I had a big smile on my face as I drove into the parking lot once more. The little pool adventure worked wonders to put me in a better mood, something that was significantly useful before a long tactical meeting.

When I arrived at the stadium once more, I bypassed the locker room and walked toward the meeting room. There were still almost two hours before the meeting started, so I expected to arrive to an empty room.

I found the lights already turned on. Probably one of the junior coaches to complete the preparations, I guessed.

I opened the door, only for my eyes to widen before I could take a step. I was surprised because I was greeted by six huge TVs fixed on the wall, with one composite one in the middle that almost covered the wall completely. Thin and shiny enough to shout they were brand new, I didn't doubt that even the cheapest cost in five figures, and the one in the middle probably into high five-figures, maybe even into low-six.

And the library had computers old enough to rival the relics in our museum.

I sighed resignation as I took a step inside. Like everything in life, if there was inequality, it was always better to be on the buttery side of the deal.

"Welcome to the hell, newbie," was the first thing I had heard as I stepped into the meeting room, only to find Thad already in the room, greeting me with a big smile as he spoke.

If it wasn't for his hulking stature and muscular body, it was easy to mistake him for a nerd. Papers piled in front of him, filling his huge desk. Only the middle of the table was empty, and only because he had a laptop — a sleek, expensive one — open, a game playing while he had a pen in hand, taking notes with a speed that would make a sociology doctorate candidate in her favorite class jealous.

But he wasn't alone.

"Hi, Thad," I said as I turned to the guy next to him. He looked small next to Thad, but it was just an illusion because he wasn't a literal giant, barely six feet, with a physique that reminded me of a sprinter rather than a football player. His hair was black, with a skin color to match. Still, I didn't remember him seeing him in practice, or at the party.

Still, his posture was far too confident to just be a new face.

"Captain, this is our newest linebacker recruit, Teddy," Thad explained. I nodded as I recognized Thad's intent, subtly warning me about his position, in case I decided to run my mouth. For a blond giant with anger management problems, he was surprisingly sharp and thoughtful under certain circumstances.

"So, you're the surprise nerd that managed to ruin the night of those useless guys," he commented, his tone surprisingly even.

"Yes, that's me," I said with a shrug. "As Thad mentioned, I'm Teddy, nice to meet you."

"Carter," he answered calmly, then his tone suddenly intensified. "Thad told me that you didn't play football for almost three years."

His tone was smooth, but that didn't hide the combative nature of his words. He was clearly unhappy with the sudden addition to his team, even as a backup.

He clearly took his role as the captain rather seriously.

I said nothing, nor did I take it personally. I would have been unhappy with the sudden addition of a random player, especially one that came with such significant commotion.

Instead, I pulled out my phone, and showed him the copy of the report and the training plan Coach Carmen had prepared earlier today. "That's my conditioning report, taken today," I said as I passed to him.

There was no harm showing him that, since, as a captain, he would have direct access if he asked the coaches.

He swiped the screen several times as he intently read the contents before passing it to me. "Not bad," he said before turning his attention back to Thad. "So, do you think we can defend our B-gap against their run game if they use a surprise gun formation?" he asked as he shifted his attention away, his concerns clearly satisfied.

He asked no questions about tactics and formations to me, as he clearly not expected me to know anything. A reasonable assumption, considering I was yet to flip a page of the playbook.

I wanted to interrupt their talk, but Thad once again reacted faster, and threw a booklet for me. "Our core zone coverage plays," he explained before he turned his attention back to their discussion, discussing various formations and signals.

"Paper?" I asked even as I turned my gaze toward the many screens and tablets that filled the room.

"Coach Bill doesn't like putting our active schemes on anything digital," Thad explained. "The screens are there to watch the film of the opponents."

I couldn't help but shook my head in amusement as they returned to their discussion, amused by their lack of technological understanding. Even if they were afraid of hackers — which, considering the money involved in college football, was not exactly misguided — all they needed was to connect it to a computer with no internet connection, and it would have been safer than paper.

Naturally, I kept my mouth shut. I was already unwelcome before starting to throw my opinion about their operations. Certainly not as a chess player, and certainly not on their relative technology usage. Instead, I split my attention between reading the booklet and listening to their focused discussion about the merits of different formations, trying to decide which ones were more likely to be employed by the coach.

Not that I missed the irony in their focus. They used nerd as an insult because I was a chess player, yet their studying was every bit intensive as I used for chess, the relative simplicity of football formations — compared to the chess, at least — was balanced by the uncertainty relating to the ability difference, performance of the players, and other factors like exhaustion and injury

However, as they spoke, I noticed something interesting. Particularly, the writing implement Carter was using. He was using a fountain pen, something that looked a touch out-of-place among piles of football equipment and high-tech screens.

I wouldn't be surprised if Thad had one, as I had seen just how rich he was. Multiple cars and a private villa sounded like a family that thought a fountain pen that was as expensive as a car was a good gift.

However, the fountain pen of the captain was different, the kind that looked sophisticated, giving the impression and complexity and money at the same time, but I recognized the signs of time on it despite good maintenance.

An interesting choice, especially combined with his clothing choice. A polo shirt, and khaki pants. Altogether, the more looked like a golf player than a football player. If his clothing had been similarly expensive, I would have guessed that it was a family memento, but I recognized the signs of someone trying to look richer and more sophisticated than their own means.

Once again, I kept my mouth shut, not really in a mood to delve into the reasons for his carefully-curated image. After all, I was the last person that could blame others for using carefully-crafted personas for their own benefit.

Instead, I focused on the playbook.

Just like Thad had mentioned, it was exclusively Zone coverage, and they were the simpler ones.

That didn't surprise me. Essentially, there were two types of coverage, man coverage, and zone coverage. In man coverage, each defensive player was assigned to defend a particular skill player on the other side, with only one safety on the back of the line, while in zone schemes, each player had an area they were responsible for.

Technically, man coverage was the superior option left as it left no in the defense, and on average, the man coverage resulted in smaller plays from the opposing offense.

Of course, there was a reason zone coverage existed despite the superiority of man coverage. It came two-fold. One, man coverage was more challenging for the defensive players to employ. Not only physical mismatches had been punished horribly, but also each player had to read the offense much better to position themselves correctly.

So, to employ it efficiently, defense required both the physical superiority — or equality, at least — and a significant experience, a combination hard to come by, especially in college, with a revolving door of players.

The other, and arguably worse, a drawback of man coverage was that, if the play broke down, it resulted in higher gains, including very long touchdowns.

The zone coverage was both simpler and safer in the application. Each player had a zone to defend, and they were not responsible for defending any movement outside their assigned area.

Unfortunately, with four linemen usually tasked to attack the quarterback, it left seven players to defend the whole backfield, which was hardly efficient. So, there were always gaps between zones, something a skilled quarterback could abuse easily.

Despite higher-than-average gains for the offense, it wasn't as bad, as not only it was easier to implement, but also when failed, it didn't usually result in horrible losses.

Ultimately, however, like chess, no scheme was so superior that it could be used exclusively. It always relied on trickery to make the opponent have misread, which was why coaches always did their best to disguise their schemes, trying to sell the man coverage as zone, or zone as man.

It was all about doing what others didn't expect.