Andrew Vishnevsky looked younger than what I thought an athletic trainer would look like . He might have been right out of college or grad school or wherever trainers studied . He had dark hair, dark eyes behind glasses, and looked like he could just be a passerby off the street .
He held out a hand, "You can call me Drew . "
I looked at his hand . Then at Noah .
Noah laughed . "Just shake his hand . You really don't have to be so hesitant . Just give him a nice, firm handshake and say hello . " He gave me a shoulder pat . "I've got to go to the regular practice before they make me run some more . " Then he ditched me . I ran ten laps with him!
Mr . Miller laughed at my heart-stricken expression . "You can't use Noah as a shield all the time . Vishnevsky will take care of you until he deems you fit . " He turned to leave as well .
AdvertisementI sighed with dejection, then faced Drew . He still had his hand out, waiting patiently . I stretched out my arm and gave his hand a quick shake .
"Mary Atkins, your guardian has given me your medical records . " He looked at me, expressionless . "Do you have any aches or pains on a normal basis?"
I shook my head no .
"When you were running, did anything hurt?"
I started to shake my head no again, but then nodded . I pointed at my side, where my rib cage was .
He pulled out a sheet of paper and looked it over . Then back at me . "You have fractured your rib cage on that side, correct?"
I nodded .
"It's been so long since the original injury . I'm guessing there might be muscle damage or worst case, nerve damage . " I flinched . "I'll assign some exercises pertaining to the chest area so hopefully it'll help . Let's move to the grass area so I can see you try some exercises and drills . " He pointed to some open space . "I'll meet you over there . Grab your bat, glove and a baseball . I'm going to grab some tools . "
I ran around, gathering my gear . Drew was already setting up a speed ladder and mini hurdles six inches high, when I returned .
"We'll start with some speed tests just to get a feel for where you're at . I timed your mile with Noah and I wasn't impressed . Fifteen minutes? I know Noah can run almost two miles in the amount of time . I also took note of your hard breathing and how you needed to drink quite a bit of water . Let me ask, how much water do you drink during the day?" Drew spoke nonstop .
I held up one finger . I have a water with my lunch .
"You're kidding . " He deadpanned . "What a joke . And you want to be an athlete? Not with that attitude . Athletes should drink half their weight in ounces of water . Since you weigh about 120lbs, you should drink at least 60 ounces of water . Got it?"
I nodded .
"Agility ladder first . " He commanded . I stood before it . . . not sure what to do . "Is this your first time?" He asked after my awkward pause . I nodded .
He sighed and started to show me some footwork skills . He did simples ones at first and started to record how fast I could do them . Then more complex ones, where my feet started to get tangled .
I was already tired when we finished the ladder work, I couldn't imagine getting through the rest of this training session .
I stumbled through the rest of his drills and somehow made it to the end . Coach came over and asked Drew how I did .
Drew sighed and glanced where I was chugging water . "I can get him in somewhat decent shape by the tournament . His hand-eye coordination is excellent . Speed is good if it's short and not consecutive . He just gets too tired too easily . Easy fix though . Just needs time and effort . "
"Noah! Zeke! Come on over!" The coach hollered .
The both jogged over from the dugout, where the team was taking a water break .
"Jake will be spending his practices with Drew . Warmup and tossing will still be the same, then you'll report to Drew over here . " He told me . He faced the Atkins . "This weekend, I would like you guys to work on teaching him some routine plays between infielders . Then maybe tryout some relay throws from outfield to cutoff man to home plate . Next week we'll see where he's at before the tournament . "
Noah looked excited . "Jake can play in the tournament?"
Coach glanced at me . "If he meets my standard . Better to get some experience in the tournament before league play starts . "
Chapter end
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