Almighty Coach

by Stayrr

How could a poor graduate student without any background or connections become successful? With a coaching system? An upgrade? This is not a computer game, but real life we’re talking about! This will be a fantasy based on reality. Dai Li will fight back against all those who would mock and humiliate him with his astonishing and awe-inspiring training skills. From a nobody he’ll t

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Chapter 91: A Challenger

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Beikou Training Center, Meeting Room.

"Feixiang Lin's final result is 13.29 seconds. I've told you everything that happened in the game. This is the end of my report." coach Ding put down the documents, then turned to the chief coach of national track team, Shuren Zhao.

"Are you saying that Feixiang Lin is recovered?" As he spoke, coach Zhao's eyebrows raised involuntarily. Happiness appeared on his face.

"13.29 seconds. Even though it is not Lin's best performance, it serves as good proof of his ability. He's OK for the competition."

"Is this result valid? Is there any problem?" coach Zhao confirmed with coach Ding.

Coach Ding knew what coach Zhao meant. He immediately replied, "After the game, we directly checked Lin's blood rather than his urine. The results showed that everything was normal."

Coach Zhao laughed out loud. "That's great! A prodigy who returns is more precious than gold. Lin did not give up and neither did we. Our next task is to guarantee that Lin's training is top notch and try our best to support him! The key point is to help him return to his best status and win glory for the country! Coach Ding, you are in charge of this. Whatever you need, report to me directly."

Lin was the most famous athlete in the country, as well as the trump card for the national team. Lin was once treated as the treasure. Now that Lin was recovered, coach Zhao immediately shifted his attitude and regarded Lin as a god.

Zhao continued, "We can't only focus on Lin's training. We should also take care of his personal life. Don't let him do wrong again. Coach Ding, you talk to Lin later and see what he wants. If it is anything that is reasonable, keep him satisfied."

"Speaking of personal needs, there is one thing that Lin asked permission for. He has an assistant coach who is on secondment from the provincial team. His original plan was to stay here for three months, and now it's coming to an end. But Lin wants the guy to stay for one more month," said coach Ding.

"Really? What's his name? How old is he? Is he good at coaching?" asked coach Zhao.

"His name is Dai Li. He is in his early twenties, and from Hanbei Provincial Sport Team. As for his capacity, because he is young he might not be very skillful," coach Ding responded casually.

Upon hearing that Dai Li was so young, coach Zhao lost interest. He said, "This Dai Li is the same age as Lin. I guess they have found some common interests. Well, let Li stay for one more month, that is fine. Just inform the Hanbei Sport Team beforehand."

As Zhao said that, the door suddenly opened. Director Zhang rushed in, looking flustered.

"Coach Zhao, there is something I have to tell you," Director Zhang said frantically.

"Take your time," coach Zhao said, pointing at an empty chair.

After Director Zhang sat down, he opened a document and said, "We just received breaking news that in the International Grand Prix in Czech, the famous Cuban hurdler David Bose just won the championship in men's 110m hurdles. He broke Feixiang Lin's world record with a 12.87 second performance!"

"What?" The group was suddenly thrown into a panic. Apparently nobody was willing to hear this bad news.

...

"David Bose got 12.87 seconds, 0.01 second clear of you. He will also be in the 'Qatar Money Game.'" Li then asked Lin, "I remember some media source once mentioned that Bose is your old enemy. Now you are going to fight against each other again. Do you feel stressed out?"

"Pressure pushes me forward," said Lin with a calm expression. He recalled his experience, saying, "The year I got a gold medal in Olympics was the first time I had heard about him. He won second in the IAAF World Junior Championships. Two years later, we met for the first time in the same game. He was only 20. I remember it was in a Grand Prix in Paris. I wasn't paying much attention to him, but later he gave me a head-on blow. He took the gold medal from me."

"Was it the year you broke world record?" asked Li.

"Yeah. That year in the game that I got the record, Bose was only fourth. In the later World Championships and World Cup, he got all bronze. Then while I was injured he took my place as the number one hurdler," Lin said, sighing.

"Yeah, it happened all of a sudden," said Li.

"I've been wasting too much time these last two years. Bose has been following in my footsteps, but now it's my turn to catch up!" Lin looked forward, wondering about something. Then he turned to Li and said, "I requested that you stay another month. They approved it. I'm sorry I didn't ask you before."

"I don't care," Li said, shrugging his shoulders. "The longer I stay here, the more travel allowance I can get. It's you who should worry. There is only one month left before the 'Qatar Money Game.' You still have a long way to go."

"I know." Lin looked serious. "I want to get first place! I can't allow Bose to defeat me!"

"You wanna win the game?" Li never would have thought that Lin was such an ambitious person. If Lin didn't have such a firm look, Li wouldn't have taken it seriously.

"You told me that as an athlete, I belong to the field. Now that I'm standing in the place where I belong, my only goal is to be a champion!" Lin said steadfastly.

"But you are not at your top level. It might offend you, but I still want to tell you—according to your current ability, David Bose is stronger than you." Li told Lin the truth, not holding anything back.

Li knew Lin's ability the best out of anyone. Lin's ability was less than 800 points according to the system. With the explosive force halo he was barely able to compete against Teng Dong. David Bose had just broken the world record, which meant he must have had more than 920 points of ability. There was a 150 point gap between Lin and Bose, and no halo would make up the difference.

Hearing what Li said, Lin felt a little uncomfortable. But he still nodded. "The current me is not as good as Bose. I need more intensive training! I have wasted two years, I can't waste time anymore."

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Chapter 92: Super High-Intensity Training

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Educational training theory asserted that in order to improve one's ability or quality, one must be trained in an environment where one's capacity reached the extreme. Previously, Dai Li simply took it as a theory from a textbook. After he had participated in Feixiang Lin's training, he finally understood the idea.

Li recalled what he had experienced in the Sports University. Their training intensity was a joke compared to the national team. Even the provincial sport team's training was less than adequate in comparison. It was no wonder the national team was the best in the country. Its training intensity was extraordinary.

Feixiang Lin's so-called "more intense training" shook Li. Such high strength was above Li's imagination. Li began to believe that Lin also had a plug-in system. Otherwise how else could he bear such frightful training?

Lin's body was truly being stressed to the limit. It was not only torture of an athlete's body, but an ordeal of human willpower. Seeing Lin so exhausted that he fell to the ground breathing heavily, then stand up and struggle again after a short break, Li believed that no one else could be as tough as Lin. Nobody could persist through this training for such a long time.

