Gladiators of the Gridiron

Metal clanged and rattled against metal. The stiff, old barbell bowed and bent under the tremendous weight stuck on either end.

The barbell was held up in the middle by JJ’s broad, bronze shoulders. He took a deep breath, a drop of sweat dripped off his nose just before he took his last plunge down, squatting beneath his mighty load.

He stopped when his legs were bent 90 degrees, his back remaining perfectly straight. He gritted his teeth. His whole body was burning and screaming out as he drove himself upwards, grunting as he exerted the last of his strength to stand tall once again.

He slammed the bar back into its rack and ducked out from under it, leaning against the sturdy rack as he caught his breath, and waited for his legs to stop trembling.

“Not yet,” he thought. “I can’t stop yet, I have to keep going, I need to get stronger!” He chugged down some water and wiped his brow, carefully removing the weight from the bar and putting it all back where it belonged.

He looked around as he moved on to his next workout of choice. The high school gym was empty; it was lonely, but there was nothing that could be done about it, he couldn’t use having no partners or buddies as an excuse not to push himself to his limits.

Next up was the box jump. He’d been working hard at it recently, he wanted to be more explosive, he needed that extra lift and power in his legs. “So they can have faith in me.”

By now he’d gotten to the point where from a standing start, he’d be able to jump up onto the shoulders of someone five feet tall, but still, he wanted to reach higher.

He’d keep jumping, pushing himself higher and higher until his legs would give out … and then he’d simply move on to the next thing, barely ever giving himself time to rest.

When Rabbit made it to the field, he looked to be the first one there, something he prided himself on now, he always wanted to be the first to show up, and the last to leave … how else would he ever be able to catch up to the others and make it onto the varsity team?

So when he made his way out onto the turf and heard the noises going from the gym nearby, he was surprised and slightly terrified.

There was still an hour to go until practice was scheduled to begin! What kind of crazy workhorse had shown up before him? Was it impossible to work harder than the insane monsters that played this sport?

Those questions bounced around his panicking mind as he crept towards the gym door. His heart was racing as he peered inside.

JJ was throwing around a massive medicine ball. It was bigger than any Rabbit had seen before, yet JJ was able to jump into the air with the heavy ball stretched overhead, then when he’d land, he’d slam it down on the ground so hard it sounded like thunder, only to drop to the floor, scoop it up, and do the same thing over and over again.

Rabbit watched in silent awe until JJ finally felt the unblinking eyes staring at him and stopped, looking over to the door and meeting Rabbit’s gaze.

‘Ah! S-Sorry I…I didn’t mean to-to interrupt… I didn’t think anyone would be here,’ Rabbit said.

JJ dropped the heavy ball down with a solid thud, and sat down on a bench nearby, taking another drink. ‘Don’t be! It’s all good man, come on in, don’t let me bother you or get in your way.’ He beckoned Rabbit in.

Rabbit hadn’t intended to enter the gym before he got there, but now that he’d been caught watching and JJ was calling him in, he felt like it’d be weird to back away.

He shuffled inside, looking around. He’d been in here plenty of times with the rest of the team to end their practice sessions, but Rabbit had yet to grow accustomed to it.

It felt like his lack of size was enhanced within this foreign realm of muscle and masculinity, even more so than out on the field, which had such a free, open feel, in comparison to the metallic, claustrophobic confines of the gym.

Rabbit stopped by JJ’s side, unsure of what to do.

JJ looked up at him. ‘Hey, you’re Max, right? We haven’t really talked much before, sorry about that.’

‘H-Huh? Oh m-me? Um, y-yeah, I’m Max… but everyone usually just calls me Rabbit.’ His buck teeth gnawed on his lip. ‘B-But, It’s not your fault we don’t talk… I-I mean, I’m just some freshman on the JV team, hah, I-I barely even got off the bench in my first game.’

JJ stood up, a frown on his face. For a moment, Rabbit thought the much larger teen was angry with him, and he cowered away from JJ.

