Date: Thu, 02 May 2002 18:27:46 -0400
From: Stan Unknown <stan992001@hotmail.com>
Subject: Beating The Odds

First, anyone can read this story, because there is no sex in it. But all
the characters are real and lots of the parts of the story describing them
is also real.

The author retains copyright to this story. Placing this story on a website
or reproducing this story for distribution without the author's permission
is a violation of that copyright. Legal action will be taken against
violators.

E-mail responses to the stories, story suggestions or other 'constructive'
comments or advice may be sent to: stan992001@hotmail.com. All e-mails will
be answered. You can also visit the young gay guys support group I created
after my "Matt and Mike" story at www.groups.yahoo.com/group/gbct or our web
site at www.gayteensunite.org. There is a forum section there where you can
enter comments about this story for everyone to see. All e-mails to me will
also be forwarded to the eleven guys from the group that are in the story.
Hope you enjoy it. Only 29 more chapters to go. hehehe

If you are interested in my other stories on nifty, here is a list:

You Can't Go Back	Young Friends		05/29/01
Dear Diary		Young Friends		04/18/01
One Big Happy Family	Young Friends		11/24/00
Matt and Mike		Young Friends		03/24/00
My New Life		Incest			12/18/99
New Neighbor		Young Friends		12/17/99
Sam Finds A New Father	Adult/Youth		12/16/99
Billy and Jim		Adult/Youth		12/13/99

			     Beating The Odds

				Chapter One

"36! 29! Hut! Hut-hut!" The quarterback barked out the signals, the center
snapped the ball, and the option play right started. The quarterback faked
the ball to the fullback, then ran several yards behind his line, looking
for an opening, as the halfback ran behind him and slightly ahead.

Before he could decide what option to take, the middle linebacker burst
through an opening between the center and right guard and was almost on top
of the quarterback before he had taken more than three or four steps. He had
no choice but to pitch the ball back to the trailing halfback, and lots
earlier than he was supposed to.

The middle linebacker shoved him aside with one hand, causing him to lose
his balance and topple over backwards in a heap. He kept going, running as
fast as the halfback, until his better angle on the play let him catch up to
him and run him down near the sidelines for a 5 yard loss. But he didn't
just push the halfback gently out of bounds, he rode him out and landed hard
on top of him.

The quarterback got up and ran as fast as he could to where both players
were getting up. "Dammit, Kevin, see this red jersey? That means you can't
hit me. Can't you get that through your thick head?" he screamed.

Kevin walked right up to him until their face guards were touching. "I
didn't fucking hit you, Matt. I just pushed you out of the way so I could go
after Mike. You want me to show you the difference between a push and a real
hit?"

"Well, you hit me, ass hole! I was almost out of bounds when you creamed me.
What's with you, anyway?" Mike yelled at him as he walked up.

Kevin turned to face him and also got right in his face. "That's the key
though, isn't it?"

"What?"

"Almost! You were ALMOST out of bounds. If you were out of bounds, I
couldn't tackle you. But almost out of bounds means you were still in
bounds, and I can hit you if I want to. At least that is what coach says.
You have a problem with that?" Kevin asked to the much bigger Mike.

"You keep hitting our guys like that and I'm going to beat the shit out of
you," Todd said as he pushed his way closer. Todd was the starting right
tackle, and at 6'3" and 260 pounds, dwarfed the lots smaller Kevin, who was
only 5'10" and 180 pounds. Kevin was lots smaller, but all muscle from
working long hours on his parent's farm.

"Todd, you may be lots bigger than I am, but if I get you down, you aren't
getting up," Kevin growled, as he stood his ground against the bigger boy.

"Threet!!! Threet!!!!"  The shrill sound of the coach's whistle broke up the
altercation. Both the head coach and the defensive coordinator were running
across the field to break it up before it could go any further. "What's the
problem this time?" Carl Williams, the head coach, yelled.

"Kevin keeps playing like this is the state championship instead of just a
practice. He's hitting as hard as he can on every play. Someone is going to
get hurt out here," Todd yelled.

"Is that true, Kevin?" Carl asked.

