ten yards vertically before heading right at an angle, Ryan did the opposite of Marcus, he walked a corner, first going vertically for ten yards then turning and heading left at an angle.

Ethan walked his out route as well, going five yards and then turning left to the sideline *BLEET* Dad blew his whistle stopping the play, "Ethan, you're gonna have to run that deeper, get ten yards then make your cut" Dad made the players restart.

He did this for several more plays, it was honestly boring, there was no physical play, and the defense didn't do anything, it was just boring. "This is honestly the worst part of summer training," I told Marvin.

He gave a questionable look, at least I think he did, his face is always in that expressionless state so it's kinda hard to tell, but I was getting better at reading him.

"What? It really is the worst part, nothing ever happens, and there's no action" I explained myself to him but he just shook his head at me and went back to watching the players on the field.

"Okay we're gonna add some speed to this, defense you should know your assignments, cover your man" Dad surprised me, he was actually allowing the players to play football, he had never done this in all the years I had been coming to the training.

Travis called for the ball, and the receivers ran their routes this time with defenders covering them, Travis decided to throw the ball to Ethan, the ball was low at his ankles but Ethan was still able to secure the catch.

"Bad ball, you'd throw that way better," I said to Marvin but he continued ignoring me. Samson started drilling the defender that was supposed to be covering Ethan, it was moments like those that made me glad I played receiver and wasn't a defensive back.

"Run Eagle Jet Right" Dad called out the next play. For this play, Marcus would run from the left to right and take the handoff from Travis right after he had called for it. Everyone else would be blocking the people in front of them.

"White 90...White 90" Travis motioned for Marcus to start running, the defense began shifting as the cornerbacks began shifting as they saw Marcus in motion. "Hut" Travis called for the ball right before Marcus got to him, but Marcus was too fast and ended up running into the ball/

Their timing wasn't matched up right now, but that was understandable, it had been a while since they had run a play together, and Dad also seemed to think the same way as well. "That's alright, we'll work on that as time goes on, Lineman make sure you seal the edge, and Ryan you have to go downfield and make a block on that corner"

Dad ran several other plays, switching players at various spots, to see how things worked, but he hadn't called for Marvin to get into the mix which was concerning, "Dude you gotta move up so Dad notices you" I told Marvin.

Right now Dad was surrounded by other players so he may have forgotten Marvin was there, but Marvin didn't budge. He just stood by me analyzing the movements of each play, "If you want to understand things better, you gotta get in there" I tried to urge him even more.

Still, Marvin remained in the same spot, it's honestly getting frustrating having to be the one that gets him to do these types of things, but it's worth it if it means he gets to show off his talent.

So I ran off to Dad, tapping him at his waist "You gotta put Marvin in" I said quickly before he shooed me off, he was about to but he paused when he heard Marvin's name. He turned to look at the players standing behind him, seeing Marvin gazing intensely at the players currently going through the plays.

"Alright, next one, now get back," He said before turning his back to me, a smile came on my face, I had done it once again. I rushed back to Marvin's side "You're gonna be getting in" I told him excitedly.

He was going to be playing and showing off very soon. For some reason he didn't seem as excited as me, I swear I could even hear him sigh as I told him the news.

Must be my imagination though, anyone would be happy to get called up by the head coach, especially a freshman. "Marvin, come up", Dad called up Marvin to replace Darren.

I knew I was imagining that sigh cause Marvin moved without any hesitation as he made his way to the huddle where Dad was.

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~~Marvin Pov~~

"Marvin come up" Joel called me up to the huddle, 'Fucking kid' I thought in my head as I made my way over. The kid had somehow gotten it in his head that I needed to play a snap, he kept bugging me about going up to ask to practice and I guess he finally decided to do it himself.

"Okay, we're going Osprey Post Corner" Joel showed the play diagram, "The calls, Black 88, and the ball's snapped on the second Hut," He said looking at me and the lineman.

I had seen the play earlier from when I was looking through the playbook Joel had given me, I understood what I was meant to do. 'Take the snap on the third Hut, drop back five to seven steps, then release to either the X, Z, or TE' I called up the play in my mind.

The X receiver was on my left, they would be running a post, and the Z receiver on my right would be running a corner, the TE lined up on the left and would run a drag route. 'Simple enough' I was confident in being able to carry out the play.

"Black 88...Black 88...Hut...Hut" The ball was snapped to me, I dropped back six steps, looking downfield to see who was open. My X receiver was running and had turned his post route into a drag, this allowed for the linebacker to also cover him.

The z receiver ran the corner route properly but he wasn't able to shek off the cornerback, that left me with two options, 'Tight end or run'. I knew that I wasn't fast enough to actually gain a proper amount of yards, so I passed to the Tight end, getting the ball over the hands of the defensive line.

