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+---- Thread: *Ray Baker: The Prequels (/showthread.php?tid=52212)
*Ray Baker: The Prequels - jdc4654 - 07-11-2024
Ray Baker: The Prequels
Episode I
It was a brisk and dreary morning in Foggy Bottom, just outside of Washington D.C. Ray Baker was doing his best to avoid small mounds of snow on his way to the Metro station so he could get to school. In October 2049, Ray was still an unknown high school prospect trying to prove himself.
His backpack carried a couple textbooks. One was for AP Calculus and the other was for English honors. Ray always excelled in math and he had a very important exam coming up that required a lot of practice. Ray always put more emphasis on subjects like geometry, calculus, and even physics because it could help transition to his desired craft.
With the backpack over his shoulder and a placekicker football tucked within his right forearm, Ray almost reached the Metro station as the “turf monster”, or in this case the “snow monster”, tripped him up and slid on his rear end as an uneven snow mound took him out. Ray’s prescription glasses flew off his head, skipped down the sidewalk slightly, and the left eye lens was immediately scuffed.
Ray’s tailbone was slightly sore when he got up. The discomfort slightly eased as he made his way down the stairs in the Metro entrance. He examined his glasses as he went down and let out a small sigh. They were still usable but visibly damaged. After scanning his weekly train pass, Ray made it through the turnstiles.
As he gets down there he hears a familiar voice saying “Ray! Keep your head up brother!”. This was local musician Jimmy Cole who is a mainstay of this particular train station and acquainted with Ray as they both cross paths each morning. Ray presumably thought he was looking dull after taking quite a spill outside just a minute ago.
Ray responds, “Hey, thanks Jimmy. Good luck today.” Jimmy is a retired school teacher and counts on tips as supplemental income. Jimmy tells Ray to “conquer today” and to treat each day as being better than the last.
The orange line train approaches and Ray says his farewell. Sitting on the train, Ray frets about his upcoming Calculus exam but his mind seems to wander more towards football. Ray was never the biggest guy in school and faced criticism from classmates that he is not a real football player. In his head, Ray would say to himself that it didn’t bother him but deep down he knew it kinda did.
However, playing football provides such a rush of excitement. His teammates were very supportive and treated him just as part of the team as they did a running back or a middle linebacker. Ray knew where his passion was and that was putting the ball between the goal post.
The train screeched to a halt, jolting Ray from his daydream. “Now arriving, Metro Station”, stated the train conductor. He disembarked and completed his commute to Lincoln Memorial High School. Ray dropped his football off in his locker and headed to class. The combination of the Calculus exam today and the huge game on Friday circulating through his mind.
Ray practiced quite a bit for the Calculus exam but all that he seemed focused on was thinking about those yellow goalposts. Ray didn’t see derivatives, he saw direct snaps. He didn’t see integrals, he saw integers increasing 1 or 3 at a time as Ray made hypothetical kicks in his mind.
“Baker!”, shouted calculus teacher Mr. Floyd. “Look alive!”
Ray must have looked completely out of it while daydreaming his way through this exam.
He turned in his exam but knew the true test was later this week on the football field.
Ray’s numbers on the season were not very impressive. He missed a number of fairly close field goals and even some extra points. Ray was lucky that his teammates were more forgiving than he would be if he were in their shoes.
Upon making his way to his next class, Spanish III, Ray heard the same shout of his name but in a more familiar and anxiety-inducing voice.
“Baker!”, shouted Coach Zigler. “Stop by my office during B lunch.”
The tone and deep voice of the long-time head football coach sent Ray’s stomach into knots. He made it inside Spanish class where his mind was racing about what the coach wanted to talk about versus focusing on the conjugations of the latest words being taught. At this point, Ray just wanted to get the conversation over with. Staring at the analog clock above the teacher, Ray was waiting for the bell to ring and class to be over.
After class was dismissed, Ray rushed to his locker to drop off all of his belongings. He didn’t mind missing lunch because after getting stopped by coach, there was no way his stomach would muster up the ability to consume anything. Ray power walked his way across campus to get to Coach Zigler’s office. He blazed past the school resource officer who gave him a glaring look but Ray didn’t pay any mind. He just wanted to get this discussion over with.
