Eric’s dad had signed off on the tournament. His mom had come up to his room. She’d told him the good news. But there was a catch. His dad wouldn’t be there to watch. Eric was bummed but he understood. He was nervous about the competition. What would happen if he had to fight Dan in front of everyone?
Today was the day. The Dekker Recreational Center was packed. The tournament was in a massive gym. Mats covered most of the gym floor. Multiple matches took place at the same time across the gym. Bleachers lined both sides. People sat in every available spot.
There would be eight matches for the finals. Those would take place in the center of the gym. All eyes would be on the finalists in each weight class.
Eric tried not to think about it. It was a skill in every tournament to focus on the now. Sometimes he didn’t feel like he was competing against his opponent. Expectations for him were high. People wanted him to be great. And he tried to be. Most of the time, he was.
Today those expectations were greater than ever. If he went up against Dan, what would the expectation be? Was he supposed to submit him in 10 seconds? Should he take it easy on him instead?
He looked around the gym. The Chen MMA Center students were warming up. The other centers had banners. Teams knew where they were supposed to be.
Sensei Chen never had a banner. “You should want to be close to your teammates,” he’d said. “You should stick together. Support one another. You don’t need a banner for that. If people want to know about the center, they’ll ask. Make them want to know about it by how you conduct yourself. With honesty, integrity, and intensity.”
Eric watched Sensei Chen as he talked to some officials. He knew Sensei always liked to go over the rules.
The team was stretching.
“If Dan makes it to the finals, you got it easy, bro,” Adam said.
“Why?” Eric asked.
“Because you’re going to fight that dude. You’ll murder him. He’s lucky he’s not facing me. I’d kill him even worse.”
The guys laughed. They knew about Dan. Everyone in the gym probably did.
The team members kept talking. They made comments about Dan.
Eric kept stretching. He told himself not to say anything. Focus was his main priority. But he just couldn’t. Not with the hateful words. Should he step away? Getting away from his team wouldn’t solve the problem.
“You’re lucky too, Adam,” Eric said as he touched his toes. “Dan would probably submit you in the first 30 seconds.”
The guys cracked up. Were they laughing at Adam? Eric hoped so. He didn’t want Dan to be the butt of a joke.
“How do you know so much about it?” Adam snapped.
More laughter.
Eric eyed Adam. He wanted to say more. But he’d said enough. He would be fighting all day. The last people he needed to spar with were his own teammates. Maybe the others would think twice before talking trash.