Which of these statements would Paul most likely agree with?
A.
Football players should challenge their coaches.
B.
Tackling properly requires you to use your head.
C.
The way to improve is to be challenged.
D.
The first day of practice is the most important.

The Marfa Marlins
by Jon Caswell

The Marfa Marlins had not won a football game for three seasons. When Paul Scoggins joined the team before his junior year, they were the most dejected group of boys he had ever met. On the first day of practice, half the players were late. Paul couldn’t believe it when the coaches didn’t say anything. That indicated to him that no one really cared. At his previous school, those guys would have been running extra laps for a week.
After a week of practices before the school year started, Paul could clearly see the problem: there was no pride in being on the team, so no one put out the extra effort needed to win. It started with the coaches, who were more downhearted than the players. Rather than challenging the players to run faster or hit harder, they often stood together chatting and making jokes. There wasn’t any “coaching” going on, so it was no surprise to Paul that the Marlins were losing.
Paul decided to do something about it. When Coach Sorills set the defense up for a tackling drill one afternoon, Paul said to the coach, “I bet you can’t get past me.”
Coach Sorills had been an all-district running back in his day, but that was 10 years ago. Still, he couldn’t ignore a direct challenge, especially from a new player. “What are you betting?” he said.
“If you get by me, I’ll do 10 extra laps,” Paul said.
“If you take me down, I’ll shave my head,” Sorills replied. “Best two out of three.”
The team circled around. Player and coach lined up 15 yards apart. The head coach blew his whistle, and Sorills jumped into action. He came right at Paul then head-faked to his right and cut to his left. Paul was completely faked out and found himself grabbing air.
As Sorills walked past Paul, he said, “Don’t watch my head, son. Watch my middle. Wherever my belly’s going, that’s where I’m going.”
Paul smiled, it was the first time Sorills had coached him since he had gone out for the team.
They lined up again, and the head coach blew his whistle. Sorills jumped into action, but Paul charged forward and hit the coach before he had taken three steps. The players cheered. As the opponents lined up again, the players started chanting, “Haircut! Haircut!”
At the whistle, the two opponents started toward each other. Sorills gave a head fake to the right, but Paul didn’t go for it. He plowed his head into Sorills’ belly and knocked him to the ground. The players went wild.
The next day Coach Sorills came to practice with a shaved head and a new attitude. When two boys showed up late, he assigned them extra laps. After practice he called the players together and said, “Boys, I’ve decided to stay bald till we win district. If that takes five years, so be it.”
The following day, Paul and three other players had shaved their heads. The day after that, half the team had done it. Before the first week of school was finished, everybody on the team, including every coach, had taken the pledge and shaved their heads. For the first time in years, the Marfa players were proud to be Marlins. They worked hard, challenging each other to make that extra effort. The coaches were actually coaching. All that effort paid off when they defeated the Pecos Eagles by four touchdowns in their opening game. It was the first of many victories, and they did, in fact, win their district that very year.