It is true that no one can succeed just by coincidence. Lin was able to break world records not just because of his talent. His effort, will, and stamina also helped him to succeed. Li sighed with respect.

Lin wasn't fighting alone now. He had found the real him, and the national team was willing to offer their best resources. Coach Ding returned to Lin as his chief coach, while the team also provided a training coach and two assistant coaches.

Being an assistant coach for a speed contest was tough work. Athletes usually used the "Competition Method" to enhance their performance. The "Competition Method" was to create a competitive atmosphere in which the assistant went the full distance with the athlete. Such a method could provide a contrast of speed, this way the athlete could have a clear concept of how fast he had run. If the athlete ran by himself, he would probably got stuck behind a "speed barrier," which meant that he would only have a vague concept of speed. It was difficult to improve one's self this way.

With this method, the assistant tried to run faster than the athlete, which allowed the athlete to speed up and surpass them. But the fact of the matter was that the assistant must not be as good as the athlete, otherwise the assistant could be an athlete himself. Therefore, in the 100m or 200m sprint, the assistant would start beforehand when. But 110m hurdle didn't need to be that complicated. The assistant and the athlete started together, but the assistant only ran the first three hurdles, then sprinted for the finish line. In this case, the assistant could have the lead.

Lin had increased his training intensity, which in turn had increased the assistants' tasks. The two assistants took turns assisting. Even though they only had half of Lin's training amount, they were exhausted.

Li had a different job. In addition to being a recorder, Li also became Lin's masseuse. Whenever Lin was fatigued, Li would give him some muscle relaxation.

During breaks, athletes would receive massages to relax their muscles, which made lactic acid decompose quickly. It was especially beneficial for athletes after high-intensive training. In countries with developed sports industries like America, an athlete would receive some high-tech treatments, such as cryotherapy and auxiliary respirators.

In the very beginning, coach Ding didn't pay much attention to Li's massages. As a track coach, massaging was a required skill, due to the fact that athletes built up lactic acid or even inflammation during training. Coach Ding still remembered back before Lin had become famous, it was he who had massaged Lin. But as time went by, coach DIng noticed some differences.

Lin looks content. Is it because Li's massage really works? Coach Ding looked at an exhausted Lin, pondering.

After a while, Lin stood up. Although he still looked tired, he was more relaxed and energetic. It was obvious in the follow-up training.

Coach Ding was one of the world's top coaches, so he could tell what Lin's status was just by one glance, whether it be physical or mental. What coach Ding was finding now was that after a massage from Li, Lin looked completely different. He didn't look like an extremely tired person at all.

The massage looks effective. Considering Lin's high-intensity training, if one massage can put him in good condition it is impressive. The famous masseuses I know might have such an ability, but ordinary masseuses cannot do it."

Thinking about his, coach Ding turned to Dai Li involuntarily.

It was after Li joined our team that Lin started to train regularly. Even though I don't understand why they have been doing broadcasting gymnastics so much, it is also true that he returned to his original status within two months. Did Li really make everything happen this way? Lin asked Li to stay for another month. I used to think that Lin had found some common interests with Li, but now it looks like it is probably because of Li's massages. Seems like I underestimated Li.

Coach Ding kept thinking to himself, then walked close to Li and said, "Li, you are good at this. Have you ever learned to massage before?"

"My undergraduate major was physical training. I learned some subjects about massage. My teacher said I was gifted in this area, so I had some special training in it," said Li.

Li realized that Coach Ding had noticed his muscle relaxation. He himself also knew that the massage was abnormal, and if he said he had never learned it before coach Ding would have his doubts about him. Besides, Li didn't learn from any teacher. To cover it up, he used "gifted skill" as an excuse.

Coach Ding nodded agreement. "Talent" was something that could not be explained with theories. There were always some gifted people in all areas. Ordinary people might not be able to reach their level even if they struggled their entire lives.

Coach Ding kneaded his waist, then said, "Li, my waist has been hurting for days. Could you give me a massage after you finish training?"

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Chapter 93: Invitation and Rejection

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Dai Li was used to people's content look after they received a massage from him. Right now, coach Ding looked the same.

"Nice, I like it. Knead harder," Coach Ding murmured with comfort. " I have been suffering from waist intervertebral disc protrusion for dozens of years. Those masseuses with little strength can't even make me feel their kneading. I'm really jealous of you young people, you have so much strength, and your kneading is working..."

"Coach Ding, did you say that you have waist intervertebral disc protrusion?" Li asked casually.

"You know I'm an old man. Of course I have some problems. We coaches exercise everyday, we may not have the 'three high diseases (Hypertension, Hyperglycemia and Hyperlipidemia),' but we easily get cervical spondylopathy, scapulohumeral periarthritis, and arthritis." Coach Ding was beginning to chat with Dai Li.

I'm using muscle relaxation right now. If I use rehabilitative massage, it might work on coach Ding's disability! Li recalled the related theory about waist intervertebral disc protrusion.

Usually waist intervertebral disc protrusion is formed by a degenerative disease and lumbar injury. To cure this disease, in addition to surgery, there are some other treatments such as traction, physiotherapy, and massage. For patients with slight symptoms, surgery is not necessary. Some patients may only need to lie in bed for a few days to recover. If lying in bed is also a method for self-recovery, then my rehabilitative massage would probably be effective for coach Ding.

Thinking about this, Li changed his method. He shifted from muscle relaxation to rehabilitative massage.

"Why did you change techniques?" Coach Ding felt the difference right away. Li's method had changed.

"This one is not as effective as the last one. I can't feel the relaxation," coach Ding pondered. Suddenly a sharp pain shot along his spine.

"Ow!" coach Ding shouted out. The pain came from his lumbar. He felt like he was hit by a heavy hammer. Even though it had only lasted a split second, coach Ding was sweating a lot. But once the pain was gone, he felt carefree. The coziness was indescribable.

"Awesome!" Coach Ding sighed with astonishment.

Li noticed that his empirical value increased as the system presented it. This meant that his rehabilitative massage indeed worked on waist intervertebral disc protrusion. Although it could not cure the disease, it could release coach Ding's pain.

After a while, coach Ding stood up and twisted his waist. He even tried a set of rapid squats. But, to his surprise, he didn't feel any lumbar pain.

"Hey, your massage is pretty cool! Previously I had to stoop slowly, but now even if I stoop hard I'm still OK!" said coach Ding.

