The Playmaker Project

by Daniel Peterson

  "Doesn't matter. Dmitry wants him in, so he’s in," said Victor.

  There was a pause.

  "Dmitry is now picking our study subjects?" asked Anna.

  "Don't go there, Anna. I explained this environment to you. This is not a university where everything is done by the book. Dmitry Bogdanov is an important investor in the club. We will keep him happy. Understood?"

  Anna felt the familiar knot in her stomach. She was still not used to this world of loose rules and questionable favors.

  "Yes, sir," she replied quietly.

  "Good. Let me know how the procedures go," said Victor, killing the connection.

  As she powered down the data display, Anna thought about her next conversation, which would not be any easier. She headed out of her office on her way to the field to see Stuart. Instead, the head coach turned a corner in front of her.

  "Coach Pennington," she called out before he stepped outside.

  He turned and looked up from his clipboard.

  "Oh, hello, Dr. Lehtinen," he said.

  "I was just on my way to see you," said Anna.

  "Uh, OK. I have training now. Something quick?"

  "Well, yes, I guess. I'd like to continue my assessment of two of your players tomorrow evening."

  "Again? You didn't get everything you needed yesterday?" asked Stuart with an exasperated look.

  "This is in addition to that. A sleep study where I can monitor them overnight," she said.

  "Come on now, this is getting a little much. What would you learn about them sleeping that's related to soccer?"

  "Quite a bit, actually."

  Anna could feel Stuart's gaze on her like a prosecutor cross-examining a witness.

  "Which players?" he said, with squinted eyes and a slight turn of his head.

  “Peter Borg and Aleks Ruchkin.”

  "Why those two?" asked Stuart.

  "From the data we collected, they seem to have the greatest potential to connect on the field," said Anna, feeling a twinge of guilt for only being somewhat truthful.

  Stuart's glare softened.

  "Interesting. I agree about Borg, but I have seen enough from Aleks," he said. "Just one night?"

  "Yes, that's all I would need for now," said Anna.

  "OK, I'll bring them over to your office after our team dinner and evening meetings," said Stuart attempting a smile as he passed.

  "Thank you!" said Anna.

  She was glad that her latest act of deception was over, but she knew that it was far from her last.

  11

  With a final blast on his whistle, Stuart signaled an end to the full squad scrimmage. The boys knew they had not played well, so they hustled to their coach to avoid making him even madder. Gathered in a circle around him, they braced for the tongue lashing.

  "Take a knee," said Stuart, tossing his tablet and visor cap on the ground. "Gentlemen, our season starts in five days. Raise your hand if you believe we are ready for our first scrimmage."

  Even if they had a hint of confidence, no one was brave enough to admit it.

  "Well, at least we have that in common," said Stuart. "I understand you've just met. But, we have work to do to build a team from these moving parts. We need to anticipate, communicate, and execute. We need to flow down the field with one-touch passing, two at the most. All I'm seeing is individual players with individual skills ignoring their teammates."

  Peter and Benny stole a glance at each other, remembering eerily similar advice from Eddie back in St. Cloud.

  Stuart stalked behind the two of them, snapping them out of their daydream.

  "This game is all about transitions, from defense to offense and offense to defense," he said. "Tomorrow, we will start work on all of it. That's it."

  The boys stood and began to head to the locker room.

  "Borg and Ruchkin, see me," said Stuart.

  The unlikely pair turned and followed their coach in the other direction.

  "Dr. Lehtinen would like to see you tonight for more testing, specifically your sleep," said Stuart. "Meet her at her office at 9pm and plan on spending the night."

  "Coach, what exactly is she testing?" asked Peter.

  "Not sure, but do what she says and don't give her any trouble," said Stuart.

  At five minutes to nine, Anna met Peter and Aleks in the hallway outside her office, steering them back down the way they came until they reached a door labeled "Medical 1". Inside, a horseshoe of rooms circled a central desk ringed with colorful monitors with additional screens hanging from above. The doorways to the individual rooms were dark with no windows. A group of three lab-coated assistants turned around and stood up from their chairs, each with a welcoming smile.

