tough loss on the field tho - expected Sleepy to run to the State Championship.
Run To The Sun
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redsox907
- Posts: 3887
- Joined: 01 Jun 2025, 12:40
Run To The Sun
this boy going to go to a community college to chase his girl
tough loss on the field tho - expected Sleepy to run to the State Championship.
tough loss on the field tho - expected Sleepy to run to the State Championship.
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The JZA
- Posts: 9078
- Joined: 07 Dec 2018, 13:10
Run To The Sun
Stay woke Sleepy Hollow
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Chillcavern
- Posts: 977
- Joined: 07 Dec 2018, 23:38
- Contact:
Run To The Sun
Gonna go the JuCo route? 
Tough loss to end the season there. But hey - brought playoff football back to Sleepy Hollow
Tough loss to end the season there. But hey - brought playoff football back to Sleepy Hollow
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djp73
Topic author - Posts: 11551
- Joined: 27 Nov 2018, 13:42
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djp73
Topic author - Posts: 11551
- Joined: 27 Nov 2018, 13:42
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djp73
Topic author - Posts: 11551
- Joined: 27 Nov 2018, 13:42
Run To The Sun
Chillcavern wrote: ↑14 Aug 2025, 02:09Gonna go the JuCo route?
Tough loss to end the season there. But hey - brought playoff football back to Sleepy Hollow
great season for the Horsemen!
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Agent
- Posts: 11202
- Joined: 27 Nov 2018, 22:54
Run To The Sun
Community college 
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Soapy
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- Joined: 27 Nov 2018, 18:42
Run To The Sun
this man is obsessed with teambuilder 
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The JZA
- Posts: 9078
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djp73
Topic author - Posts: 11551
- Joined: 27 Nov 2018, 13:42
Run To The Sun
The Bills were up by four late in the third quarter, but Chase barely noticed.
He was stretched out on Sophie’s couch, head resting on a throw pillow, one socked foot dangling over the armrest. He had been fighting to stay awake for the last 20 minutes or so.
Sophie sat on the floor with her back against the couch, her hair pulled into a loose bun, legs tucked under a thick blanket. She typed and clicked away on her laptop, occasionally turning her attention to the game.
The muffled commentary from the TV filled the space between them.
“You know,” she said suddenly, startling Chase from his more than half asleep daze. “I’ve been thinking more and more about Hudson Valley.” she blurted out, not looking away from the screen.
Chase blinked and sat up slightly. “Yeah?”
“I liked it. I mean, the gym was nice, campus was clean, and the nursing program seems legit. But…” She hesitated, looking up toward the ceiling as if it may hold the answers she was seeking.
“I’m not sure. Something about it just... didn’t click.”
Chase sat all the way up and nodded slowly, putting his hands on her shoulders and gently massaging. She released all the tension in her body and leaned back.
“You don’t sound ready to commit to it. Seems like it's your backup choice to me”
Sophie shrugged. “I want to be. I just don’t know if I’d be going for the right reasons. It’s close. It’s familiar. But I don’t know if it’s right.”
Chase massaged a bit more firmly.
“You still thinking about Erie?” He asked, already knowing her answer.
She nodded slowly and held up her laptop which showed the school's website.
“Yeah. I just feel like they may have a bit more to offer. It's just so far..”
“We should go check it out.” He said it more assertively than he had intended to.
No answer.
“If you want to.” He added, backtracking slightly.
“I do. I’m just nervous about being far away from…”
Her voice trailed off. She didn’t finish the sentence.
“From what?” he asked, gently.
She turned and looked at him, eyes soft.
“From everything.”
He didn’t push. Instead, he gave a small smile.
“It might be good to at least see it. Know for sure. Maybe you'll hate it and you'll know Hudson is the one.”
“What if I love it?”
“Then that's a good thing isn't it? Easy choice.”
Sophie exhaled, thought for a second, then smiled.
“You’re right.”