"I suggest you not stoop too hard. You have to take care of your lumbar daily. If you stoop one more time, my effort could have been spent in vain," Li said as he was about to wash his hands.

"Li!" Coach Ding suddenly stopped Li. "Would you like to join the national team? I mean, get a formal job here?"

"Work for the national team?" Li was surprised. He never expected coach Ding to bring this up all of a sudden, let alone offer this great opportunity to him.

To any domestic coach, working for the national team was the dream. Being a coach for the national team meant standing at the top of pyramid. Moreover, being recruited to the national team was also proof of a coach's ability.

However, not everybody could join the national team. Take coach Yuejin Chen, who had brought Dai Li to the Sports University. He only worked for the national team on occasion, and it was an old story. Considering coach Chen's current ability, the national team wouldn't even give him a chance for interview. But even despite this cruel fact, coach Chen still prospered among Hanbei coaches because of his experience with the national team.

To people who were as good as coach Zhongyi Xu, it was obviously pretty easy for them to find a place on the national team. But coach Xu was already the head of the provincial swimming team, and he would have a chance to work in the Provincial Sport Department to be an official, which was a brighter future compared to working on the national team. Therefore, coach Xu was not very interested in joining the national team.

But to a young coach like Dai Li, if he had a chance to coach for the national team, it would be a great rise in life. After ten years of working for the team, then working for a local team, Li would easily get a job as a chief coach.

Li's eyes suddenly shined with excitement. He was eager to join the national team.

But coach Ding continued. "We have a high-intensity training load, but we lack skillful masseuses like you. If you are interested in this job, I can help you work here."

"Coach Ding, do you mean that you want me to be your masseuse?" Li asked. He suddenly felt upset.

Coach Ding nodded. "To be honest, you are way better than the masseuses on our team. I know some famous masseuses in big hospitals that may not be as good as you. To tell you the truth, I never felt as comfortable as I did with you after they gave me massages. Li, I appreciate your skills. I really hope that you can join us. Furthermore, you have been working with our team for months. You have seen our resources, which must be better than your Hanbei Provincial Team."

Li didn't give it a second thought, and shook his head without hesitation. "Thank you, but no. I don't want to work as a masseuse. I'm a coach!"

Being a coach was different from being a masseuse. This didn't mean that a masseuse had a lower social status than that of a coach. On the contrary, a good masseuse was harder to find than a good coach. Almost every athlete could turn into a coach after they retired and probably be a decent one. But it was unheard of for an athlete to turn into a good masseuse.

But Li did not want to be a masseuse. Ever since Aiguo Jiang's competition, he had decided that he wanted to be a coach. These days, as he joined in Feixiang Lin's training, he was moved by Lin's willpower. It inspired him to be an outstanding coach in the future!

However, coach Ding didn't give up on trying to persuade Li. "Li, don't look down upon masseuses. A masseuse for the national team is a good job. You can give rich people massages in your spare time. With your fame, you can earn thousands of yuan in just an hour. A coach can never earn money that quick. In addition, Donggang is the financial center of this country. A lot of rich people live here. You will have plenty of opportunities to earn money. You may even earn enough money to buy a house here within two or three years."

In some nice areas, it was common for a house to cost 80,000 yuan per square meter. In golden areas, plus school district, the housing price skyrocketed above 100,000 yuan per square meter. It was not an exaggeration to say that a person who owned a house in Donggang City was a multimillionaire.

Donggang had the highest housing price in the country. The housing rate in Donggang City was no less than five million yuan. Most people couldn't afford a house even if they saved money their entire life. If Li could afford a house within two or three years, he would earn at least two million yuan per year.

But Li wasn't motivated by this temptation. It didn't mean that he didn't love money. To a young person in their twenties, achieving his dream was more important!

"Thank you, coach Ding," Li rejected again. "I'm a coach."

Coach Ding could tell Li's determination from his words. In that moment he saw a younger version of himself in Li, proud with a sense of stubbornness.

"It must be so good to be young!" Coach Ding sighed. He patted Li's shoulder. "I believe you will be a great coach. But my words are always effective. Whenever you change your mind, you are always welcome!"

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Chapter 94: Broke World Record

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

On the high speed rail back to Qingcheng City, Dai Li looked out the window, his soul in Qatar.

Two days ago, coach Ding had flown Feixiang Lin to Qatar. The whole flight would take about nine hours. Because of jetlag, when they arrived in Qatar it was still early in the morning. Only a limited number of people were allowed to visit Qatar, therefore Dai Li, as a staff member on loan, didn't get the chance to go. Moreover, the extra month he had agreed to stay for was about to end. It was time for him to return to Qingcheng City.

The game hasn't started yet. It starts this afternoon, and there is a five hour time difference. I can watch it once I arrive, Li thought. He checked the training list in the system.

As I predicted, Feixiang Lin is still on the list. I don't know when he will be deleted from the list, but as for right now he can keep using the explosive force halo. Even though men's 110m hurdles doesn't require much explosive force, it is influential when competing with the world's best hurdlers. Lin may have a better performance with the explosive force halo. I really hope he can win gold so that I can be rewarded.

Li remembered that before Lin went to Qatar, he had detected Lin's ability. Lin had reached exactly 900 points, which was good enough for him to be a world champion.

Lin was worth respecting. A month ago, when Lin was competing with Teng Dong, his ability was less than 800 points, but in just one month Lin had improved himself to 900 through long-term high-intensity training.

As Li had witnessed, Lin had been living in "hell" for a month. Li had even thought that there was no one in this world could bear such frightening training except for Lin. No pain, no gain, as the saying went. As a result, Lin had improved himself rapidly in a short period of time, and was close to his top level.

After a seven hour trip, Li finally arrived in Qingcheng City. It was dusk. Li bought several steamed buns, then headed to his dorm in the Provincial Sport Team Training Center.

Lin's game is about to start. Li booted up his laptop, but found that there was no internet.

"Where is the internet?" Li roared angrily.

"Network maintenance. They said that our network needs to be updated. They are changing optical fibers," said Li's roommate.

"What? At this time?" Li wanted to find an internet bar outside, but it was too late. He would have to pay for staying over.

My phone is running out of data. I don't have enough for video. I can only read online novels. Perhaps I should buy a data package? Right, that's a good idea!

A lot of apps offered an online service that added data packages, but Li preferred to visit the mobile company's official website. The website offered a provincial data package with a lower price than the national data package. It was more economical to buy a provincial data package.

