Donte leaves a note for his parents, departing home by six in the morning. When he arrives at the Boys and Girls Club, Mr. Jones comments that he’s small, making him less of a target. Jones immediately has him start doing push-ups. Donte struggles and almost gives up but doesn’t. Mr. Jones—who soon tells Donte to call him “Coach”—watches as Donte finishes. He says: “You just showed me how much you want it. I can teach a lot of things. But I can’t teach drive” (72).

After this, Coach seems like a different person. He smiles at Donte, who tells him not to call him “kid” after Coach does so several times. Donte feels like they’re both realizing that they can work well together. Donte’s never had a coach before. As he works out, he realizes that he can do physical activity. He feels like he can do anything. He thinks: “Who knew? Donte Ellison, athlete” (74).

The next day, Donte is incredibly sore. Donte explains why to Trey and Trey has him stretch. When their dad comes in, Trey reveals that Donte is working with Jones. Their dad says that he fenced in college and did ballet.