Kevin kind of looked startled. He looked around at all of his teammates like
he was surprised at what Todd had said. "I don't know, coach. I swear I
don't. I thought I was just doing what I was supposed to do. I guess I just
don't know how to play any other way."

"OK, practice is over for you for the rest of the day. Go get a shower and
meet me in my office. I'll be there as soon as practice is over. And don't
you dare leave before I get there, you understand?" the coach growled.

Kevin just hung his head, mumbled "Yes sir," and sprinted off the field.

"Ok, you guys, run that play again. Jerry, send in Alan to replace Kevin."

"Right, coach," Jerry said, as he and Carl started jogging off the field. He
motioned to Alan, who already knew he was to replace Kevin. He had done it
several times in the past few weeks.

When they got to the sidelines, Jerry said, "I don't care what he's done,
you have to start him. He's the best player on my defense."

Carl just shook his head slowly. "I know. He just has some problems he has
to work out."

Jerry stared hard at Carl, and then said, "You know lots more about him than
you're saying, aren't you?"

Carl looked him in the eye, hesitated, but then said, "Yeah, but you know
school board rules. You want him starting on your defense?"

Jerry didn't bat an eye. "Yeah."

"Then you have to trust me on this one. If I could tell you, I would. You
still trust me, don't you?"

Jerry stared at him for a few seconds, then grinned. "Hell no! I didn't
trust you when we were on this same team in high school together, why would
I trust you now?" They grinned at each other in mutual understanding and
then went back to their jobs as the next play started. Yeah, they trusted
each other. Did in high school, did when they both joined the army together
during the Vietnam War, did overseas. They'd been together for as long as
they both could remember. First grade on up. And this was the first secret
either of them could ever remember having between them.

'This must be a really screwed up situation with Kevin, if Carl can't tell
me. I hope he knows what he's doing,' Jerry thought to himself.

Carl was thinking along the same lines. Both about keeping Kevin's secret
from Jerry and also hoping he knew what he was doing with Kevin. Then
football took over his thoughts.

			   *********************

Carl walked into his office and found Kevin in the clothes he wore to
school, reading a book he had been assigned for English. He hopped up
quickly when Carl entered the room.

"Sit down, Kevin. Relax. I just want to talk to you and tell you a story.
That Ok with you?"

Kevin looked puzzled. He had expected to be disciplined or maybe kicked off
the team. He had mentally prepared himself for either. But now he was
confused. "Sure, coach."

"Did you know I used to play middle linebacker here too?"

Kevin's eyes grew big. "Here? At this school?"

"Yeah. Millions of years ago, I was the middle linebacker and Jerry played
strong safety. Our team totally sucked. I started as a 9th grader and Jerry
in 10th. No one seemed to get it except us. Our defense sucked. So did the
whole team. We won 6 games in my four years of playing."

"Wow! You must have wanted to quit a whole lot of times," Kevin exclaimed.

"You know the truth? Quitting never entered my mind. Not once. Jerry and I
became best friends and both swore we would do anything we could to make us
the best team we could be, no matter how bad we were. Both of us got
scholarships to Georgia Tech and both thought we would end up in the NFL.
Once we started playing major college football, we both knew that wasn't
going to happen. But you know one thing both of us and you have in common?"

"No sir. What?"

"We both gave it our all on every play. Just like you do. And I admire you
for doing that."

Kevin stared at the coach for a long time. "So, I'm not in trouble?"

Carl just laughed. "No, not in trouble. But we have to come to an
understanding. You have to do me a favor," Carl said, as he grinned at
Kevin.

I huge load was lifted off Kevin's shoulders. He was expecting the worst,
just like everything else that was happening in his life. Maybe something
good could happen to him. "Sure, coach. Anything!"

"All I want is for you to go easy in practice when you see an opportunity.
Don't hit as hard as you can. Let a running back run out of bounds without
you hitting him, like today."

Kevin's smile disappeared. "Coach, we both know this is the first time I
have ever played football. You are the one who wanted me to go out for
football. You talked me into it at the end of last year. You told me that
all I had to do was go and kill the ball carrier, right? That middle
linebacker was mostly all instinct, you go to the ball and do anything you
have to do to get whoever has the ball down. You said you did the same
thing, but I didn't know you played here. What am I doing wrong?" Kevin's
eyes were starting to show signs of tears.