50MB of data is definitely not enough for watching video. To watch a live telecast, it would require at least 200MB, maybe even 300MB. Wait, I can only choose 500MB... If I buy 1G, it will be more economical than 500MB. Oh, but 2G is better! But it's the end of month, 2G is a waste of data.

Li was making a common mistake that many people made, which was that when they saw an economical product, they were in a dilemma: on the one hand, he wanted to enjoy more benefits; on the other hand, he was worrying about wasting money.

Alright then, I'd better buy a 1G data package. I wonder when network maintenance will finish. If it only lasts for two or three days, I can make full use of this 1G. Li finally made a decision.

After he bought the data package, Li opened up the live telecast app. But all he saw was a female pole-vaulter.

"Hasn't the game started yet? Or has it already finished?" As Li was pondering, a news story suddenly popped up. It read:

"12.86 seconds. Feixiang Lin has broken the world record again!"

Li was euphoric. Lin broke world record! He did it! I wished he could win, but I never thought it would come true! Although his current ability is 900 points. That plus the explosive force halo and being in good condition, he did have a high possibility of winning.

Li couldn't wait to read the news. It didn't give much information, only saying that Lin had won the championship in men's 110m hurdle at the IAAF Diamond League in Qatar. He had broken the world record again with a 12.86 seconds performance.

Video, where is the playback? Li searched and searched, then finally found the playback.

In the heat, Lin was running side-by-side with David Bose until the last second. It showed that Lin reached the finishing line before Bose. When he received his official record, Lin howled in the air with pride. At last he got the chance to vent his depressions.

Awesome! A new world record! Lin proved himself! Poor Bose, he only kept his record for a month. Wait, Lin won first place. Will I receive extra reward? Thinking about this, Li immediately accessed into the system to check his status.

Name: Dai Li;

Coach Level: Junior Coach, advanced level (12,177/50,000);

Others: Explosive Force Halo.

Abilities: Slimming Exercise, Fat Losing Game, Massage and Muscle Relaxation, Rehabilitative Massage.

Training List: Feixiang Lin

I'm upgraded! I used to be at the junior coach medium level, but now I'm at advanced level. I have gained a ton of experience during Lin's training. I remember that I had 12,177 points, and the requirement to upgrade was 30,000 points. Does that mean that I have gained 30,000 points? Wow, impressive!

Li was astonished. When Aiguo Jiang had won the championship, Li had only been rewarded 1,000 points. Later, when Feifei Yu won gold, Li was also rewarded 1,000 points. But this time, when Lin had won the world championship, Li got a 30,000 point reward. It was 30 times as high as his previous rewards. It was a big surprise.

Even though it requires 50,000 points to become a senior coach, seem like it will not be tough work, Li smiled.

"Hey, don't be so pleased with yourself. Your 30,000 points experience is just an coincidence." The system always showed up at the wrong time.

The system explained, "First of all, during Lin's training process, you were indeed very helpful. You helped him recover, you helped him lose weight, and the most important thing you did was help him find himself. Therefore, based on your effort, you deserve this big reward."

"Haha, I deserve this!" Li was proud of himself.

"It is also because Lin broke world record, which is rarely seen. You know how hard it is to break a world record in track events. If Lin won a world championship in the Diamond League, you may only have four or five thousand points instead. Your 30,000 points were largely decided by the world record," the system continued.

"Well, I'm really lucky. If Lin had won the game a few days from now, after he was automatically deleted from the list, I wouldn't have received as many points. 30,000 points is a cool reward!" Li waved his fist with excitement, then said, "Now where is my gift pack?"

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Chapter 95: Morale-Boosting Book

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

After upgrading to the junior coach advanced level, Dai Li received another gift pack. But inside the pack was only a piece of golden paper.

"A paper?" Li looked at it carefully. There were three bold words: Morale-Boosting Book.

"Morale-Boosting Book? What the heck is this?" Li was confused.

"You know what morale is, don't you? For athletes, keeping morale high can stimulate their performance, and even help them reach new heights. But if their morale sinks low, the athletes will lose confidence, to the point where they can't perform to even half their abilities," explained the system.

"You mean this is for stimulating morale?" Li was upset. He looked at the rest of the paper.

"Step 1: Praise the athlete before the game.

"Step 2: Give applause when the athlete enters the court.

"Step 3: Cheer up during the game."

Li's face twitched. Those were all he had on the paper, and they all looked unreliable.

"What is this shxt? Praise, applaud, and cheer up? Define method!" Li swore in his mind.

"Don't doubt it. Think about this. What if the audience cheers you on when you are on stage? Have you ever noticed that local athletes have better performances when they compete in their hometown? This method is definitely useful, and when you combine this with the other two methods, the effect will be amazing! Even if the athlete just broke up with his or her significant other, they can gain confidence again," the system explained. "Remember that there are three key points. Firstly, the efficiency lasts from the time the athlete steps on the stage to the time he or she leaves, rather than from when the game starts and ends."

Li thought hard for a while. "I think I get the idea. Say there is a 100m dash, the efficiency lasts from the beginning to the end; but if there is a game like shot put, javelin, weightlifting, or diving, which requires athletes to perform several times, the methods work whenever they are performing; for sports like basketball, soccer, or volleyball, which has intervals and substitutions, the methods work when the athletes are on the field. Am I right?"

"Good job! Take basketball for example: sometimes an athlete may only play one round, then be substituted. It still counts. Or he might only pitch once before they call for a time-out. This also counts. The Morale-Boosting Book can stimulate the athlete's morale no matter how long he or she plays," the system explained in detail.

"Got you. What about the second point?" asked Li.

"Secondly, in the same period of time, the effect can't be stacked. Say you are cheering up an athlete. It works the same whether you cheer him up one time or hundreds of times. Thirdly, you can use the skill for groups. If you were the coach of a basketball or soccer team, you could use it to stimulate the whole group of athletes," the system explained, bringing the other two points together.

"I see. If I were a soccer coach and I told them "You are the best!" before they enter the field, applaud all of them when they are about to start the game, and cheer them up during the game, they would all be helped, right?" asked Li.

"That's right."

"What if the player is a foreigner? Should I cheer him up in English?" asked Li.

"Well, it shouldn't be difficult for you to speak English. One word is 'Go!' Two words are 'Come on!' Actually, the language is not very important as long as the athlete understands what you mean," explained the system.

...

His second day back, Li went through formalities, then returned to the weightlifting team.

