Coach Marquette in Kiss Me, Captain

Coach Marquette is the reason Emily Harper is at Lakeview University at all. She recruited Emily into the figure skating program, and the triple axel is the jump that won Emily her spot. On Emily's first days with the team, Marquette points to that jump in front of everyone and calls it the standard for the season.

That praise does Emily no favors with the rest of the team. It puts her above everyone, including captain Maddie Reyes, and Maddie's circle freezes her out even more. Maddie also warns Emily that the coach gets tired of new recruits quickly. It's Maddie's version of Marquette, and it shows the coach's approval is worth enough to fight over.

Marquette's strongest tool is the captain's title. She announces that a pre-season showcase, with each singles skater paired with a hockey player, will decide who leads the team. After the showcase, she keeps Maddie as captain. Then Emily outscores Maddie at regionals, and Marquette reopens the question, promising a final decision before Nationals.

She never seems to treat the title as permanent. It goes to whoever earns it on the ice, so it's always at risk. By sectionals, Maddie admits to Emily that she's afraid Coach will take it from her. That fear shows how much weight one quiet decision from Marquette carries.

Marquette usually steps in only when a fight spills over in front of the team. When Emily challenges Jenna Caldwell to a skate-off to prove she belongs, Coach shuts it down. Later, after Emily and Maddie split and Maddie spends nights on Derek Hastings's couch, Marquette calls them both into her office. She tells them their tension is hurting the team and that their Nationals spots are at risk unless they fix it. Maddie suspects Derek has been giving Coach details.

Her biggest decision comes after Jenna, Carol Martinez and Sophie Chen attack Emily in the showers. At an emergency meeting, Marquette takes all three off the Nationals roster and puts their scholarships under review. In the same meeting, she names Emily and Maddie co-captains as a compromise.

Making them co-captains is a very Marquette solution. She doesn't pick a winner. She ties the two rivals together and makes them share the team. Whether she understands what's really between them, the book doesn't say.

When Maddie falls on her triple axel at Nationals and is taken away by ambulance, Marquette handles the officials and the media. She gives Emily something to do: go to the locker room and collect Maddie's things. The next morning she finds Emily skating alone before dawn. She orders her off the ice, asks whether she's mentally ready to compete, and tells her to rest. Then she hands back Emily's phone, which has a voicemail from Maddie waiting on it.

Marquette's care looks like tough love. She questions Emily's readiness and still makes sure Emily gets the message from Maddie that helps her skate. Through the first fifty chapters, she stays a figure of authority more than a confidante.