Page 49 of Scoring Chance

She continued discussing the exercise plan we spent the morning creating before we came over. It was simple and I had a feeling Olli would be bored out of his mind after one day, but it was necessary. We had to get him moving and restoring his range of motion as soon as possible so there was no lasting harm.

Once she was done, and he agreed to play nice, we moved to the mats in the center of the room.

“Go ahead and lay on your back, knees bent.”

Olli followed Madi’s instructions. I handed him a four foot long pole. “Start with this, resting on your back, arms extended.”

We walked him through raising the pole over his head, keeping his arms locked and back to the starting position. I watched while making notes about the number of reps he completed while Madi explained that we would work up to him lying on the bench so he could extend his reach backward in a few days.

“What’s next?” He asked as he used his right arm to get himself off the floor. I fought the urge to reach out and help him. I knew that wouldn’t be appreciated by the massive man.

Pride was the most common injury with athletes. They could work through the pain and get themselves fit enough to play again, but it was their egos that took the longest to recover.

“We’re going to do some rotator exercises,” Madi explained as I wrapped a band around the frame of a squat platform.

Olli stepped over, and I placed a rolled towel between his elbow and ribs, bending his arm at a ninety degree angle. I handed him the band, and Madi went over the instructions, telling him to pull his hand toward his right side and back in front of him.

The action worked his deltoid and would tell us a lot about the severity of his injury. He did three repetitions before I saw his lips tighten. I made a note in the binder and wondered if Madi caught it.

“That’s good.” She stopped him at eight counts, and he dropped the band from his hand.

We were pushing him for his first session, but I was happy with how much he could do. He was a fighter and I knew he’d push himself as far as he could to get back to his goal as soon as possible. I was happy for him. His injury could have taken him out for the season, but luckily, he didn’t dislocate it. That also meant Derrek’s time was limited.

It was a tricky balance. Maybe it was a good thing Derrek and I were just friends. I might not be able to separate my feelings as well if we were more.

Madi led Olli through the next exercise, wall push-ups, while I watched.

“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Olli bristled as he rested his palms flat against the wall.

“Do ten reps,” she challenged him, and they faced off with a silent stare.

He broke first and bent his elbows, slowly leaning forward. He pushed back and repeated the movement four times before I saw the first cringe.

“Stop,” Madi ordered.

Olli glared at her. “I’m fine.”

“No, you’re clearly not. We’re not going to keep going and make things worse. I know some of these seem too easy or even dumb to you, but you should know better. It takes simple movements to build back your strength and motion.”

He dropped his chin to his chest and sighed. “I know.”

I almost laughed. He was pouting at her now like a child.

“Can’t we just be done?”

Madi shook her head. “Do you want to be back on the ice in three weeks or six?”

He groaned and started on a new set. My phone vibrated in my pocket, and I turned away from them and pulled it out. Darrin, from the Cougars, was calling.

“Hello.”

“Hi Amelia. I know you’re not supposed to come in today, but I need some help. Any chance you could come to the arena?”

I glanced at Madi. She had her palm against Olli’s and was slowly pressing his hand back.

“Let me check on my schedule and get back to you.”

“Great, thank you.”