"Hey Li, you are finally back!" Aiguo Jiang looked excited. The others also welcomed Li back. Before Li had left, the weightlifters had all gotten used to Li's massage. Once Li was absent, no one could replace him, and it was at that time that they realized Li's importance.

During the four month separation, Aiguo Jiang participated in a national championships substation game and a weightlifting championship. Without the explosive force halo Jiang didn't win a medal, but he still placed. Jiang was now going to take part in the National Weightlifting Championships in the Final Competition.

"Li, I thought you would stay there forever. There are three weeks left before the final competition, I would not dare show up to the game without you," Jiang laughed.

The final competition was the last game of this year's weightlifting contests. All points gained in all substation games determined whether an athlete was allowed to participate the final game or not. In other words, only the best weightlifters had a chance to compete in the final game. To Aiguo Jiang, this game was decisive. One more year and he could retire, which meant the final game would be Jiang's ending competition in his career.

Li wanted to examine the effectiveness of the Morale-Boosting Book, but unfortunately, Jiang didn't give Li the chance. In the next three weeks, Jiang had kept his morale high, meaning he was over-excited. Li inquired about what had caused Jiang's excitement, and later heard from the others that a few days ago some volunteers from Operation Smile had come to Qingcheng City and offered Jiang's daughter the second operation. It was successful. Jiang was euphoric about it.

Operation Smile was a nonprofit charity which offered special care and medical treatment for poor kids with cleft lips and other deformities of the head and face. A large part of volunteers were national or international specialists. Although Jiang's family wasn't poor, Jiang requested a British specialist to provide an operation for his daughter through the charity.

Jiang's current life was full of hope, and the effect lasted for the entire three weeks prior to the final competition. To an already cheered-up athlete, the Morale-Boosting Book was useless. Li didn't see any difference, which made him upset.

Jiang placed well. He won bronze in the game, which was an extraordinary result for a 32-year-old athlete. With the end of the competition, the weightlifting team was ready for the holidays. As Spring Festival approached, many nonlocal athletes and coaches were permitted to leave early. Li was also preparing to return home.

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Chapter 96: Happy New Year!

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The Spring Festival was the most important traditional holiday. Since it was the best time for family gatherings, everyone went back home to see their families. Dai Li also went back home without hesitation.

Last Spring Festival, Li was on duty in the Sport University, and had also helped Feifei Yu lose weight. He had not had the chance to go back home. This year he returned home to see his family and friends.

It was hard to get a train ticket before the Spring Festival. Luckily, as an eastern port city, Qingcheng was always the starting station. Li easily got his ticket back to Yuzhou City.

Li's parents were ordinary workers with average salaries, and were quite satisfied with Li's current job. Even though Li had little chance of becoming rich, being a coach for the Provincial Sport Team was a formal job. They didn't need to worry about Li's future anymore.

For parents,the only hope was that their children could live a healthy and happy life.

Li's entire family was sitting around the table enjoying dinner.

"Try this chicken stew! Your father bought this big rooster early this morning just for you! It was cooked for three hours, must taste good!"

"Have some mutton. We bought it when it was fresh!"

Li's mom was busy picking food out for her son. She put almost everything edible into Li's bowl. Li's father asked Li about his job, and told him to work hard. Later Li's parents began to talk to Li about finding a girlfriend, and even began to count how much of a down payment the family should pay to buy a house in Qingcheng City.

Li could do nothing but sit in silence and smile. Qingcheng was a well-developed city among second tier cities, where the average housing rate was over 25,000 yuan per square meter. The down payment for an apartment in Qingcheng was good enough for them to buy a nice house in Yuzhou City. The family could never afford such a large amount of money.

Wishing others a happy new year was a custom. Li's relatives and friends all heard that Li had gotten a good job in the capital city. They were curious, and asked Li for more details.

Li showed off his group photos with Feifei Yu and Feixiang Lin to them. For people who lived in fourth tier cities like Yuzhou, Feixiang Lin and Feifei Yu were superstars far away from their lives. In those relatives' eyes, if Li was able to take group pictures with those celebrities, he definitely had a great job.

After the Spring Festival, Li had a gathering with his schoolmates. Because everyone was newly graduated and had their first job, they didn't bother asking about them. Most of the time they just talked about the old days. But after several years, when they lived in different ways, the gathering may not be as happy and pure as what they were having right then.

...

Li was enjoying the Spring Holiday at home while coach Guangyi Ma, the vice coach of the weightlifting team, knocked on Director Liu's front door. Director Liu was the director of personnel section of the Provincial Sport Department. Coach Ma came to visit Director Liu with two bottles of Maotai liquor and two cartons of Zhonghua cigarettes.

"Ma, we have been friends for years, you don't need to bring gifts," Director Liu saidas he prepared tea for Ma.

"It's Spring Festival, how can I visit you without new year's presents?" Coach Ma received the tea cup with both of his hands, then began chatting with Director Liu.

After a long time, when coach Ma felt it was the right time to bring up his request, he asked, "Director Liu, do you have any idea about when you will submit our team's new year recruitment plan to Preserve Hall?"

The Preserve Hall was the Hanbei Human Resources and Social Security Hall, for provincial governmental institutions like the Provincial Sport Department. If they wanted to recruit formal workers, they had to submit plans with detailed information, including department, position, how many new workers they wanted, etc. As for special recruitment, they also needed Preserve Hall's final permission.

Director Liu gave a thoughtful glance to coach Ma. He knew Ma had come with some purpose or request since Ma had visited him during the new year holiday with big gifts. Director Liu smiled. "According to past schedules, we submit plans at the end of February. But you know, usually only half of the total amount of workers can be approved. Do you have any plans?"

"Haha, it is nothing big," smiled coach Ma. "My nephew, who was an athlete, retired last year, but he is still looking for a job. I was wondering whether there would be any chance for him to apply for a coaching position for our sports team. That is why I'm here, looking for more information about this year's recruitment plan, to see what positions want new coaches. I can tell my nephew to prepare for the recruitment test."

"Well we do need new coaches, but we haven't decided how many we actually need." Director Liu had a sip of tea, then continued, "Coach is a special recruitment, so we employ coaches separately. Especially for special coaches, since they have to train specific programs, they have to be admitted by chief coaches of the training teams first. What was you nephew's major?"

"He was a weightlifter," said Ma. "He once trained with our provincial team, but didn't have an outstanding performance, so he returned to the city team."

The city weightlifting team mainly trained teenagers, and the athletes were quite young. The team's main job was to offer high-flyers to the provincial team. For those ordinary athletes without any special talents or skills, they usually retired early.