He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.
“When should we go?”
“We? That's a long trip. You don't have to come. I know you're busy with school and stuff.”
“I want to come with you,” he said.
Sophie lit up.
“Seriously?”
“Of course. I want to be there with you and I'd like to see it too.”
She scrolled around on the site then checked her calendar on her phone.
“Next weekend maybe? Or the one after? I can check the admissions schedule.”
She stood and sat on the couch next to him, crossing her legs and setting her laptop on them.
She scrolled and clicked away as Chase leaned back
“Okay, so… if we drive up on a Friday night, we could do a campus tour Saturday morning. And, oh! Look at this.”
She turned the laptop toward him, pointing enthusiastically at the screen.
“They’re having a football prospect clinic that weekend.”
Chase narrowed his eyes at the flier on her screen.
“Hmm.” He replied, only half interested.
“It says JUCO, D2, and D3 coaches will be there. Could be a good opportunity.”
He shrugged. “Yeah. Maybe.”
Sophie didn’t push. She never did. But her expression said it all.
Chase had been dragging his feet for weeks. He had visits lined up at Kutztown and a few others. He’d looked at the websites for Erie and Hudson Valley what seemed like a hundred times. A few recruiters and coaches had messaged him, asking his plans. Some even mentioned possible spots for him, but nothing official. He'd answered the first few but then found the process to be overwhelming and left most of them unread.
Ever since the season ended Chase felt like something was missing. None of the coaches, recruiters or schools that had reached out felt like they were the ones.
It reminded him of when things ended back in Maine.
This time the ending was expected but it still felt very abrupt.
Everything felt uncertain.
He stared at the flier for another beat.
“Want to go?” she asked softly.
He took a breath and nodded. “Yeah. That would be good.” He answered, exhaling.
He agreed not just to satiate her but because he knew she was right. Maybe something that actually resembled football would help.
She smiled and sent him the sign-up link.
Sophie put her laptop on the coffee table then turned to face him before smiling slyly. She stood and faced him before straddling him on the couch, placing her hands on either side of his face and kissing him deeply.
---
Chase stretched and shifted in his seat, letting out a loud yawn that startled Sophie slightly.
He picked up the Powerade from the cup holder and shook it slightly, realizing it was empty and set it on the floor in the back of the car.
They had been driving in silence for quite some time. The silence between them wasn’t heavy, but it wasn’t mindless either. It was the kind of quiet that lingered when both people had a lot on their minds but didn’t feel like rushing to fill the space.
The highway unfurled in front of them, a long stretch of gray bordered by snow-dusted trees and wind-whipped signs. The sun was already dipping low on the horizon, casting a golden hue across Sophie’s windshield as her little Honda Civic hummed steadily north.
Sophie drove one-handed, her elbow perched on the console, fingers drumming the steering wheel. She glanced over at him a few times, her lips pursing as if she were choosing her next words carefully.
“What do you think it’ll be like?” she asked eventually, her voice soft but steady.
Chase blinked. “Erie?”
“Yeah. The school. The town. All of it.”
He leaned his head back against the headrest, exhaling. “I don’t know. Colder, probably,” he said with a faint smirk.
She shook her head slightly.
“You know what I mean.”
He paused, looking out the window before continuing.
“I don't know. I'm not sure what to expect. Different.”
He hesitated.
“But maybe good. I’ve never been that far west in New York.”
“Neither have I,” Sophie said, adjusting her grip on the wheel. “It’s almost Ohio. Feels like we’re driving into a different world.”
He nodded, watching the icy guardrail blur by.
“Could be what I we both need though. A reset?”
She hesitated, a bit nervous about what she was asking, or rather, how Chase would answer.
“Do you think you could see yourself there?”
Chase tilted his head, considering the question.
“It's hard to say. Like I said, I'm not sure what to expect. But...”
He trailed off, then turned to look at her.
“That’s why we’re going to find out, right?”
