Glory Of The Footbal Chapter 144 144: The Interviews I

Monday, June 29th, 2016

Monday morning arrived with the kind of nervous energy I hadn't felt since my own interview five weeks ago. Today, I was on the other side of the desk. Today, I was the one asking the questions, evaluating candidates, and making decisions that would shape the future of the U18s program. No pressure.

Gary had booked the main conference room for the interviews. Two candidates today: Michael Torres at 10 am, Sarah Martinez at 2 pm. I'd spent Sunday night preparing questions, reviewing their CVs for the hundredth ti, trying to figure out what I actually wanted in an assistant coach.

Soone who could challenge

without undermining . Soone with experience but not so much ego that they'd resent working under a 27-year-old. Soone who understood modern tactics but could also connect with teenagers. Easy, right?

I spent the hour before Torres arrived pacing my office like a caged animal. The system, unhelpfully, displayed a notification:

[SYSTEM] Stress Level: Elevated. Recomndation: Breathe.

Thanks, system. Very helpful.

At 9:58 am, Gary knocked on my office door. "Ready?"

"As I'll ever be."

"Relax. You're interviewing him, not the other way around. You're the head coach. Act like it."

Easy for him to say. He wasn't about to sit across from a forr professional footballer and pretend he knew what he was doing.

Michael Torres arrived at exactly 10 am. He was shorter than I expected, maybe 5'9