"BRANDON, AGAIN IT'S A POST NOT A DRAG, A POST" Joel yelled after I had completed the pass, 'Wow he's a completely different guy on the field' I thought as Joel was drilling my X receiver.

"RUN IT AGAIN," Joel said. The ball was returned back to the center and I began my call again, "Black 88...Black 88...Hut...Hut".

I dropped back five steps, Brandon had gotten jammed at the line, my Z receiver had gotten a great release off the line, so I passed the ball right to him. The ball sailed perfectly over the defense and right into his hands. Another pass was completed.

"BRANDON GET OUT, GIVE ME A NEW RECEIVER" Joel took Brandon away, he was done with him, Brandon quickly jogged away and another receiver came to the huddle.

"We're going Flacon Out-and-Up Post" Joel showed us the play, "The Call's Red 80, take the snap on the second Hut" Joel told me the call and snap count.

'Out and Up for the X, he can get open either on the Out, or the Up. Z's running a post, so if he gets open off the release I'll throw it right to him' I was making plans on how I would throw their ball as I lined up.

Getting to the line I could see the cornerbacks were lining up off the receivers, the linebackers were in their backpedal stance and the safeties were high over the top. 'Zone coverage, X will probably be able to get it on the out' I decided my likely option for the pass.

"Red 80...Red 80...Hut...Hut" I took the snap and dropped back five steps. My X receiver quickly took off, the cornerback was a bit slow to get out of his backpedal allowing the X receiver to create a gap between them.

The Z receiver ran their post well, the linebackers went further back than they should have to keep him in coverage, the safeties went further back as they saw the depth of my Z receiver and Tight end running their routes.

This allowed my X receiver to be more open when he made his break for the start of his route route, that's when I decided to pass the ball. It sailed in front of him to allow him to catch it in stride, but I guess he wasn't expecting the ball because he dropped it.

"Mcdonald, you gotta catch that ball, it's gonna be coming at you fast and hard. Also, we need to do this faster, you gotta move, it took seven seconds for Marvin to get the ball to you, in a real game that's a sack" Joel detailed the mistakes made during the play.

The defensive coaches were also drilling their defensive backs and linebackers about the mistakes they made, I wasn't put on blast by anyone. That made sense though, my pass was accurate and I made the correct read.

Several plays went on with me being at quarterback, my arms even began to ache, then Joel took me out and replaced me with Travis. I never got back in which was alright with me but the kid couldn't stand it.

"You played great, you should be getting more reps. The receivers are the ones at fault for dropping the passes" Austin kept going on and on about why I should be playing, but I simply ignored him, and that only made him continue talking even more.

*BLEET...BLEET...BLEET* Joel blew his whistle three times and everyone ran to gather around him. "Okay, you guys can clearly see that we need to practice, but we won't be having a team practice until school starts. So when you get the plays, make sure you practice at home" Joel addressed the team.

"You guys need to understand that unless you practice, get reps, and make your muscles remember each play, you won't be able to succeed. Talent ain't shit without work...If you want to win then you've got to work, understood...Stallions on me, Stallions on three" The players gathered around Joel getting ready for the dismissal

"1..2..3 STALLIONS!!" The team pointed their arms towards Joel and yelled.

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~~3rd POV~~

"Arghh" Marvin groaned in pain, he was currently stepping into an ice bath to help his muscles recover. The cold from the ice caused the hairs on his legs to stand up and a shiver ran up his body.

"It's cool, just ease your way into it," Joel said to Marvin, trying to get him to settle into the ice bath. He understood what Marvin was going through, he too had been fearful of the ice bath when he first got into it.

"You're seriously overreacting" A sharp condescending voice came out, it was Brooklyn. She was scrolling through her phone as she watched Marvin struggle to fully insert his body into the tub of ice.

Marvin turned to look at her, his face was scrunched up in discomfort, and his eyes stared daggers into Brooklyn's soul, 'YOU GET IN HERE THEN' Marvin thought in his head.

"What? You better head in, the longer you stay out the worse it gets" Brooklyn said to Marvin, her eyes not backing down from his intense gaze.

Marvin finally relaxed his body and completely immersed himself in the tub, he felt cold. It had been weeks since he had to deal with such cold temps, his body was finally forgetting what it felt like, so this was a sharp recall.

"Alright, staying in there for the next ten minutes, you'll feel great," Joel said before heading out with Brookylung, leaving Marvin all alone with his thoughts.

'So this is the cost of football' Marvin looked at his legs and arms, they were sore. It was weird to Marvin, he didn't feel much pain right after practice but when they got to the house, he wasn't able to move his body properly.

'It's not all that bad though, I'm good at it so nothing wrong in continuing, a little cold didn't kill me before, and I'm sure it won't now" Marvin steeled his mind on the upcoming challenges waiting for him, he was making himself ready for football, but that wasn't all he should be worried about.