Sophie didn’t say anything for a moment. Her eyes stayed on the road, but her mouth opened slightly before closing again.
Finally, she asked, “If we both liked it that would be great...”
Chase turned to look at her, really look. She had her hair pulled back, a few flyaways catching the orange light from the setting sun. Her jaw was tense in that quiet, determined way she got when she was worried about something she hadn’t fully voiced.
“What if only one of us does?”
“We'd figure it out. Just like we talked about before the possibility of us going together even existed.”
“Will you be honest if you don't like it?”
“What do you mean?”
“If I love it and I decide to go but you're not feeling it I want you to be honest. I don't want you to come just for me.”
He smirked, then thought better of making a joke about her phrasing.
“I mean...I want to find the right fit. You being there and being happy is definitely a part of that. If I hate it you'll know.”
She gave a slow nod, her thumb rubbing the steering wheel.
“I’ve been thinking about what Coach Ella said,” Chase added, shifting in his seat. “When I told him I might end up at Hudson or Erie, he kind of paused. This thing that thing he does, like he’s trying to figure out how honest to be without sounding like an asshole.”
“Yeah?” She replied, glancing at him briefly then refocusing on the road.
“He told me I had the talent for more, not to sell myself short. But he also said JUCO might be a good transitional step if I wasn’t sure yet. Like… a bridge.”
“Do you believe him?”
Chase looked back out the window. “I think he believes it. I just don’t know what I believe yet. It feels like it might be a good way to buy myself some time to figure stuff out.”
There was a moment of quiet, broken only by the soft hum of the tires on asphalt.
Sophie reached over and placed her hand on his leg, just above his knee.
“You’ll figure it out,” she said gently.
Chase uncrossed his arms and placed his hand over hers, giving it a small squeeze.
“We'll figure it out, together.”
They both smiled.
---
The small diner smelled like burnt toast and fresh coffee.
Chase and Sophie sat across from each other in a red vinyl booth that looked older than the two of them combined and was a bit worn and sticky.
A steaming plate of pancakes sat between them, already half-devoured.
Sophie stirred her hot chocolate absently, looking around the room as Chase picked at his eggs.
“You really liked it,” Chase said.
Sophie smiled eagerly.
“Yes!”
It came out louder and more enthusiastic than she'd meant it to.
She put her head down slightly, a little sheepishly.
“I mean, yeah. Erie felt… right. More like what I had imagined in my head when I started thinking about all of this, I guess.”
“You don’t have to downplay it.” Chase replied with a smile.
“I’m not. I just don’t want to get too excited before we know if it’s even realistic.”
Chase nodded, eyes drifting out the window.
“You could make it work.”
She tilted her head.
“Could you?”
“I think so.” He answered, not knowing if she meant him coming to Erie too or them being hundreds of miles apart if he didn't.
He didn't sound convincing but Sophie didn't push.
They sat in silence for a moment, letting the possibility settle.
Then Chase shifted in his seat.
“I’m a little nervous about this thing tomorrow.”
“The clinic?”
“Yeah. I don’t really know what they’re gonna be looking for. And it’s weird being there without any of my teammates or coaches.”
“You’ll be fine.”
“I won’t know anybody.”
“I’ll be there,” Sophie said, her voice firm.
He looked up at her, then smiled, reaching across the table to take her hands.
---
The field was cold, hard, and rimmed with snow, but the energy buzzed with tension and testosterone.
Chase jogged in place, bouncing lightly on the balls of his feet. Around him, two dozen other athletes were stretching, running warm-up sprints, and checking each other out in sideways glances.
He didn’t recognize anyone.
Some were bigger. Some were louder. A few wore letterman jackets. A few looked like they belonged at a Power Five program.
Chase pulled his hood up and tried to focus on his breathing.
He thought about what Sophie said in the car. He thought about Coach Ella’s words. He thought about the future, about what it might mean to stay close, or to go far, or to do something completely unexpected, even by himself.
