Mason Found Ryan’s Missing Soccer Gear Inside a Black Case — Then Coach Sarah Checked the Field Cameras
Chapter 8 — The Player Rankings
The club used performance data to decide who entered regional development camps.
Sprint speed.
Passing accuracy.
Match minutes.
Fitness scores.
Derek had administrator access because he assisted with player evaluations.
Sarah downloaded the edit logs.
The pattern was obvious.
Players competing for positions against Caleb Walsh had repeatedly received lower recorded scores.
Some changes were tiny.
One missed pass added here.
A slower sprint time there.
One fitness test marked incomplete.
Individually, none looked suspicious.
Together, they changed rankings.
Caleb moved steadily upward.
Ryan, Mason, and several others moved down.
Tyler looked confused.
“But I’m not competing with Caleb.”
Sarah opened his record.
Tyler’s score had been increased.
He stared at Derek.
“Why did you help me?”
Derek said nothing.
Sarah understood.
Tyler was Derek’s proof that the system wasn’t biased.
A player with improved scores who wasn’t his son.
Something he could point toward if anyone questioned the rankings.
Tyler looked sick.
“I thought I earned those numbers.”
Sarah’s expression softened.
“Some of them you did.”
“Which ones?”
She couldn’t answer without checking everything.
Tyler looked toward the floor.
Mason understood exactly how he felt.
It was one thing to lose fairly.
It was another to discover someone had been moving the scoreboard before the competition even started.
Sarah immediately contacted club director Robert Hayes.
When he arrived and reviewed the records, he asked Derek only one question.
“How long has this been happening?”
Derek remained silent.
The security footage and edit logs answered for him.
Almost an entire season.
