Blanco's season took a turn for the worse when he was wheeled off the basketball court from practice on a stretcher. As he came down from an attempted lay-up, his knee completely buckled. My initial thought was that he tore his ACL or MCL, which meant his season would have essentially ended before it even started. I immediately cancelled practice so I could be with him at the hospital.
The Red Sox happened to be playing the Devil Rays that evening in Game 7 of the ALCS, so the two hour wait wasn't as painful. When Blanco's mother finally arrived at the hospital, she immediately thanked me for being there. That's all she said for the next twenty minutes. Blanco did all the talking from there...
The initial diagnosis was a slight tear to his ACL. Miraculously, Blanco was ready to play within a month. The original prognosis was 6-8 weeks. He came back in four weeks and expected to play and start immediately. I wanted to be cautious so I opted to use him in five minute stints during games. Blanco didn't like that.
A month or so after the injury (six games into the season), I decided it was time to trim the roster because there was way too much drama on the team. I gave the team a quiz on our signals and out of bounds plays. Four people failed with flying colors (guys who were playing in games and complaining about roles). They were immediately dismissed from the team.
Blanco actually passed the test, but what happened next still has me baffled. I started yelling at one of his teammates who was in the bathroom throwing up (Saturday morning...ahem) as a result of all the running they were doing.
Me: Guys claim to be committed to this team yet they're poisoning their bodies the night before practice!! This is ridiculous!
Blanco: (mutters something..)
Asst Coach: What you say?!?
Blanco: (muttering again...)
Asst Coach: Be a man!! Speak up so we can hear you!
Blanco: This isn't track practice. Why you got guys running like this? And why are you accusing guys of doing stuff outside of practice?? How do you know what he was doing last night?!
Me: You want the whistle, coach?!
Blanco: Not at all. (mutters again...)
Asst Coach: Speak up!!
Blanco: You know what? I don't need this sh*t! I'm done!
Asst Coach: There's the door!
Me: Have a ball on your way home!!
Blanco then grabbed a basketball because he thought I was telling him to literally "have a ball." I told him to put the ball back. He obliged by punting it to the other side of the court. His season was officially over six games into his first year. After finishing first semester with a 2.8, he dropped out of school second semester.
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