A whistle shrieked, slicing through the cold air.
“Everyone bring it in!” a booming voice barked.
---
Chase lined up as a running back for a set of drills, joining a group of a dozen others at the far end of the field.
The coaches explained that they would be going through the route tree, talked through expectations, then started firing off reps.
At first, Chase just blended in, his footwork crisp, his cuts clean. But as they moved to more advanced routes, the separation started to show.
On a wheel route, Chase exploded upfield, angling his route toward the sideline. The quarterback’s throw sailed high and far, over most heads.
Chase turned on the jets, his strides long and powerful, closing in on the ball just as it began its descent. He reached, snagged it, and toe-tapped just inside the chalk.
The sideline erupted in surprised chatter.
One coach let out a low whistle. Another scribbled something on a clipboard.
Chase jogged back to the line, trying to hide his grin.
One of the other players in the group extended his fist for Chase to bump on his way by.
After the pass route portion of the session the group moved on the agility drills.
Chase stood out, dominating the shuttle and three-cone drills, cuts precise, his speed evident.
One assistant called his shuttle run “the cleanest we’ve seen today.”
By the end of the session, his nerves had mostly burned away. He felt like he belonged.
---
Sophie was waiting for him on the sideline, bundled in one of his Sleepy Hollow Football hoodies with a heavy winter coat over it. She held a steaming cup in both hands.
“You killed it out there!” she said as he approached, a wide grin spreading across her face.
Chase smiled, catching his breath.
“Thanks. It felt pretty good.”
He peeled off his gloves and dropped them into his open bag, then sat on the bench to unlace his cleats.
Before he could finish, a coach approached, clipboard in hand.
“Chase Pryor, right?” the man asked, sliding a finger down his sheet.
“Yes, sir.”
The man extended his hand.
Chase stood, wiped his hands on his pants then reached for the man's hand and shook it firmly.
“Sean McKeone, University at Buffalo. You have any thoughts yet on where you’ll be playing next fall?”
Chase blinked, surprised to be approached by a “real school”.
“I’ve got a few visits coming up. Still looking at options.”
Coach McKeone nodded, looking down at his clipboard again, then opening it up and digging out a business card.
He looked at the card then held it out to Chase.
“Well, we’d love to have you come visit us at UB. I like what I saw out there today. Keep working.”
Chase took the card, studied it quickly and then shook the coach's hand again.
“Yes, sir. Thank you. I appreciate it.”
As the coach walked away, Chase looked down at the card again and then turned to Sophie.
She raised an eyebrow.
“I told you you'd do great.”
She stepped closer and wrapped her arms around him, squeezing him tight.
Both of their minds raced, thinking about the possibilities and the future that lay in front of them.
“How far is that?” Chase asked, leaning back to look at her.
“Like fifteen, twenty minutes I think?”
Chase smiled and pulled her back in.
He was stretched out on Sophie’s couch, head resting on a throw pillow, one socked foot dangling over the armrest. He had been fighting to stay awake for the last 20 minutes or so.
Sophie sat on the floor with her back against the couch, her hair pulled into a loose bun, legs tucked under a thick blanket. She typed and clicked away on her laptop, occasionally turning her attention to the game.
The muffled commentary from the TV filled the space between them.
“You know,” she said suddenly, startling Chase from his more than half asleep daze. “I’ve been thinking more and more about Hudson Valley.” she blurted out, not looking away from the screen.
Chase blinked and sat up slightly. “Yeah?”
“I liked it. I mean, the gym was nice, campus was clean, and the nursing program seems legit. But…” She hesitated, looking up toward the ceiling as if it may hold the answers she was seeking.
“I’m not sure. Something about it just... didn’t click.”
Chase sat all the way up and nodded slowly, putting his hands on her shoulders and gently massaging. She released all the tension in her body and leaned back.