“Knock, knock.” Ray gently tapped on coach’s door. He immediately thought that was a weak knock and should’ve been more forceful. But maybe he is thinking too much into things.
“Baker! Come in. Have a seat.”, said Coach Zigler.
Ray pulls the chair out at the desk. The chairs on the other side of coach are significantly lower than his executive office chair. It feels like coach is talking down to you no matter how tall you may be. But again, Ray is probably just thinking too hard about the situation.
“Listen, we’re a few weeks into the season and you’re barely meeting our expectations. There have been a few extra points missed and we gotta clean those up. I know it’s fairly wet out there from the snow. Back in my day this time of year had clear skies. Anyway, we all have to play in these conditions, including you.”
Coach Zigler paused for a moment. A much longer pause than Ray would have liked.
“You have a good leg on you, son. I don’t know if there’s anything going on in your head that might be giving you the yips but I’m here to coach you up.”
“You need to visualize your success. As you line up your kick, no matter what distance or what conditions you may be facing, always see yourself putting that ball through the uprights. Keep practicing. That sounds like a no-brainer but you need to repeat, repeat, repeat your kicks. And not just with the ball holder. Coordinate with Johnny [the snapper] and Curtis [the center] and find time to practice the entire routine.”
“Bruce Lee once said “I fear not the man who has practiced 10,000 kicks once, but I fear the man who has practiced one kick 10,000 times.” Do you know who Bruce Lee is, son? Practice your kicks many times at incremental yardages, go all the way up to 35 yards, get your routine down, and nail those kicks.”
Baker sits on the other side of the desk, nodding as coach is giving him all this information. His anxiety about the conversation has subsided and ready to move on with his day.
“Thanks for the feedback, coach. I will get better.”, Ray retorts.
As Baker rises up from his chair, coach tells him to hold on a minute.
“I want you to talk to someone real quick.”, says Coach Zigler.
Coach picks up his desk phone, dials a number, and puts it on speaker. The other party answers in a delighted tone, “Zigler! How are you, my friend”
Coach answers “Doing just fine.” as he is ready to get to the point of the conversation. “I’ve got Baker here in my office on speaker who I was telling you about.”
The gentleman on the phone responds, “Baker, my name is Trey Henderson. I am the Special Teams Coordinator at Georgetown University. Are you familiar with our program?”
Ray responds with a quick “Yes sir.”
“Good, Coach Zigler was telling me about a kicking prospect on his team and asked if I could come by and help. Would you be able to arrive at school a couple hours early on Friday before your next game?” Henderson replies.
“Yes absolutely.” says Ray.
“Great. I look forward to meeting you. Come ready to play. We’re going to do a small training camp catered towards kicking.”
Ray knows that the special teams coordinator taking time out of his schedule during football season is a big deal.
Ray replies, “Thank you very much sir for the opportunity. I will meet you on our field Friday morning.”
Henderson finishes the conversation, “See you Friday.” and hangs up the phone.
Coach tells Ray to take this opportunity seriously and to show up three hours early even though Henderson said to show up two hours early.
“He’s an old friend of mine and I think you have potential, Baker. We just gotta get it out of you.”
Ray thanks coach for the vote of confidence and rises from the seat and has a new found, better attitude towards the rest of his day.
“One more thing…” shouts coach, making sure to catch Ray before he leaves his office.
“Get your glasses fixed. They’re all scratched up. There’s a eyeglass place down the street that sells sports goggles. That’ll be better for you when you play.”
Ray nods and exits coach’s office. He has his game plan and a new sense of optimism for the days and games to come.
RE: Ray Baker: The Prequels - lock180 - 07-11-2024
If I had a nickel for every kicker that made a series on their backstory I would have two nickels. Which is A LOT of nickels in this day and age
RE: Ray Baker: The Prequels - lordcoolcats - 07-12-2024
I'm so tired of hearing about Ray Baker...
RE: Ray Baker: The Prequels - jdc4654 - 07-12-2024
(07-12-2024, 07:53 AM)lordcoolcats Wrote: I'm so tired of hearing about Ray Baker...
#flashbackfriday
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