  "Gentlemen, please let me introduce my associates," said Anna, taking her position in front of the boys. "On my left is Dr. Werner Schalke, a neurology resident from the University of Helsinki. On the right is our nurse, Maria Ulvar. And next to me is Dr. Jami Herala, a post-doctoral biomedical engineer who works with me in my lab."

  Anna turned back to the duo and with a wave of her hand, said, "And this is Peter Borg and Aleks Ruchkin, a big part of the future of FC Kotka!"

  Peter scanned their faces, the command center of monitors behind them, and the mysterious, darkened rooms beyond. The promotional video he had watched on the plane mentioned state-of-the-art science and facilities. Still, this scene was something out of a sci-fi movie.

  "Our plan this evening is to learn about your sleep habits, both quantity, and quality," said Anna. "By understanding your brain at rest, we can better advise Coach Pennington about your brain's preparation for training and games."

  Aleks stood perfectly still. Peter stole a look to see if he even blinked. He would have much preferred having Benny at his side.

  "OK, first, change into your sleeping clothes, take care of anything you need to in the bathroom, then lie down in your bed. Please touch the screen next to your bed when you're ready, and we will come in to attach these electrode caps that you'll wear while you sleep," said Anna.

  "Like the ones we wore yesterday?" asked Peter.

  "Yes, similar, but these are more sensitive and fit more snugly as your movement will be more restricted," said Anna.

  The boys each chose a room and went about their nightly prep. The four researchers gathered in the control bullpen.

  "So, once the sedatives have set in, we can begin our work," said Anna quietly to her assistants.

  "They seem rather relaxed for what we're about to do," said Werner.

  "Yes," said Anna, not meeting Werner's eyes.

  "They do know the procedure we're performing on them?" asked Maria, noting Anna's hesitation.

  "They have agreed to in writing that we are using the latest science and technology to make them better athletes," said Anna.

  "Anna, sounds a little misleading," said Jami.

  "Not at all. You know as well as I do, Jami, that if we tell them exactly what we're doing, we risk a placebo effect," said Anna.

  "Do the coaches know?" asked Maria.

  "No, in fact, they do not know about the procedure at all, only that we're doing a sleep study," said Anna. "That is so we can ask them for their evaluations, before and after any new trials. It's the only way we would get objective, unbiased opinions."

  Once again, Anna felt the uneasiness in her stomach, telling her collaborators that secrecy was good. But she had worked this all out in her head last night lying awake in bed. She was in control of the experiment, confident that this would help them.

  “I don’t like the sound of this,” said Werner. “Is the University on board with it?”

  "Again, this is private research, completely funded by Mr. Niemi. The University is not involved," said Anna, trying again to ease their minds and hers.

  The two room lights were green on the main control panel. Maria called into Peter’s room and he opened the door for her and Jami.

  "Peter, we just need to do a few things, and then yo
u can get to sleep," said Maria.

  Jami prepared the cap, adding conducting gel to each electrode.

  "So what's all that for?" asked Peter.

  "This is just to help you be more comfortable so you can fall asleep," said Maria.

  "Peter, the mask you see there is for nitrous oxide or what your dentist might call laughing gas," said Anna, now standing in the doorway. "It just eases any anxiety you might have to help you relax. Maria also has a sleeping sedative for you."

  Maria handed Peter two orange pills with a cup of water. He downed the dose and waited for Jami to attach the skull cap. Next, Maria gathered the collection of wires trailing from the cap and snaked them back to a processing unit under the bed.

  "What happens if I have to get up during the night?" asked Benny.

  "You can always call Maria with a touch of the screen next to your bed. She'll be here all night, but we're pretty sure you won't wake up until tomorrow morning."

  Jami had Peter lie back on the bed with the cables draped to the side and secured with a plastic tie to the rail. Peter looked around the darkened room but could only make out a few details that reminded him of a hospital room. An overhead exam light hung over the bed. Two touch screens were behind him to his right, one showing the blip of his heartbeat, which received data from the clip that Maria had placed on his left index finger. Anna walked over to be by his side.

