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On Winning Book One Companion to Gay Boy Rinning by Rick Beck Always for David Dedicated to: Andrew Quattrocchi, the man who saved my life while making me an athlete when I wasn't anything. To Charles Warnock, the man who discovered my brain, "Here it is." To Tommy Robert Reynolds, the best friend anyone could ever had. And to James "Whitey" Sheldon, The Prototype for anchormen and the man I was asked to replace once Whitey graduated. Without the extraordinary support of the people listed above, the events chronicled within wouldn't have happened. High School Drama Proudly presented by The Tarheel Writer - On the Web since 24 February 2003. Celebrating 21 Years on the Internet! Tarheel Home Page |
Writer's Note
Most sports stories are about champions winning the big one. Not everyone can be the winner. In track and field, the ability to win against ten to fifteen other teams, all at the same time, is fleeting.
It takes heart to show up week after week, when you always watch other teams win. It may build character but it is hard work, enduring defeat, and coming back for more, knowing, in the end you won't win or even finish near the top.
But there is a time when the perennial loser joins forces with the perfect coach, who just might be part wizard. Like the alchemists of old trying to create gold out of lead, creating magic instead, and propelling his boys beyond any and all expectations.
This is such a story!
This story is for the losers who never win.
This story is about a team that reluctantly did as their coach instructed them.
This is a story about athletes who were almost always gentlemen and still managed to bridge the chasm between losing and winning.
This is the story of a rag tag band of boys that not only performed beyond expectations but seemingly beyond their capabilities and all odds.
Synopsis
When Charles joins the Suitland track team as a sophomore, they're a school joke. The question isn't one of winning or losing but if any points would be scored. After making a promise to his mentor and gym teacher, he feels trapped.
Charles finds himself assigned to run the relays. He is disillusioned. He wants to run alone and out front, but older faster boys run ahead of him. He resigns himself to being lost in a team within a team, even though there are juniors and seniors who'd love to have his spot.
In Prince George's G County, Suitland can be depended on to finish near the bottom in every track meet. There is little optimism with twenty-five boys covering seventeen events. Any thought of this group of lower middle class boys rising to the top of track and field in the Washington DC area is folly, only don't tell Coach Daniel Becker a thing like that about his boys.
As Charles grows accustomed to his secondary role on the team, he tries to understand the boys he runs with. Tom Beaudreault is aloof, Bob Droter does his best to help him learn, and Whitey is the natural athlete who carries the team, even when it is hardly a team at all.
After weeks of wrangling and conflict, Coach Becker gets their attention in a carefully orchestrated drama that threatens to tear the relay team apart, but they come together instead, becoming contenders and a constant threat to the sprint relay records.
With Whitey and Tom leading the way, the small team starts taking itself seriously, refusing to be dismissed as fodder for other team's dreams. While they falter and fall, they refuse to quit or give up to the more powerful teams they challenge.
Chapter One
"Fate or Destiny?"
Chapter Two
"What Are The Odds?"
Chapter Three
"The Teacher From Hell"
That's Rick Beck on the left receiving the baton
Chapter Four
"Thomas Robert Reynolds" or "Best Friends"
Chapter Five
"What's Your Name?"
Chapter Six
"Track Practice"
Chapter Seven
"Catonsville Invitational"
Chapter Eight
"Losers Never Win"
Chapter Nine
"Aftermath"
Chapter Ten
"What Comes Next?"
Chapter Eleven
"Northwood or Murphy's Law"
Epilogue
"The Team"
Rick Beck Home Page
This work may not be duplicated in any form (physical, electronic, audio, or otherwise) without the author's written permission. All applicable copyright laws apply. All individuals depicted are fictional with any resemblance to real persons being purely coincidental.
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