“You don’t sound ready to commit to it. Seems like it's your backup choice to me”
Sophie shrugged. “I want to be. I just don’t know if I’d be going for the right reasons. It’s close. It’s familiar. But I don’t know if it’s right.”
Chase massaged a bit more firmly.
“You still thinking about Erie?” He asked, already knowing her answer.
She nodded slowly and held up her laptop which showed the school's website.
“Yeah. I just feel like they may have a bit more to offer. It's just so far..”
“We should go check it out.” He said it more assertively than he had intended to.
No answer.
“If you want to.” He added, backtracking slightly.
“I do. I’m just nervous about being far away from…”
Her voice trailed off. She didn’t finish the sentence.
“From what?” he asked, gently.
She turned and looked at him, eyes soft.
“From everything.”
He didn’t push. Instead, he gave a small smile.
“It might be good to at least see it. Know for sure. Maybe you'll hate it and you'll know Hudson is the one.”
“What if I love it?”
“Then that's a good thing isn't it? Easy choice.”
Sophie exhaled, thought for a second, then smiled.
“You’re right.”
He leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees.
“When should we go?”
“We? That's a long trip. You don't have to come. I know you're busy with school and stuff.”
“I want to come with you,” he said.
Sophie lit up.
“Seriously?”
“Of course. I want to be there with you and I'd like to see it too.”
She scrolled around on the site then checked her calendar on her phone.
“Next weekend maybe? Or the one after? I can check the admissions schedule.”
She stood and sat on the couch next to him, crossing her legs and setting her laptop on them.
She scrolled and clicked away as Chase leaned back
“Okay, so… if we drive up on a Friday night, we could do a campus tour Saturday morning. And, oh! Look at this.”
She turned the laptop toward him, pointing enthusiastically at the screen.
“They’re having a football prospect clinic that weekend.”
Chase narrowed his eyes at the flier on her screen.
“Hmm.” He replied, only half interested.
“It says JUCO, D2, and D3 coaches will be there. Could be a good opportunity.”
He shrugged. “Yeah. Maybe.”
Sophie didn’t push. She never did. But her expression said it all.
Chase had been dragging his feet for weeks. He had visits lined up at Kutztown and a few others. He’d looked at the websites for Erie and Hudson Valley what seemed like a hundred times. A few recruiters and coaches had messaged him, asking his plans. Some even mentioned possible spots for him, but nothing official. He'd answered the first few but then found the process to be overwhelming and left most of them unread.
Ever since the season ended Chase felt like something was missing. None of the coaches, recruiters or schools that had reached out felt like they were the ones.
It reminded him of when things ended back in Maine.
This time the ending was expected but it still felt very abrupt.
Everything felt uncertain.
He stared at the flier for another beat.
“Want to go?” she asked softly.
He took a breath and nodded. “Yeah. That would be good.” He answered, exhaling.
He agreed not just to satiate her but because he knew she was right. Maybe something that actually resembled football would help.
She smiled and sent him the sign-up link.
Sophie put her laptop on the coffee table then turned to face him before smiling slyly. She stood and faced him before straddling him on the couch, placing her hands on either side of his face and kissing him deeply.
---
Chase stretched and shifted in his seat, letting out a loud yawn that startled Sophie slightly.
He picked up the Powerade from the cup holder and shook it slightly, realizing it was empty and set it on the floor in the back of the car.
They had been driving in silence for quite some time. The silence between them wasn’t heavy, but it wasn’t mindless either. It was the kind of quiet that lingered when both people had a lot on their minds but didn’t feel like rushing to fill the space.
The highway unfurled in front of them, a long stretch of gray bordered by snow-dusted trees and wind-whipped signs. The sun was already dipping low on the horizon, casting a golden hue across Sophie’s windshield as her little Honda Civic hummed steadily north.
Sophie drove one-handed, her elbow perched on the console, fingers drumming the steering wheel. She glanced over at him a few times, her lips pursing as if she were choosing her next words carefully.