JJ put a firm hand on Rabbit’s shoulder and leaned down to look at him eye to eye. ‘Don’t be so hard on yourself, it’s your first year. We all start somewhere, and you DID play in your first game, I saw it. I’m sure that without you, the outcome would’ve been different, you did good and you helped your team, anyone who actually watched and paid attention would’ve seen that, and I’m sure the coaches did too. Just keep doing your best, Max, you’ll get there in no time.’

Rabbit blinked as JJ patted him on the shoulder. ‘Th-Thank you… that’s… that’s the nicest thing anyone’s ever said to me.’ He looked down.

JJ was surprised. ‘Oh… no, don’t worry about it, it’s just the truth. I mean, you’re getting a lot better, and you work really hard, I mean, look how early you showed up, that’s proof enough of your dedication to get better.’

‘Yeah but, y-you were already here.’

‘Hey, it’s not a competition,’ JJ said. ‘You’ll never get anywhere focusing on others and how you stack up against them. It’s all about self-improvement, pushing yourself to the limit. You’re not fighting against anyone, it isn’t a race with other runners, it’s just you. You’re the only one who controls how far you go.’

Rabbit was astonished, but, was what JJ was saying really true? How could it not be a contest between other people? Just like the comparison between the two of them right there.

Rabbit was small and puny, so frail it looked like JJ would be able to snap him with one hand. And JJ on the other hand looked like the quintessential footballer. If you asked every coach, player, and fan around the world to build the ideal American football athlete, you’d end up with JJ.

And he still showed up before Rabbit and was working even harder. Would it even be possible to get on the same level, let only surpass someone like that? Or would Rabbit forever be stuck staring at his back?

‘Hey, what were you here so early for anyway? Come on, I’ll help you through whatever sets you’re doing,’ JJ said.

‘O-Oh no I…I didn’t mean to, I was just coming to check out the n-noise I…I don’t really work out in here.’

‘Everyone’s gotta start somewhere. You should! It’ll really help out your game, I promise, and I can show you the ropes.’

Even with JJ’s encouragement, Rabbit was still hesitant and unsure. JJ didn’t want to push it any further, even if he felt it’d be great for the younger boy.

‘Alright, alright. You know, it’s not for everyone and I get it can be a little intimidating when you first start, believe me, I had no clue what I was doing in here at the beginning, hah! I almost killed myself trying to bench press.’ JJ laughed, though soon stopped when he saw Rabbit’s worried expression.

‘Ah, but that was how I met my hermano. He helped me out and showed me the ropes, told me what not to do so I wouldn’t hurt myself.’ JJ patted Rabbit on the back.

‘I’d look after you, too, Maxie. So, whenever you wanna lift some weights, just let me know, okay? I’ll look out for you, always. That’s what teammates do.’

Rabbit smiled at him. ‘Th-Thanks but still, I really didn’t come here for this I…I was just gonna run through some drills and get warmed up, get some extra practice in before the others came.’

‘Oh, right on. Actually, that reminds me, I’ve been wanting to work on my coverage, you think you could let me run through those drills with you? We still got some time before the others show up after all.’

‘H-Huh? Y-You want M-ME to help YOU? Um… I-I guess but I don’t know if it’ll really be a good experience I…I’m still learning and I’m sure you’d do better if you followed someone else.’

‘Is anyone else here?’ JJ asked.

‘…F-Fair enough…’

‘Do we need anything? I’ve got a spare key for the equipment locker.’ JJ said, picking up his bag from by the door and heading out of the gym.

‘O-Oh well um… s-some cones would be helpful.’

‘Got it.’ Together, they entered the small shack full of equipment and got out what Rabbit said they’d need—only half a dozen cones—before making their way back out onto the field where they warmed up with some laps.

Rabbit was amazed, that even with all the hard work JJ had been doing for who knows how long before he got there, he was still able to breeze through the laps like they were nothing.

Afterwards, they were stretching and preparing for their upcoming drills.