It was a common phenomenon that the higher rank the athletes, the more competitive. There could only be one person who reached the top successfully. If an athlete didn't have any particular talent, it would be better for him to retire early and find another way out. Thinking about this, Director Liu asked, "Is your nephew young?"

"He will be 26 after the new year," said coach Ma.

"A weightlifter. Then your weightlifting team would be the best place for him!" Suddenly Director Liu seemed to recall something important. He said with helplessness, "Sorry Ma, but I may not be able to help you. Your team has recruited a new coach already. Li something. The general director signed the approval himself. That means this year, or the next three years, you won't have any opportunity to employ someone else."

Coach Ma sighed. He knew that Director Liu was telling the truth. Li had taken his nephew's place. Ma then said in a euphemistic way, "That's why I'm here. I'm asking if you have any ideas that can help me."

Director Liu lowered his head, brainstorming. After a while, a good idea came to him.

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Chapter 97: Become A Chief

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Director Liu's had shocked coach Ma. He immediately knew that Liu had an idea.

Director Liu lowered his voice and said, "Ma, we have known each other for years, I don't wanna hide any secrets. I do have an idea."

"What is it?" asked Ma intently.

Liu showed a meaningful smile. "From what I've been told, the Youth Team is looking for an athletics coach."

"Is it the Youth Athletics Team? What position?" asked Ma immediately.

"Chief coach of the shot put team," said Liu. "The chief coach is the only coach on the team, he takes charge of everything. As you know, it's a youth team, so people come and go quite often. They don't have formal training like your team has. Therefore, one coach should be enough. Besides, we don't have enough positions for more coaches."

"Haha, Director Liu, thank you for your advice, but my nephew is not capable of leading a shot put team. His major is weightlifting, which means he knows nothing about shot put. Maybe the youth team doesn't need a coach with advanced skills like the adult team does, but the athletes still need a coach who is capable of taking good care of them. My nephew is not that good."

"I didn't say that your nephew should be the one to take the job. He has never been a coach before. How could he lead a team all by himself? I'm talking about the newcomer to your team. You can put him with the youth team, then your weightlifting team will have an empty position. Your nephew can apply for that position then," said Director Liu.

Dai Li as chief coach of the Youth Shot Put Team? He will take charge of an entire team! Isn't that a promotion? How could he be promoted so quick? Coach Ma continued thinking to himself in silence. He didn't reply right away.

Currently Dai Li was the fitness coach of the Provincial Weightlifting Team. If he became the chief coach of the Youth Shot Team, it would seem as if he had downgraded, but in fact he would be promoted. Li would be in charge of the whole program; he would lead the entire team rather than take care of athletes' health.

On sport teams, sending coaches to youth teams could be regarded as a type of toughening, or part of cultivation process. Usually if a new coach wanted to have such an opportunity, he must have three to five years of working experience first, and achieve outstanding performances to prove himself. Because Li had only worked for one year, it was an unconventional promotion for him.

Coach Ma had not wanted Li to be promoted, let alone in this way. But if Li did not leave the weightlifting team, his nephew would not have the chance to apply for the job. He was stuck in a dilemma.

After a while, Ma asked, "Li has only coached for a year, he is not proficient enough. Besides, he is a fitness coach. How can he lead a shot team? Would the leaders approve of that?"

"Dai Li was on loan to the Beikou Training Center, wasn't he? I heard that the coaches of the national team were quite satisfied with Li's performance. They requested to keep him for another month. You know, those coaches of the national team all have unerring eyes, they never make any wrong judgements. Someone who was able to satisfy the best coaches in the country should be able to coach a provincial youth team, shouldn't he?"

Hearing those words, Ma felt even worse. Even coaches from the national team approved of Li's ability. This indicated that Li must be different.

Director Liu continued, "Also, about the position—there will be several people applying for it. The department will discuss it and make think about the decision thoroughly. Your job is to persuade coach Song that Li is the best person for the position. Say some good words praising Li, things like 'Li has outstanding performance,''he gets along so well with colleagues,' etc. This way Li has a better shot at getting the job."

"Understood," coach Ma nodded an agreement. Even though he did not want to see Li succeed, if it meant creating an opportunity for his nephew he had no choice.

...

It was easy for Li to buy a ticket from Qingcheng to Yuzhou before the Spring Festival because Qingcheng was the main station. But once the holiday had passed, it was very difficult for him to buy a ticket back to Qingcheng. Everyone else was eager to get a ticket heading toward the same destination, too. Li had been waiting by the computer for days hoping to get a ticket, but unfortunately tickets always sold out in seconds. In the end, Li had no choice but to go back by bus.

Li didn't enjoy traveling by bus. Even though highway systems were well-developed these days, and the bus ran steady and fast, it was still not as comfortable as taking a high-speed rail. A trip by bus and by high-speed rail took a similar amount of time, but a bus ticket was more expensive than a train ticket.

Li always thought that it was exhausting to travel by bus. When he finally arrived in Qingcheng, he felt exhausted. He went to his dorm and threw himself onto the bed. He was so tired that he almost fell asleep. But all of a sudden his phone rang, waking him up instantly.

Why is coach Xu calling? Li answered the phone.

"Hey Li, I saw you posted pictures on your WeChat album. You come back today, don't you? Have you arrived yet?" asked coach Xu.

Li recalled that before he departed, he posted a picture of his bus ticket and complained about the upcoming trip.

"I just arrived at the dorm," answered Li.

"Here is some news. The department wants to have you to take charge of the Youth Shot Put team," said coach Xu.

"The Youth Team? Why?" Li jumped to his feet. It was absolutely not good news for him to hear about his job relocation on the first day back from the Spring Festival.

Coach Xu explained slowly, "The Youth Shot Put Team lacks a chief coach. Coach Guangming Song recommended you, and I did as well. Considering your working experience for the national team, it didn't take long to get things all set. Soon somebody from the Provincial Sport Department will talk to you, I guess."

Li was worried about this job relocation and his future, but hearing that Coach Xu had also recommended him to the new job meant that it must be a good thing. He did not believe that Coach Xu would hurt him.

Li then asked, "Is this a good thing?"

"Absolutely! There are only a few coaches on the Youth Team, about one coach for every program. Sometimes a coach may even take care of two teams at a time. Therefore, if you go to the youth team, you will lead a team all by yourself. You are in charge of everything, and you will have a big possibility of being promoted in the future. This is way better than being a fitness coach," explained Coach Xu.