“What do you think it’ll be like?” she asked eventually, her voice soft but steady.
Chase blinked. “Erie?”
“Yeah. The school. The town. All of it.”
He leaned his head back against the headrest, exhaling. “I don’t know. Colder, probably,” he said with a faint smirk.
She shook her head slightly.
“You know what I mean.”
He paused, looking out the window before continuing.
“I don't know. I'm not sure what to expect. Different.”
He hesitated.
“But maybe good. I’ve never been that far west in New York.”
“Neither have I,” Sophie said, adjusting her grip on the wheel. “It’s almost Ohio. Feels like we’re driving into a different world.”
He nodded, watching the icy guardrail blur by.
“Could be what I we both need though. A reset?”
She hesitated, a bit nervous about what she was asking, or rather, how Chase would answer.
“Do you think you could see yourself there?”
Chase tilted his head, considering the question.
“It's hard to say. Like I said, I'm not sure what to expect. But...”
He trailed off, then turned to look at her.
“That’s why we’re going to find out, right?”
Sophie didn’t say anything for a moment. Her eyes stayed on the road, but her mouth opened slightly before closing again.
Finally, she asked, “If we both liked it that would be great...”
Chase turned to look at her, really look. She had her hair pulled back, a few flyaways catching the orange light from the setting sun. Her jaw was tense in that quiet, determined way she got when she was worried about something she hadn’t fully voiced.
“What if only one of us does?”
“We'd figure it out. Just like we talked about before the possibility of us going together even existed.”
“Will you be honest if you don't like it?”
“What do you mean?”
“If I love it and I decide to go but you're not feeling it I want you to be honest. I don't want you to come just for me.”
He smirked, then thought better of making a joke about her phrasing.
“I mean...I want to find the right fit. You being there and being happy is definitely a part of that. If I hate it you'll know.”
She gave a slow nod, her thumb rubbing the steering wheel.
“I’ve been thinking about what Coach Ella said,” Chase added, shifting in his seat. “When I told him I might end up at Hudson or Erie, he kind of paused. This thing that thing he does, like he’s trying to figure out how honest to be without sounding like an asshole.”
“Yeah?” She replied, glancing at him briefly then refocusing on the road.
“He told me I had the talent for more, not to sell myself short. But he also said JUCO might be a good transitional step if I wasn’t sure yet. Like… a bridge.”
“Do you believe him?”
Chase looked back out the window. “I think he believes it. I just don’t know what I believe yet. It feels like it might be a good way to buy myself some time to figure stuff out.”
There was a moment of quiet, broken only by the soft hum of the tires on asphalt.
Sophie reached over and placed her hand on his leg, just above his knee.
“You’ll figure it out,” she said gently.
Chase uncrossed his arms and placed his hand over hers, giving it a small squeeze.
“We'll figure it out, together.”
They both smiled.
---
The small diner smelled like burnt toast and fresh coffee.
Chase and Sophie sat across from each other in a red vinyl booth that looked older than the two of them combined and was a bit worn and sticky.
A steaming plate of pancakes sat between them, already half-devoured.
Sophie stirred her hot chocolate absently, looking around the room as Chase picked at his eggs.
“You really liked it,” Chase said.
Sophie smiled eagerly.
“Yes!”
It came out louder and more enthusiastic than she'd meant it to.
She put her head down slightly, a little sheepishly.
“I mean, yeah. Erie felt… right. More like what I had imagined in my head when I started thinking about all of this, I guess.”
“You don’t have to downplay it.” Chase replied with a smile.
“I’m not. I just don’t want to get too excited before we know if it’s even realistic.”
Chase nodded, eyes drifting out the window.
“You could make it work.”
She tilted her head.
“Could you?”
“I think so.” He answered, not knowing if she meant him coming to Erie too or them being hundreds of miles apart if he didn't.
He didn't sound convincing but Sophie didn't push.