"Calm down, Kevin. You didn't do anything wrong. All you are doing is what I
want you to do in a game. You just have to learn to go slower in practice."

"Why? Won't the other team have people going just as hard as I do on their
side?"

Carl was momentarily stunned. He really didn't know how to answer that.
"Yeah Kevin, you're right. But you do want us to score some points every
game, don't you? You don't want it to be
0-0	every game? You want us to win, right?"

Kevin just grinned at his coach. "Sure I do. I sure don't want to only win 6
games in 4 years."

Carl grinned back. "So, who is going to score enough points for us to win
our games?"

"Well, Matt and Mike, with Todd blocking for them, I guess. We ought to have
a really good offense."

"Oh, is that the same Matt, Mike, and Todd who you were ready to take on all
by yourself at practice today?"

Kevin blushed profusely, but kept his eye contact with coach. "Ok, I can see
your point. What you are trying to tell me is go slower in practice because
it doesn't matter if they gain more yards than they really should have. Save
my energy for the real games, then I can do what I was doing in practice.
Right?"

"Exactly. You can't make enemies with your offensive teammates. They have a
job to do just like you do. If you embarrass them, they'll resent it,
especially if who embarrasses them is just a little mutt like you are. You
may be little, but you have a lot of heart, which can make up for lack of
height and weight. I don't want to have to kick you off the team. I think
you can really help us. But I can't have one player who is the enemy of the
whole offense. You get what I'm saying?"

Kevin thought for a few seconds, then said, "Yeah, I guess so. But really
coach, I just thought I was doing what I was supposed to do."

"Really? And what is that?"

"Uhm, you said to go find anyone who had the ball and destroy them. Tackle
anyone who has the ball, no matter what. Right?"

Carl just smiled. "Yeah, that's what I told you. There's only a few
positions on the football field where you can just walk on with talent but
no football knowledge and get to play. Where you are is one, but you have to
have special skills to do it. You have them. You want to hunt down the ball
carrier. You are doing exactly what I told you to do, and that is why I
don't have a clue what to do with you!"

Kevin took in the information and paused to think about it. "So I'm doing
good?"

Carl just smiled at him. "You are doing lots better than good. You may be
the star of our defense. If we just had a big defensive lineman, we could
have a really good defense. Just ease off in practice, like we talked about,
Ok? Save it for the games."

"Anything you say, coach," Kevin said, as he got to his feet. He was feeling
great, all his current fears had been lifted off his shoulders. They grinned
at each other, shook hands, and Kevin turned to walk out when he thought of
something.

"Uh, coach."

"Yeah?"

"I know this friend of mine. Well, he really isn't a friend, but we have
been in the same class several times in middle school. If we want to win, he
could be a great defensive tackle. His name is Brian Zachary. He's a really
nice guy, but kind of shy. If you could get him to play like you did me, I
think our defense might be lots better."

Carl just smiled at Kevin. "Yeah, I've tried to talk him into playing
before. I know who you're talking about. Maybe I should try one more time.
I'm glad you brought him up. I want you to think more about the team. We win
as a team and lose as a team. I'll try and talk to him again, Ok? And I'll
tell him you recommended him to me."

Kevin just smiled back at his coach. "That's fine with me. Thanks for
spending the extra time to make sure I understand what I need to know."
Kevin grinned one more time, and started to walk out the door.

"Kevin, one more thing."

Kevin turned around with the same grin on his face. "Sure."

"How's the thing with your Dad going?"

Kevin's face clouded over immediately. "Nothing's really changed. We still
have no idea when the trial is going to start."

" I'm sorry about all the trouble. You know I'm here for you any time you
want someone to talk to, right?"

Kevin hesitated, then said softly, "Sure coach. I have to go now, OK?" he
turned around quickly and was out the door before Carl could say anything
else. Carl just sat there for several minutes thinking about Kevin, wishing
he could help more than he was.

			 ************************

"Hey, Brian."

`Oh God, not again. Won't he ever leave me alone?' he thought as he slowly
turned around. "Hi Coach."