"Roger that. So it's like working on the junior level and gaining some experience before being promoted to higher levels," Li brainstormed.

"Yes, same thing. But this is also a test. If you perform well here, you will have a better future," said Coach Xu. "I trust you. You can do well."

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Chapter 98: A Period of Shortage

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Just as coach Xu had said, the next day a leader from the Provincial Sport Team spoke to Dai Li and asked if he would like to be a shot put coach for the youth team. Because Li knew it was a good job, he agreed without hesitation. The following day, after Li went through relocation procedures, he reported directly to the Youth Sport Team.

The Provincial Youth Sport Team was regarded as a reserve team for the Provincial Sport Team. Outstanding athletes on the youth team would be sent to the Provincial Sport Team for further cultivation. The athletes ranged anywhere from 16 to 18. People who were younger than 16 belonged to the junior team, while people older than 18 left the youth team. If one didn't get selected after the age of 18, it indicated that the individual wasn't capable of being a good athlete. The best job the person could get was killing time on a city sports team.

Due to the age limitation, the youth team had a smaller scale than the Provincial Sport Team. A lot of team members came and left. Every year the sports school and city sports teams would recommend some good performers to the Provincial Youth Team. Those who had potential would be selected to the sports team within months. Others who knew that they wouldn't have a bright future usually gave up early.

"Agent Chief Coach of the Hanbei Youth Sport Team Shot Put Program." Dai Li read the title of his new position on the relocation document.

"Agent" meant that he was not formally employed, but it would not affect his power. Such a phenomenon was common among these systems, such as an agent mayor, agent director, agent dean, etc. Even though they had the title of "agent," they would be a formal employee sooner or later. Nobody would treat them as actual "agents."

The chief coach of the youth team was named Bin Lu. He was forty-years-old and looked capable. Because there were only a few coaches on the team, Lu was also in charge of the hurdle team.

Once Dai Li came, coach Lu showed Li around the facility so he could get familiar with the new environment and meet his new colleagues. Then they went to the training field used for throwing events. There were four field events: shot put, discus, javelin, and hammer throw. Shot put occupied the least amount of the field.

For the javelin and hammer throw, professional athletes could easily throw over sixty meters. The top world athletes could throw more that seventy meters; for discus, ordinary athletes could do forty to fifty meters. But for shot put, it should be outstanding if one threw over sixteen meters.

...

"We have five members left on the shot put team. Here is the list." Coach Lu handed a piece of paper to Li.

"Only five? How could that be?" Li was confused. Being a shot-putter wasn't very difficult. The sport didn't have high requirements. In addition, this was a provincial training team. How was it possible that they only had five members? Even a high school shot put team had more people than this.

Coach Lu smiled embarrassedly. "The Provincial Sport Team selected some high-flyers right before the new year. A new round of athlete selection hasn't begun yet, so we only have five people left on the team."

"But isn't this team too small? Only five people? I used to hold a training class for special talent students and even I had eight students." Li's words conveyed a sense of complaint.

Lu looked indifferent. He explained, "The annual selection means a lot to these teenagers, especially those who have reached the age of eighteen. If they can't be selected by the Provincial Sport Team, they are still too old to stay on our team any longer. They have no choice but to leave. As for newcomers, who are middle school students, they won't register until they graduate in July. Due to these reasons, every year from the Spring Festival to June, we have a period of shortage." Coach Lu sighed pitifully. "Moreover, a large number of athletes will give up midway."

"Why?" asked Li.

"For all kinds of reasons. Some give up due to family pressure. Their parents don't support their aspirations to be athletes, so they are forced to return to school. Some can't bear the tough training. Some are used to receiving amateur training, so now when they have professional training it is much harder than what they are accustomed to. They can't stand it, so they quit. Others think that they won't perform well, and would rather quit early to save time and effort." Lu thought for a second then continued, "And some athletes leave for psychological reasons."

"What kind of psychological factors?" Li was curious.

Lu explained, "People who are selected for our youth team are talented teenagers. They are the top athletes in their counties, and even at the top level of their city sports teams usually. But here on the provincial team, we have so many amazing athletes that these "top athletes" are far from good. Some teenagers who once won championships in city competitions can't even find a place at the medium level. Due to this huge gap, many good athletes give up."

"Right, being an athlete is not an easy job. I feel lucky to still have five people after hearing your explanation," Li laughed.

"Don't be too optimistic. The five you have are ordinary students. They don't have special talent, nor do they work hard. They just kill time. I guess the reason why they haven't left yet is because they haven't found anything else to do yet." Lu patted Li's shoulder and said, "All in all, during this period of time your main task is to adjust yourself to the new environment. Don't think too much about their performance. In the next half of the year, when we have newcomers, then it will be time to work seriously."

...

"Let's call roll first!" Li clapped his hands. The five athletes stood in a line.

"Zhanshan Zhao, Lei Qin, Feng Luo, Jiankang Chen, Bin Wang."

The five athletes answered "here" one by one. Li got to know all of them. While while doing roll call, Li also detected them. The results upset Li. Among the five students, Jiankang Chen had the best talent, a Level C, while the others only had a C-. None of their ability points were above 100.

In shot put events, young athletes weigh less, which is a disadvantage. But even so, isn't the ability too low? Li couldn't help but shake his head.

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Chapter 99: They Don't Listen

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Based off Dai Li's past experience, in order to reach a national first-level athlete's proficiency, one's ability must be above 150 points. However, all five athletes were below 100 points, which indicated that they still had a long way to go.

For the shot put event, the minimum standard for a national second-level athlete was 12.50 meters, while the standard for a first-level athlete was 16.20 meters. There was a 3.7 meter gap between the two levels.

An important thing to note was that a performance was assigned value based on standard shot weight. A standard shot weighted 7.26kg, which was 16 pounds. In youth competitions, the U20 level used a 6kg shot, while the U18 level used a 5kg shot more often.

They don't even have 100 points of ability, nor do they have any special talent. This team must be the worst I have ever met.

Li was disappointed, but while training he still treated it seriously. Even though his trainees were ordinary, he still hoped to make some achievements.

Shot put training was a basic training course compared to other athletic programs. Some cities would test the shot put on the high-school entrance exam. As a professional athletic coach, the shot put was a required course, so Li was confident. If it was coach Ma's nephew in charge of the team, who had never received any professional training before, he wouldn't be able to handle the situation.

Li didn't start training right away. Because he was in charge of the entire team, he wanted to know what the athletes' performance capacity was.

