Show Up First, Winner Stays
“Now, a few things about home field advantage,” Cory says. He’s started to cool off after his fit. I guess I know my place now. No Cory questions. Only game questions. Focus on the material. I want to show him I’m paying attention. “I thought we were talking about playgrounds,” I say. “Doesn’t everybody have a right to the playground?” “True, if it’s your school or your neighborhood, then it’s your home field. But competition on the playground gets complicated. A lot of kids can say it’s my school or neighborhood. So you gotta sort it out. I bet...
Read MorePlaying To Win (Playground Rules)
In a lull in the conversation I try to make small talk with Cory, to find out more about how he ended up the way he is, but he shoots me down. “Don’t worry about it. You should be focused on this stuff I’m saying, not who I am.” “Sorry, it’s just, I just, I wanted to know more about you. Some examples from games you played might help.” “If you want stories, talk to the other kids out there,” he says, nodding toward the window that overlooks the playground. “They talk enough.” “Yeah, but…” “I’ll tell you about myself when it...
Read MoreTeam Readiness (Playground Rules)
Cory leans back in his chair and puts his arms behind his head, staring at the ceiling. He tells me to put down my pen and pay attention. So I jot down in my notes, Put down your pen and pay attention. He jumps forward abruptly and slams my notebook shut. “I wouldn’t have invited you here if I didn’t think you had what it takes to be a captain,” Cory says. A lump forms in my throat. I had nominated myself as a pupil, but I hadn’t expected the vote of confidence to come from him. Now the pressure is on. “You’re just not ready to lead a team because you...
Read MoreChoose Your Battles Wisely
A librarian comes by the back table and shushes Cory. Instead of a mean eye like he shot at me, he offers her an empty stare, as if he didn’t hear her, or maybe didn’t even speak English, blinks and then keeps whispering intensely. “Good example,” he says to me. “Don’t fight another battle if you’ve already won the war. Time has shown by now that she can’t shush me, but she still tries, because her rules tell her to.” The librarian shakes her head, huffs her breath and hurries away. “See, I ignore her because I’ve got a better game face, and...
Read MoreFielding a Varsity Team (Boosters and Taxpayers)
I finish writing and look up from my notes. My hand would be shaking nervously if it weren’t so cramped from trying to keep up with Cory’s speech. “But, why is recess game play so special?” I ask. “What about the school teams?” He locks me in eye contact, with a look on his face like I’m stupid or something. “School varsity teams are all about money and politics. Fundraisers called boosters want to tell the coach what to do. The coach wants to tell the players what to do. The parents want to tell the school to tell the coach what to do if they can’t get...
Read MorePicking a Captain
Cory Blake waits at a table in the back of the library when I show up. I don’t know if he called me in here as a trap or for training, but I have nothing to lose. It looks like he’s studying, but he’s not looking at school books. Just some Chinese book and something about Custer’s Last Stand. But of course, he’s prepared. As soon as I sit down, before I can get my notebook ready and the ball point rolling, or even ask a question, he starts to whisper, but with the intensity of a coach in a locker room at half time: “You don’t have to pick a captain. Captains stand...
Read MoreAbout Me
Remarkably well-fed for a hunter/gatherer type 
The Savage and www.savagenoble.com are the intellectual property of Lee Noble.
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