Initiation Read Online Free Page B

him, waiting to see which hole he would choose. Zach dipped his shoulder and rumbled into the third hole like a battering ram. As soon as Carter saw the dip of his shoulder, he burst into the hole to meet him. At the last moment, Carter lowered himself and crashed into Zach’s kneecaps, upending him.
    Coach Cowan blew his whistle. “Individuals,” he said.
    The players sprinted to different corners of the field to their position groups. Carter and Ben ran to the bottom corner. Coach Pitts stood holding a football. Two squares were marked out with cones to form areas about fifteen yards across. Coach Pitts had dark skin, balding short black curls, and a weightlifters physique.
    The defensive backs stood in front of their coach.
    “What are y’all waitin’ for?” Coach Pitts said with a toothpick in the corner of his mouth.
    “What are we doin’?” Noah asked.
    Coach Pitts smirked. “What do we always do? The course, of course.”
    The players backpedaled along the square denoted by the cones, jogged across and came back down.
    “Turn and run to the left,” Coach Pitts said. “Let’s go, Ben. That turn’s gotta be lower and faster.”
    A short, thin black kid backpedaled, turned his hips, and in the blink of an eye sprinted to the end of the square before easing up and coming back the other way.
    “It’s Devin, right?” Coach Pitts asked, looking at the athletic tape on his helmet.
    Devin nodded, his facemask bouncing up and down.
    “That’s perfect. You’ll never get beat deep with a turn and run like that.”
    They backpedaled, planted, sprinted forward, and backpedaled again.
    “Y’all should be tired right now,” Coach Pitts said as the kids labored. “Especially if you’ve been sittin’ on your ass all summer.” Coach Pitts watched Noah slog through the drill, his hips stiff and his body upright. “Lower, Noah. That’s way too high.”
    Carter backpedaled, his arms swinging comfortably, his body low and loose. He planted and sprinted forward. “That’s nice, Two-Zero,” Coach said to Carter.
    Coach Pitts blew the whistle and started to jog toward the opposite end of the field. “Let’s go, one-on-ones with the receivers,” he said. The defensive backs followed.
    Luke and the backup quarterback stood together on the goal line in the middle of the field with Coach Ware. Wide receivers and defensive backs lined up near each sideline. One defender from each line jogged onto the field to cover the receiver. Carter was behind Ben in line. He counted the queue, hoping to draw Dwayne.
    Carter tapped Ben on the shoulder. “You wanna switch?”
    Ben looked at the line of wide receivers, counting. “Hell yeah.” They switched places in line. “He’s fast, and he’ll catch anything up high.”
    Carter nodded. “No problem, it’ll be a lot of exposed ribs.”
    Ben frowned. “You can’t hit him, remember?”
    Carter smiled.
    Coach Pitts marched over. “For you corners, I want you practicing your press man technique. Safeties, seven yards off in a backpedal technique.”
    Carter jogged into position, stopping seven yards from Dwayne. The all-state receiver stood, one foot forward, one back. Carter focused on Dwayne’s belt buckle.
    Luke said, “Set, go.”
    Dwayne exploded forward and cut inside. Carter turned and sprinted downfield, mirroring him. After three hard steps inside, Dwayne planted and reversed course, headed outside to the corner. Carter flipped his head and hips, losing sight of Dwayne. He turned a hundred and eighty degrees and ended up glued to his opponent. Dwayne tilted his head up, looking for the spiral hanging in the air. Carter looked up. The ball was high and deep, out of Carter’s reach. Dwayne leaped into the air. His basketball hops, long arms, and six-foot-two frame put him over ten feet off the ground. His long fingers cast a net that cradled the football. Carter leaped as gravity tugged on the receiver. He shoved his right arm between Dwayne’s arms,