Full Stride

Reese Vaughan has been the fastest player in every room since she was ten: a scouting list she pretends she does not track, a Michigan hockey family that produces one phenom a generation, and a handful of pro roster spots that exist. Rest is a luxury she cannot afford, and softness is how you lose the spot.

Andy Fiala coaches ten-year-olds at the Barn with a patience he never gave himself as a player. He is not competition. He is not a scout. He falls first, and quietly, and he never asks her to slow down.

The season ends either way. The list comes out either way. Wanting him would mean taking her eye off the only clock she has ever trusted. He is the first person in her life who is not a race.