Gemotions

The coach clapped him on the shoulder, a gesture that usually brought a surge of adrenaline, but today, just made his stomach clench. "Jackson, we need you to move to cornerback." Jackson, a linebacker since peewees, felt his chest constrict. He could barely meet the coach's gaze.

His palms were slick with sweat as he walked towards the defensive huddle. He heard the muffled cheers of the other players, but they seemed distant, as if coming from another room. His cleats crunched on the freshly cut grass, the sound oddly loud in his ears.

He fumbled with his helmet strap, the plastic digging into his fingers. The playbook felt alien in his hands, the diagrams blurring before his eyes. All those new assignments, new responsibilities… It was a wall he couldn't see a way past.