‘Y-Your hermano… um, brother, right? H-He helps you work out? What’s he like?’ Rabbit asked while the two were laid out on the floor, grabbing at their toes.

He pictured an older, even bigger version of JJ. Just how strong would he have to be? Maybe his brother was already in the NFL?

‘Huh? Mi hermano? Ohh, no no, he’s not my blood brother, I’m an only child … he’s just… my hermano, you know? Like you, and everyone else on the team,’ JJ explained.

‘O-Oh! … S-Sorry, I didn’t know I uh… that was silly of me.’ Rabbit lowered his head, silently moving on to the next stretch, though he smiled a bit, happy to know that JJ thought of him as a brother, and honestly, JJ really FELT like a big brother.

He just gave off that comforting and chill vibe, while really being such a stand-up guy, someone you could look up to, someone whose back you wanted to chase.

‘Hahah, nah, you’re cool. I should’ve explained it better. But uh, you got any siblings?’ JJ asked.

‘Oh, Jesus… yeah, I got way too many siblings haha. I’d give you some if I could.’

JJ laughed. ‘Oh come on, it can’t be that bad.’

Rabbit shuddered. ‘It is, there’s TWELVE of us.’

‘¡Los cojones! I don’t believe you. Were your parents actual rabbits?’

Rabbit snorted and shook his head. ‘Sounds like it, doesn’t it? There’s another sibling on the way.’

‘Jesus Christ… I don’t whether to congratulate you or feel sorry for you.’

‘Yeah, I…I just… I don’t know. Things are already so chaotic, and there are only two parents after all with so many children… I can’t wait to get out of there.’ They’d finished their stretching, now Rabbit hugged his knees.

JJ reached over and rubbed his back. ‘Sorry… you the oldest? Looking after your younger brothers and sisters?’

‘No… well, yes and no. I’m in the middle, kinda… I guess I keep getting pushed up to the higher end each time a new one comes around. So, we do look after the younger ones.’ He sighed and stood up.

‘S-Sorry. We shouldn’t be focusing on my own home version of “cheaper by the dozen”, let’s just focus on football, like we came here for,’ Rabbit said.

‘You got it, hermano, heh, I’m happy to be part of the … 14?’

They laughed together as JJ got up as well. As Rabbit explained what they’d be doing, he and JJ laid out the cones to mark off the points they’d have to run to.

It was just some simple drills, focusing on backpedalling for 5-10 yards before suddenly stopping and changing directions with an explosive first step and sprinting to a cone set out about 20 yards away.

It was designed to simulate what it’d be like to mark a Receiver as they make sudden cuts on routes such as Ins or Outs, Curls and Comebacks, or even Slants and Corners.

But the key principles it was trying to instil and cultivate, were the ability to backtrack quickly enough to stay in front of someone, reaction times, and the explosivity required to keep on top of someone when they make a sudden and unpredicted change in direction.

They took it in turns. One would run the drill, backpedalling until the other called out “Curl”, or “Slant”, or “In”, etc, then whoever was in the drill, had to sprint towards the cone that corresponded to the call out.

They constantly motivated one another to be even faster, to dig deep and find that extra bit of speed and power to really push through and reach the cones as fast as possible.

Sweat was pouring off the both of them before long, and Rabbit was amazed.

JJ seemed like he hadn’t been confident in his capability to cover a Receiver, and had been eager to do some of the drills assigned to the Cornerbacks, but he was doing even better than Rabbit.

Thinking about it, it should’ve been the clear outcome. “Of course he’s more explosive and faster than me, just look at him,” Rabbit thought.

Neither of them heard the car pull up, nor did they notice coaches Long and Hoang approach alongside “Coach Short”. They only realised others had arrived when Tyrese spoke up.

‘Why are you wasting your time with the little bunny?’ Ty sneered, an amused look on his face as he looked JJ over.

Rabbit hung his head, his chest tightening. JJ frowned, standing up tall, towering over Ty as he looked down at him.