The Summer Job - 33. The Barracudas

Phillip and Mikie huddled up in the locker room to discuss their plan for the swimming practice. Tuesdays and Thursdays were the main practice days. Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays were optional. Usually they were for laps and what Mikie explained was individual coaching. Coach Hanson would work with his swimmers or, they would swim laps to work on their stamina. Participation wasn’t mandatory but, the serious swimmers and younger swimmers trying to move up could be expected. Mikie guessed that there might be fifteen, or twenty max.

Seth, David, Billy and, the rest of the swimmers from the Gentleman’s club would be there. Seth had told Phillip that the word was out that Phillip would be subbing for Coach Hanson, so there was just no telling how many would show up.

The team began to show a little after seven-thirty and by a quarter to eight, all twenty-five boys were present: the entire Gentleman’s Club, Ryan, Sammy and both of the Curtis twins.

Phillip entered the locker room with his gym bag in his hand and had a seat. The boys were busily getting ready. Many simply took off their shirt and shorts and already had their Speedo on underneath. A few actually got naked and skinned their suit on.

Once they were dressed out, or undressed depending on how you look at it, Phillip started, “Hi guys. Coach Hanson couldn’t be here today, so I’m subbing for him. I’ve been a swimmer since I was a tadpole and, Mikie knows what Coach Hanson had you doing so, we’ll go with that.”

“Believe it or not, Coaches don’t decide the character of the team. You do.”

One of the younger boys squeaked, “We do?”

“Yes. You do. You decide what kind of teammate you are going to be. One thing I’ve noticed about this team, compared to some I’ve been on, the bullying and hazing is pretty minimal. That’s a very good start. Some of you have been on the wrong end of bullying. If you know how that feels, it’s a good reason to not be a bully.”

Phillip removed his shirt and continued, “If you want this to be a great team, a team you enjoy, a team that it’s fun to be a part of, be the kind of teammate that you want to have.”

Several boys didn’t get it but the Curtis brothers did. One of them said, “You’re talking about the Golden Rule aren’t you: do unto others...”

Phillip nodded and said, “If you want your teammates to have your back, have theirs. If you want your teammates to help you, help them. Don’t be mean to the younger kids just because you can. They call it the Golden Rule because it works really well, even when you aren’t in Sunday school.”

Phillip took off his shorts and was wearing his jock. He said, “The reason I’m changing with you is, I’ve been a swimmer and, I know just how... vulnerable those darned Speedos make you feel. At your age random boners and such can be really embarrassing, especially in Speedo.”

There was a nervous twittering of laughter.

He reached inside his gym bag, pulled out his swimmer’s jock and said, “You guys might decide to try one of these. They’re called swimmers jocks. They are light and sheer; you can wear them right under your Speedo.”

Phillip slipped out of his jock, slipped into his swimmers jock and pulled on his Speedo right on top of it. He didn’t overtly look at the boys, but he could see them. He noticed most of them had sprouted boners and the rest were crossing legs and or were suddenly very interested in their towels.

“When you are wearing one of these, things don’t flop around and get unruly.”

The boys chuckled nervously and Tanner asked, “What about Jammers?”

Phillip replied, “I just don’t know what the league rules are. I think most teams like to keep everything uniform. It will probably be all Speedo or all Jammers but, I doubt they want to mix them, especially in competition. So, are you guys ready to go?”

There was much blushing and nervous laughter and Phillip said, “Oh. That just goes to show: they’re random and, happen at the most embarrassing time and, they’re contagious. Think about what I said and, decide what kind of team you want and the kind of teammate you want to be. I know the kind of team I would want: one that is fun, you’re all close and help each other out. Take a few minutes, talk it over, and I’ll see you in the pool shortly.”

Phillip left the locker room in nothing but his scarlet Speedo, the color of his old team. The color here was supposed to be cobalt blue but, that’s what he had. To kill time he jumped in the water and swam a few laps.

According to the clock, it took twelve minutes for the team to exit the locker room looking flushed and relaxed. During the nine o’clock break Mikie whispered, “How on earth did you know that would work?”

Phillip replied quietly, “It worked on my old team.”

Mikie said, “But a circle jerk?”

Phillip said, “Think about it. After a circle jerk, how can you make fun of your teammates for boners or any of the usual locker room stuff? It’s a bonding thing. I didn’t tell them to do it. They figured it out for themselves.”

After their short break at nine, the team practiced hard until ten o’clock. They were loose, laughing and having fun. For some mysterious reason, the Barracudas were never quite the same. They were no longer just a bunch of individual swimmers. They had become a true team.