Trials in Youngstown, Ohio

By Wolfgang Cooper

Trials In Youngstown, Ohio is the story of Matt Burns, a young man who has a difficult time living up to lofty expectations that have been set for him by family and friends. Matts junior and senior years at Howland High School are filled with the frustration of performing poorly both in sports and academics. Matt takes a crack at just about everything. He tries out for the swim team, the baseball team, and the tennis squad. He fails to make any of them. Realizing his fathers love of football, Matt occasionally dreams of heroic exploits on the gridiron, but is intimidated because of his past failures. Matt is also having trouble scholastically. No matter how hard he tries, he cannot seem to pull anything better than Cs and Ds. Matts failures are compounded by the fact that his brother and sister, both students at Ohio State University, and both borderline ego-maniacs, are extremely successful at sports and academics. For Matts mother, Carol, daughter Sherri and son Randy are the apples of her eye, while at best youngest son Matt is the enigmatic ugly-duckling of the family. Matt does have one thing going for him - he is a gifted artist. Although not an athlete, he has an uncanny knack for rendering the exploits of the playing field almost as well as the world-renowned sports artist, Leroy Nieman. A few of his close friends encourage his efforts, as does his father, Roger, who is a likeable fellow whose only real concern is trying to keep his family together. Matt appears to have a new lease on life as he begins his freshman year of college at Youngstown State, but the smooth sailing only ends up being the calm before the storm. Out of the blue, Matt is hit with a paternity suit from a conniving old girlfriend. To compound this problem, Matts father has quit his secure job with General Motors and has started his own architecture firm. Although business looked good at the outset, Roger Burns & Associates is floundering financially. Within months, Matts entire world is turned upside down. He is suddenly faced with major legal costs. He is kicked out of the house by his mother. He faces the very real possibility of having to quit college because of his fathers financial difficulties. He loses his job as a designer for the college sports magazine. The toughest pill to swallow is the loss of close friends when the going gets tough. Through all of this turmoil, Matt and his father eventually grow much closer. Roger Burns is unexpectedly receiving a taste of what Matt has been going through for years, that being a kick-in-the-ribs instead of a helping hand. In a story that is a wonderful combination of Rocky, Rudy, and All The Right Moves, Matt bounces back and fights his way through numerous life challenges, proving to adversaries and fickle friends that he is a WINNER.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Apr 17, 2000
• ISBN: 9781462828180

Wolfgang Cooper

· A graduate of Ohio University, Wolfgang Cooper has over 20 years experience in the television, radio and video production industry. Having worked as a writer, producer, and a sports and news anchor, he is currently Vice-President of Marketing for a post-production firm which specializes in high-end graphics and videotape editing. · Siegfried Knappe, after his release from the Soviet Union, made his way to West Germany, and then to the United States. Settling with his family in Xenia, Ohio, he worked for 23 years in the international division of National Cash Register. He retired in 1983 at the age of 66.

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Copyright ©2000 by Wolfgang Cooper.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

This book was printed in the United States of America.

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris Corporation

1-888-7-XLIBRIS

www.Xlibris.com

[e-mail]

Contents

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Dedication:

This book is dedicated

to my parents, Joseph and Janet...

To my sisters Elizabeth and Barbara...

and to my brother, Steven.

A special note of thanks, and love, goes out to my wife, Diane.

1

1976—Youngstown, Ohio. The natatorium of Howland High School is a beehive of activity. A group of roughly twenty-five boys, mostly juniors and seniors, are loosening up around the pool, methodically going through the paces of preparing for time trials. The two coaches of the swim team are huddled together in the corner, going over final preparations and trying to decide in what sequence they will use different strokes. Today is a big day—the day they will decide who will be on this year’s varsity swim team.

Matt Burns is standing alone next to one of the diving platforms. Matt is a good looking young lad, but clearly his confidence is not up to par. He is scared out of his skull. What the hell am I doing here? he seems to be asking himself. Matt looks over at the other guys and they seem to be taking this whole thing in stride. Matt is definitely in the wrong place at the wrong time. He is so nervous his eyes are bulging out of his head like some creature from another galaxy, and his stomach is churning so fast he feels like he’s about to lose his breakfast.

Coach Lou Babcock and his assistant, Larry Johnson, walk up to the edge of the pool where five starting blocks have been placed. Babcock takes one more quick look at his chart.

Okay guys, let’s get the lead out, bellows Babcock. First up I want Lewis, Norton, Grimes, Omatsu and Zimmler. We’re gonna start with one hundred meter freestyle.