"Hi. Have you changed your mind about coming out for the football team yet?
You still have time to learn the plays. You'd pick 'em up really fast."

"I told you before, Coach, I really like playing in the band and I really
don't like football. I played it for two years when I was 10 and 11 and I
dreaded it every day. I just did it because my Dad wanted me to."

"Yeah, but just think how proud your parents would be to see you starting at
tackle on offense and defense. And we really need you. You would be our
biggest lineman. Strongest too, probably, even though you are only in the
tenth grade. Why don't you just come out and give it a try? If you don't
like it, you can always quit and go back to band."

"I'll think about it, but my parents have already paid for me to go to band
camp next week. Plus, the band has been practicing for two weeks already.
We've just finished and I was on my way home."

"When does the band practice again?"

"Tomorrow at 8 o'clock. I hate getting up early in the summer."

Coach just laughed. "That's why we wait until 10:00 to start our practice.
That way, the boys get to sleep a little later and we still quit before it
gets really hot. Will you at least think about it tonight and stop by and
talk to me tomorrow?"

"Yeah, I could do that." `Anything, just so long as I can leave now,' he
thought.

"You promise?"

"Yeah, I swear, Coach, I'll come see you as soon as we have finished
tomorrow. But I really like band and I still think I want to be in it."

"Ok, but just think about it, OK? See you tomorrow."

"Ok, bye Coach." Brian said, as he hurried away.

`God, I hate being big sometimes.' Brian thought. `Why can't people just
leave me alone? Why does everyone think I should like football or
basketball? Why can't I just like the things I like to do and nobody try and
change my mind?' Brian was almost jogging now as he headed for home, which
was his sanctuary.

			    *******************

"Jim, why don't you go outside for a while? All you have done all summer is
stay on your computer." his Mom asked as she stuck her head inside Jim's
room.


"Mom, I'm close to getting my web page set up like I want it. School's going
to be starting in a week and I won't have as much time to work on it then.
Just leave me alone, OK? You and Dad agreed that when I paid for my DSL line
that I could stay on as much as I wanted to."

"Yeah, but we thought you meant an hour or two a day. Not constantly. It's
really pretty outside. You ought to go out and enjoy the nice weather."

"Come on, Mom. Give me a break, will you? I'm really close to finishing my
web page. This means a lot to me. Let me just stay on for 30 more minutes,
OK? If this was school work, you wouldn't be bugging me all the time."

"That's true. Your school work is the most important thing for your future.
But this is just for fun. It isn't the same thing."

"Mom! We've talked about this. I'm going to major in computer science when I
go to Georgia Tech in two years. You know that. This is really the same kind
of thing. The more I learn now, the better off I'll be."

"Well, I guess so. I just worry about you. I have to go to the grocery store
and then run some errands. I'll be gone for a couple of hours. Will you
promise to go outside in a little while? Maybe you could go swimming. The
pool won't be open much longer, you know."

"Sure Mom. Anything. Just let me try and finish my web page, OK? I'll call
Fred and see if he's going to go swimming. If he is, maybe I'll join him."

"Just make sure you aren't still on the computer when I get home, OK? I'm
going. I Love you."

"Love you too, Mom," he answered as he rolled his eyes. `Thank God she's
finally leaving. Does she purposely try to drive me crazy? It sure seems
like it at times. No way in Hell am I calling Fred!'

Jim continued to work for a while on his web page until he was sure that his
Mom was gone. Then, he got up and went downstairs and looked out the back
door into the garage to make certain. Only when he knew her Lincoln
Navigator was gone and the garage door was pulled down did he run back
upstairs, save his changes to his web page, and access MSN and ICQ. Time to
see if any of his net friends were on line.

				     To Be Continued

E-mail responses to the stories, story suggestions or other 'constructive'
comments or advice may be sent to: stan992001@hotmail.com. All e-mails will
be answered. You can also visit the young gay guys support group I created
after my "Matt and Mike" story at www.groups.yahoo.com/group/gbct or our web
site at www.gayteensunite.org. There is a forum section there where you can
enter comments about this story for everyone to see. All comments will also
be forwarded to the eleven guys from the group that are in the story.