  "You're doing great, Peter. I'm going to put this mask over your mouth. Just breathe normally."

  Peter looked up at Anna as his thoughts began to wander. She looked like his mom when he was little. She would sit by his bed when he was sick and sing songs to help him sleep. Her reassuring smile, along with the nitrous oxide and the sedatives, let him drift into a deep, dreamless sleep.

  "OK, he's out," said Anna. "Let's get Aleks prepped, then we'll come back for the next step."

  Next door, the research team repeated the process of fitting the skull cap, offering the sedative, and administering the nitrous oxide to Aleks. Both were fast asleep within minutes. Anna returned to the center console, touching the status screen to confirm their semi-conscious states from the incoming EEG signals.

  "Jami, are we ready to go?" asked Anna.

  "Yes, I'm getting good signals," said Jami.

  "Let's start with Peter. Our window is only three hours, so we need to move quickly," said Anna.

  12

  "Good morning, Peter, how are you?" said the kind woman in his dream.

  They were walking their usual route along the last few city blocks of their neighborhood before Veterans Drive transformed into the state highway. With Amos, his ten-year-old basset hound, on the leash in front of them, Peter and his mom timed their evening walks to catch the sun setting over the soybean fields northwest of St. Cloud. Even as Peter grew older, he didn't mind being seen with her. Their conversation flowed from the latest at school to changes in the neighborhood to last night’s sports scores, all with an easy, unforced cadence. They would have to turn back soon before the mosquitos invaded the peaceful air around them.

  "Peter, it's time to wake up." An odd thing for his mom to say when they were out on a walk, thought Peter. Then, she nudged his shoulder, smiling, until he emerged from his deep sleep. He opened his eyes, disappointed not to find Amos' leash in his hand but rather a computer cable leading back to his head. Stark reality replaced the tranquil scene. Maria stood next to him, disconnecting the electrode skull cap cables with a smile less genuine than his mom's.

  "Do you remember where you are?" she asked.

  "In the sleep lab?" he said, rubbing his eyes. "Sorry, I was in the middle of a great dream."

  "The sedative we gave you often produces some wonderful dreams, usually of peaceful places."

  "Yeah, I was walking with my Mom and our dog back home," said Peter.

  "That's nice," said Maria without looking at him.

  "What time is it?" asked Peter.

  "7 am. We let you two sleep a little later to let the cobwebs clear."

  "Did you guys get the data you needed?" asked Peter.

  "Yes, everything went very well. You can all return to training," said Maria.

  With the cap removed, Peter ran his hand over his matted hair. His fingers stopped on a bandage on top of his forehead at his hairline.

  "Oh, don't worry about that. It's just a small cut," said Maria. "You may have scratched it in your sleep last night. I saw it this morning and took care of it. By the way, you have some visitors.

  Peter grabbed his shoes and yesterday’s training clothes then looked at Maria for permission to leave.

  "You're free to go," said Maria as she finished winding up the cords leading to the processing unit behind the bed. "In fact, you better get moving. You know what Coach Pennington thinks of being late."

  "Dude, I was watching your brain!" said Benny with glowing eyes and a mischievous grin as Peter stepped out near the central console. He saw Aleks and Pavel standing out in the hallway.

  "Don't worry, Peter, they only saw the last few minutes of your EEG activity before Maria disconnected the cap. How do you feel?" she asked.

  "Like I just slept for three weeks. I'm still a little groggy," said Peter.

  "That's perfectly normal and will wear off soon," said Anna as she switched off the primary monitor. "OK, gentlemen, time to go. Coach Pennington expects you on the field in one hour."

  They headed out of Medical 1 and down the hall back to their dorm.

  "Hey look, twinsies!" said Benny as he pointed to the small bandage on the foreheads of Peter and Aleks.

  “Weird. How did you get yours?” said Peter, joining the two Russians in the hall.

  "No idea, but I remember heading the winning goal of the World Cup before I woke up," said Aleks.

  Benny let out a snort of laughter as he passed them.