They sat in silence for a moment, letting the possibility settle.
Then Chase shifted in his seat.
“I’m a little nervous about this thing tomorrow.”
“The clinic?”
“Yeah. I don’t really know what they’re gonna be looking for. And it’s weird being there without any of my teammates or coaches.”
“You’ll be fine.”
“I won’t know anybody.”
“I’ll be there,” Sophie said, her voice firm.
He looked up at her, then smiled, reaching across the table to take her hands.
---
The field was cold, hard, and rimmed with snow, but the energy buzzed with tension and testosterone.
Chase jogged in place, bouncing lightly on the balls of his feet. Around him, two dozen other athletes were stretching, running warm-up sprints, and checking each other out in sideways glances.
He didn’t recognize anyone.
Some were bigger. Some were louder. A few wore letterman jackets. A few looked like they belonged at a Power Five program.
Chase pulled his hood up and tried to focus on his breathing.
He thought about what Sophie said in the car. He thought about Coach Ella’s words. He thought about the future, about what it might mean to stay close, or to go far, or to do something completely unexpected, even by himself.
A whistle shrieked, slicing through the cold air.
“Everyone bring it in!” a booming voice barked.
---
Chase lined up as a running back for a set of drills, joining a group of a dozen others at the far end of the field.
The coaches explained that they would be going through the route tree, talked through expectations, then started firing off reps.
At first, Chase just blended in, his footwork crisp, his cuts clean. But as they moved to more advanced routes, the separation started to show.
On a wheel route, Chase exploded upfield, angling his route toward the sideline. The quarterback’s throw sailed high and far, over most heads.
Chase turned on the jets, his strides long and powerful, closing in on the ball just as it began its descent. He reached, snagged it, and toe-tapped just inside the chalk.
The sideline erupted in surprised chatter.
One coach let out a low whistle. Another scribbled something on a clipboard.
Chase jogged back to the line, trying to hide his grin.
One of the other players in the group extended his fist for Chase to bump on his way by.
After the pass route portion of the session the group moved on the agility drills.
Chase stood out, dominating the shuttle and three-cone drills, cuts precise, his speed evident.
One assistant called his shuttle run “the cleanest we’ve seen today.”
By the end of the session, his nerves had mostly burned away. He felt like he belonged.
---
Sophie was waiting for him on the sideline, bundled in one of his Sleepy Hollow Football hoodies with a heavy winter coat over it. She held a steaming cup in both hands.
“You killed it out there!” she said as he approached, a wide grin spreading across her face.
Chase smiled, catching his breath.
“Thanks. It felt pretty good.”
He peeled off his gloves and dropped them into his open bag, then sat on the bench to unlace his cleats.
Before he could finish, a coach approached, clipboard in hand.
“Chase Pryor, right?” the man asked, sliding a finger down his sheet.
“Yes, sir.”
The man extended his hand.
Chase stood, wiped his hands on his pants then reached for the man's hand and shook it firmly.
“Sean McKeone, University at Buffalo. You have any thoughts yet on where you’ll be playing next fall?”
Chase blinked, surprised to be approached by a “real school”.
“I’ve got a few visits coming up. Still looking at options.”
Coach McKeone nodded, looking down at his clipboard again, then opening it up and digging out a business card.
He looked at the card then held it out to Chase.
“Well, we’d love to have you come visit us at UB. I like what I saw out there today. Keep working.”
Chase took the card, studied it quickly and then shook the coach's hand again.
“Yes, sir. Thank you. I appreciate it.”
As the coach walked away, Chase looked down at the card again and then turned to Sophie.
She raised an eyebrow.
“I told you you'd do great.”
She stepped closer and wrapped her arms around him, squeezing him tight.
Both of their minds raced, thinking about the possibilities and the future that lay in front of them.
“How far is that?” Chase asked, leaning back to look at her.
“Like fifteen, twenty minutes I think?”
Chase smiled and pulled her back in.