growth Colin's Determination, Part 6

[cropsey23]

I went up to my room to get ready for the trip to see Coach Conway. I guess I was in a bit of a daze, the last 24 hours with Colin left me a lot to think about. The surge in height, the ravenous appetite, the marked shift in his attitude. Even though we were only 49 days into this training plan, I was quite anxious to get him weighed in.

 

What I kept thinking of was Brendan and Jeremy, and the odd dynamic between them and Colin. These guys were accomplished athletes with some very prestigious sporting organizations, but around Colin they seemed different. I couldn't quite put my finger on it. I was throwing some clothes into a gym bag when one word just popped into my mind: deferential. I jerked my head up at the idea of those two athletes deferring to Colin, but before I could even fully process that thought, I caught sight of my reflection in the mirror.

 

My cousins were right, I was putting on some mass. My mid-section was leaner and tighter, and my lats seemed thicker. I pulled my favorite tshirt over my head, and it surely felt very snug around my shoulders. I was looking at myself in the mirror when I heard Colin's voice behind me. I turned to face him, noticing how his frame now filled out the doorway.

In his low, deep voice, he just said "Remember when you went to see Coach Conway the first time." And he turned and walked away to pack his own gym bag.

It wasn't posed so much as a question, but rather, it came across as a statement. A declarative statement. Or...a very subtle order? I did start to think about my first tryouts with the team. As I got my things together, I reached into the back of the closet to grab a couple my training journals from that year.

The training journals that Colin was so diligent in keeping.

We got into the car for the hour long drive to the campus training facility, with Colin at the wheel. We were quiet, and I had my journal in my hand. I opened it up and started to flip through the pages. Colin was very diligent in tracking my progress. All of my workouts, my food intake, my player statistics, along with my a detailed chart of my weight and height gains. I was astounded at how much detail he kept for me. It seemed as if every calorie I took in, and every calorie I exerted, had been tracked and recorded in excruciating detail over the course of four years. And at the end of each month was a long, and I mean LONG, mathematical calculation that made no sense to me. My mind drifted back to....

Five years earlier

Colin and I sat in the back seat of the Honda as our parents drove me to my first college baseball tryout. Coach Conway had looked over my high school records and was eager to try me out for short stop or third base. I was vacillating between confidence and anxiety as we drove to the training facility. I knew I was a good player, but this was NCAA Division I, and there would be some serious competition. I looked over at Colin, and he had one of those marble notebooks in hand that he kept writing in.

He glanced up at me, almost sensing my anxiety, and just said "You are going to be great Greg. I'm sure you will get third base."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence Colin. I sure hope you are right."
 

"Greg, can I help you? Keep track of your statistics?" It seemed like pointless fan worship, but he was so eager to do it, I just agreed.
 

"Thanks Greg, you won't be disappointed, I promise."
 

"Just don't let this distract from your schoolwork Colin."
 

"You have to remember to tell me everything you eat Greg, if this is going to work."
 

"Sure Colin, sure." I was so distracted I didn't know what I was agreeing to.

...and as the car turned into the training facility, I was bumped back into the present. I looked over at Colin, just a few years after that exchange, now behind the wheel of a car. And my mind immediately rushed back to the weigh in, Colin's weigh in, that finally seemed imminent.

He parked the car, and as I was about to open the door to get out, he just wrapped his huge hand on my wrist. "Ready, Greg." Again, not so much a question as it was another declarative statement. As if he was telling me to brace myself. He let go and I got out of the car.

I looked over to the doorway, and who do I see nervously loitering that but Jeremy and Brendan. I looked at them, and my face must have said "What are you doing here?" Jeremy just answered, a bit sheepishly, "Colin asked us to come."

My head jerked back to Colin. "Why are they here Colin?"
 

"Because I asked them" he responded, so very casually. He looked over at them and just said, in his deep, low monotone "Wait on the field for me." And they scrambled  through the door, like two dogs who had just been commanded by their master.

Colin put his hand on the small of my back and ushered me into the training facility. We walked to Coach Conway's office, I noticed Colin's confidence, a marked improvement over his last visit here.

We walked into the office and the Coach was looking down, filling out some paperwork. I said "Hey Coach..."
 

He recognized my voice right away. Still looking down, he said "Greg, this is a waste of my time. Colin badgered me for this weigh in. I asked him to wait the full 90 days. No one could possibly..." and as he lifted his head and laid his eyes upon us, and just looked, mouth agape. Colin stepped in front of me.

"This won't be a waste of your time Coach" he said, with the utmost confidence.
 

Coach Conway was still speechless. Looking at Colin, back to me, then back to Colin again. He composed himself after what seemed like the longest 30 seconds of his life, and stood up. "Okay Colin. Looks like you made some progress. Let's get to the scale."

Colin approached the scale in Coach Conway's office, still in his hoody and cargo shorts. I stood next to him, for moral support, even though it was clear he hardly needed support from me. Just before he stepped on the scale, he hesitated. He reached his big hand over and placed it on the back of my neck.

"Coach, check your records. What was Greg's last weigh in when he was on the team?"
The coach checked his athlete records online, and in a few seconds, he said "177. That was four months ago."
 

Colin, his grip still on my neck, just said "Get on the scale Greg."
 

I froze up, not really sure what was going on. "Get on the scale Greg" he said again, this time, moving me with ease to the scale. I looked at the Coach and he nodded. I pulled off my shirt and jeans and stepped on. The Coach came over, adjusted the weight scale, and just said "194".
Seriously? I had gained 17lbs in four months? I grinned, full of pride and swagger. Then I looked over at Colin and knew the weight gain was because of him. In these last few months of pushing him to gain, he was pushing me right back. The beautiful irony of it all gave me a tremendous respect for the power of partner and team workouts. And Colin and I somehow fed off the push we gave each other. 
 

"That's a remarkable gain Greg" said Coach Conway. "Now it's his turn."

I looked over at Colin, a confident smile on his face. He put one foot on the scale and Coach Conway said "Colin, NCAA has rules here. Weigh-ins are done in just your briefs, and they are very strict about that."

Colin removed his enormous foot from the scale. He quickly dropped his shorts, revealing the powerful legs I had seen on the football field the previous day. He started to tug down the zipper on his sweatshirt, finally.

He turned to me and just said, "Ready, Greg."

[arpeejay]

Love this story! Looking forward to seeing all of the original parts posted and the new ones to come!