As the five boys who have just been called appear out of the pack and take their places on the blocks, Matt is trying his best to disappear into the wall. Larry Johnson walks over to the side of the pool and pulls out a starting gun. The swimmers on the blocks get in the ready position. As the gun goes off to begin the race, Matt comes inches away from bladder malfunction. He clutches at his ill-fitting Speedo swimsuit. It might not be the Olympics, but all five boys off the blocks are extremely good swimmers. The race ends practically in a dead heat.

Babcock walks back towards the starting blocks, pleased with the first run. Okay guys, that was good. Next up I want Stevens, Mathews, Fuller, Gordon and Burns.

Matt’s name has been called. Good God, it’s time to take the plunge, he thinks to himself. Stevens, Mathews, Fuller and Gordon make their way to the starting blocks, walking with cocky struts as if to tell the world, Hey, this is no big deal. As Matt climbs onto the block, he looks nervously over at his classmates, wishing at this moment that he was anywhere but in the natatorium.

Already growing impatient with the tryout session, Coach Johnson walks over to the blocks. Are we ready to go? I don’t plan on being here all evening.

Four of the boys nod their heads intently that they are indeed ready to start. Matt stares numbly at the coach and turns his gaze back towards the water. Coach Johnson waits for a moment, then fires the gun. The boys dive like arrows into the water, making their way to the far end of the pool. Matt truly believes for a moment that it might be a close race, until he realizes he has gotten himself tangled in the rope that separates the lanes. Matt is in Lane Five, and he feels like a giant squid has draped itself around his entire body. God, I feel like such an idiot, he thinks to himself. Matt finally kicks free of the rope and tries to finish the heat. Of course, by this time the other four swimmers have long since finished. Matt manages to make his way to the other end of the pool, where he practically leaps out of the water. He immediately wonders if he should have told the coach that he can’t open his eyes under water. Babcock probably would have told Matt that’s a bit of a handicap if you are attempting to make the swim team.

As Matt stands at the edge of the pool, he feels naked before the world. He shrugs his shoulders at his classmates, trying to act like his entanglement during the race was no big deal. His act of nonchalance isn’t very convincing as his eyes give away the fact that he wants to crawl into a hole and die. On the other side of the pool a group of swimmers have gathered around the starting blocks, laughing uproariously at Matt’s misfortune.

Coach Babcock steps in front of some of the hecklers and yells, Hey Burns, I have a feeling we may want you to try that again.

The remark naturally brings more streams of laughter from the Mark Spitz wannabes. Matt just stares at the ground, trying to figure out how quickly he can dig a hole to China.

It’s a couple of days after Matt’s disastrous showing at the swim team tryouts. He finds a group of boys clustered around a list posted inside one of the locker rooms. All eyes are anxiously scanning the list to see if they have made the team. It takes only a moment for Matt to realize that his name is missing. What a big surprise, he thinks to himself, I haven’t made the team. With disillusion painted across his face, he snakes through the cluster of bodies in the locker room. Just then, as Matt is trying to make his way down the hallway without being recognized, he’s confronted by Art McLain and Kenny Heath, two of the school’s premiere jocks.

Burnsy, where are you going? chides McLain.

Heath moves closer to Matt. Aren’t you gonna check the list? he says snidely. I’m sure you made the team.

Yeah, look at this crowd. It’s my guess that all the guys are just checking to make sure Babcock didn’t screw up and leave you off, says McLain.

Heath moves his stinking breath even closer to Matt’s face. If he did, who are we gonna get for the free-style lane change.

The two muscle-bound sports stars break into a fit of laughter, along with a number of other boys who are close enough to hear the cutting remarks. Matt’s jaw tightens but no words come out. He looks at them both for a moment, then turns and walks back down the hallway without saying a word.

2

1977—Youngstown, Ohio. Many of the boys who were trying out for the swim team the previous year are now involved in baseball tryouts. Howland High School has always had a strong team, thus positions are going to be hard to come by. The young men gather around Coach Gary Shwab for a quick pep talk.

I know this is the first time trying out for some of you guys, but I just want to let you know that everyone has an equal chance. If you’re the next George Brett, you can rest assured that I’ll be able to tell. All right men . . . LET’S GO!

The boys whoop it up for a short moment. The cheers quickly fade as one group heads for the dugout and another group heads for the playing field to take their positions. The action on the field begins to heat up as some of the better players start peppering the ball to all corners of the field. It looks like Howland will once again be fielding a juggernaut with players like this to choose from. Shwab and his two assistants yell encouragement to the various batters.

Matt Burns is also in attendance. He is buried deep in the team dugout, rubbing his palms together and loathing the moment that he has to step up to bat. Suddenly, a loud voice jolts him out of his daydream.

Burns, let’s go, says Coach