Mr. Snow, obviously a spook, was definitely a pro at water polo, and I could see, by the look on everyone’s eyes, that being on his team was not only an honor but a surefire way to win.
Despite being in a swimming pool, you could see, Mr. Snow was built like a frogman. He stood about 6’2”, had a wingspan of about the same across, and seemed to do the eggbeater effortlessly. This was impressive because he was in his sixties.
As I hopped in the pool, he winked at me then nodded, and said, “today, I show you how to win,” in between his peppermint gum smacks. Why the hell anyone would want to be chewing gum in a pool is beyond me but I really got this vibe that Mr. Snow had carte blanche where ever he went.
He launched the ball about halfway across the pool in one movement that could only be described as kinetic genius. This was quite a feat to pull off in an olympic sized pool. Snow was clearly showing off, I thought, then I realized, where the ball landed, was exactly where he wanted it to. Mr. Snow did not make mistakes, he lived with intention.
Just then a loud whistle blew, and like a group of hungry sharks attacking their helpless pray, a frenzy started, and went on for minutes until our team finally captured the ball.
I rushed to help lead the ball in towards the goal, and Snow signaled to our teammate, McCutcheon, who was sprinting towards the goal. At first, it seemed like Mr. Snow wanted McCutcheon to pass the ball to him, but I heard Snow say “the new guy,” and point — where I was — behind him.
As the ball shot up towards me and skipped just ahead, I knew this was the set, to make the goal. I was in the right position and I took my shot, without hesitation.
After chills running up my spine, and a brief celebration with Snow and the team, we were on our way to the opposite end of the pool to defend our goal.
On the way there, Snow said, “How you reacted today, is how we always want you to react. Got that?”.
“Got it,” I said.
From then on, I knew that excellence was the name of the game, and the level of human I needed to be, was truly elite.