  "That is the only place you score the winning goal, in your dreams,” said Benny.

  "Yeah, like the U.S. would ever get to a World Cup final," Pavel shot back from behind.

  Benny stopped and began to turn until Peter put out his hand to urge him ahead. They were far enough ahead that Peter couldn't hear their conversation, not that it mattered since they spoke to each other in Russian. Of the two, Aleks seemed to lead while Pavel followed. Their English was thickly accented but understandable, although Pavel sounded less confident in his command of the language. While Aleks could deliver a well-timed one-liner, albeit awkwardly, Pavel was not as quick-witted, often just standing there with a devilish grin. On the field, Aleks tried to assert himself but Coach Pennington had preferred the taller American in a leadership role.

  Peter knew nothing of their backgrounds or why they came to Finland rather than stay in their homeland. Like he and Benny, they seemed above average in skill but not elite - physically gifted but not natural playmakers. Perhaps they were also there to prove themselves, seeking an opportunity to rise above their peers back home. But they held on to an attitude of superiority, not just from their age but a smugness that they knew more about the mission at FC Kotka.

  Anna returned to her office with Maria and dialed Jami and Werner on her cell phone, putting them on speaker.

  "Good morning. Let's go over last night as I need to update Mr. Niemi," she said.

  "We have positive signals from both," said Jami.

  Anna looked down at her tablet, viewing the same data that Jami was referencing.

  "And both woke with no complications," said Maria.

  "Any sign that they knew?" asked Werner.

  "No, nothing," said Maria. "Just normal chatter this morning before they left."

  "Well done, everyone," said Anna. "As you know, this is a big step for our program."

  Anna ended the call and followed Maria to the door, closing it behind her.

  Picking up her mobile phone, she texted Victor, "Phase 1 is complete. Off to training now."

  A few seconds later, a reply buzzed, "Excellent. Keep me updated."

  13
>
  The rest of the team was already on the field when the others returned. The sun was rising fast along with the temperature.

  "Hey, it's the bedtime boys. Did Anna tuck you two in last night?" said Charlie with a sneer.

  “I guess you’ll never know,” said Peter with a wink.

  Peter warmed-up next to Aleks.

  "Your head OK?" asked Peter.

  "Yes, of course," said Aleks, dismissing the inquiry.

  Stuart Pennington made his presence known with a long blast on his whistle.

  "Bring it in!" he bellowed.

  The team surrounded him and took a knee.

  "As you know, the Scandia tournament in Stockholm is next week. The academy teams from the biggest clubs in Europe will be there. We have four practices before we leave, so every one of them has to count. Today, we’ve invited our friends from Malmö for a scrimmage to see where we're at," said Stuart as he stepped to the electronic whiteboard posted next to the field. "Here's our line-up and formation. We'll try it out and make adjustments.

  With his finger, he electronically dragged the player icons to their starting position. Benny and Toshi were on the wings with Harry up top as a striker. Aleks and Peter were paired up in central midfield, with the second year prospects making up the defense with Miko in goal.

  The Swedish visitors were already warming up on the far side, having arrived by bus an hour before. To Peter, they looked older and a few inches taller. Kotka’s academy had faced them a year ago, getting trounced.

  "These lads are good," said Stuart as the Malmo players weaved through the warm-up drills. "They finished second at that Stockholm tournament last year."

  "Yeah, but you didn't have me last year," said Benny, juggling a ball as he talked.

  "We could have used you, mate," said Stuart, giving Benny all the kudos he was after.

  With a single blast on his whistle, the referee started the scrimmage. Peter spent the first few minutes assessing his teammates' movement against the Malmo team in their traditional yellow kits. Despite the last bits of grogginess wearing off, Peter felt good, moving smoothly as the ball shifted from one side to the other. With Aleks near him, they could pair up, cutting off angles of attack across the middle of the field. They found Benny and Toshi streaking up the sides with precise passes. As they sprinted towards goal, Aleks fired a laser shot that caromed off the right goalpost straight out to Harry, who slotted the rebound to the left of the keeper and into the net.