He conducted an assessment that had the five athletes perform the shot put one after the other. This way, Li could have a basic understanding of what their abilities were. As he looked at the results, Li looked disappointed.

The detector is quite accurate, their performances really matched their ability points.

The assessment gave everyone six chances. However, the best result didn't even get above 14 meters. Most of their performances were around the 13 meter mark, which was far from the 16.20 meter standard for first-level athletes. These performances depicted their true abilities. Li didn't use the explosive force halo.

Bad, so bad! The terrible results put an invisible pressure on Li. This was the first time he was leading a team alone. He didn't want his students to be a group of losers.

I need to help them improve. I can do this! Li thought to himself, trying to calm himself down.

Techniques! I should start with techniques and enhance their skills. Li took out a notebook and listed his first training goal on the top of the page.

It was a common occurrence that young athletes lacked firm skills. Small blemishes could have little effects in the present, but they could become a big problem later on and cause irreversible outcomes.

I need to record and observe their actions so I can find out their blemishes. Li recalled the method he had learned at the Beikou Training Center.

Unlike the Beikou Training Center, the Provincial Youth Team didn't have good equipment. Actually, they had no equipment at all. The team only received a limited amount of funding, so they didn't have any extra income from advertising endorsements. It was no wonder they couldn't afford expensive equipment. Many training devices were bought second-hand from the Provincial Sport Team.

Even though the team had enough equipment, Li still had to wait in the line. As a newcomer with little experience and no fame, he was not able to borrow a good device. Therefore, Li had to use his phone to record. Luckily in shot put events, athletes did not leave the delivery area, so he was able to record clearly. If it was something like the 110m hurdles, he could never catch a detailed movement simply using his phone.

...

"Zhanshan Zhao, you didn't use your wrist properly when you pushed. Your fingers were loose. That's why your push didn't generate enough power. You need to hold the shot tight. Remember to balance the strength of your fingers and wrist. Also, there was an obvious pause after your slide. You lifted your left leg too high and didn't put it down on time. You didn't put enough weight on your right leg. And after you slid your barycenter declined too much. Do five sets of fast pedaling, fifty times each set."

"Lei Qin, you always lower your elbow unconsciously when you push. If your elbow is too low, your barycenter will twist beforehand, turning pushing into dropping. Go practice pushing movements 200 times, then sliding, then do 200 reps of body-lifting exercises."

"Feng Luo, your slide was not long enough. You lacked strength when you were pedaling and swinging your leg. These two actions lacked transition. Besides, you didn't hold back your leg on time. Do 200 reps of the shot pedal-swing combination."

"Jiankang Chen, you lost balance when you slid. You had too many ups and downs. You held back your right leg too early, even before you stretched your leg. Moreover, your posture was wrong. You lifted your upper body too early, and then your barycenter moved down to your legs. But you didn't complete your stretch-hold action. The distance was not long enough. Do 200 reps of stretch-hold practice with a shot."

"Bin Wang, your right leg didn't pedal enough. You didn't twist your hip on time, and when you push, the distance between your legs widens. Your left leg's braking range was too large. You might break the rules. In addition, when you push, your body makes a small tilt. It was also due to the unbalance of the over-distant legs. Hold your left arm still, then push it 500 times."

Li carefully pointed out all the problems, then corrected them one by one. He believed that under his guidance, the five athletes would correct their behaviors actively and seriously. But the facts were cruel. Li had a strong feeling that the five athletes were saying one thing but doing another. They seemed to practice seriously when Li was present, but as soon as Li turned around they would immediately become lazy.

"Luo, how many times did I tell you, hold your leg on time! Why can't you remember?"

"Qin, raise your elbow! Push your shot, do not drop it!"

Li emphasized the same things again and again, but all five athletes just did whatever they wanted. They didn't correct their deficiencies at all. It was the first time Li had met trainees who did not listen to him at all.

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Chapter 100: A Solution

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Strictly speaking, the relationship between an athlete and a coach was not subordinate-superior, but rather quite cooperative. They both aimed for a common goal: to achieve better results through training. This is similar to the relationship between a doctor and a patient. In simple terms, they form a cooperative relationship comparable to that of soldiers fighting in the same trench against a common enemy (disease).

Unfortunately, the country's system made the medical profession profit-driven, in which doctors no longer made a living with their medical knowledge, but by over-prescribing medication and examinations, and increasing the usage of medical devices. As a result, it complicated the relationship between doctors and patients. Instead of fighting in the same trench, they ended up on opposing sides of the battle.

Coaches were spared the doctors' trouble. Whether it was the sports schools, universities, training and sports teams of various levels, or even the national teams, coaches were paid by financial allocation, the same way athletes were. Because of this, coaches and athletes did not develop any conflict similar to that between doctors and patients.

In addition, the country had issued specific regulations that allowed coaches to take a certain percentage from the athletes' prize money and advertisement earnings.Because of this, coaches were motivated to cultivate world-class athletes, which would bring not only fame and status, but also the big bucks. Driven by this system, coaches were fully devoted to their athletes.

Although athletes and coaches were soldiers that relied on each other, they were not teammates. This was reflected in their age. Athletes lived off the few peak years of their youth. If they could not achieve anything during those few years, they would lose their chance to be better. Age spares no one, and even God cannot grant the athletes a second youth.

Coaches, however, could have life-long professions. The longer they coached, the more experience they accumulated, and the better they became. If their first athlete could not make it, they could always coach a second, third, and so on. After coaching enough athletes, they always came across a talented one. Unlike athletes, coaches could have a Plan B. It was similar to someone being in a battle. While one has to risk his life to march forward, the other has the option to retreat in disadvantageous situations and wait for back-up.

An athlete's career was short, but a coach's career was long. An athlete could not outlast a coach. Because of this, athletes could not train on their own. They had to follow the instructions of professional coaches and could not miss any opportunities to improve themselves. Regardless of the sport, stubborn athletes who refused to listen to their coaches were not likely to have long careers.

Dai Li did not think of it in these terms, nor did he analyze the situation that way. He simply felt that it was an athlete's obligation to following the coach's plan in training. It was wrong for an athlete to disobey the coach.

In the past year of his coaching career, Dai Li had encountered some disobedient athletes, such as Aiguo Jiang. None of the coaches of the weightlifting team were willing to work with him, yet Aiguo Jiang had enough experience and training skills to train himself. He was qualified to tell a coach what not to do.

Another example was Feixiang Lin. His attitude was disobedient, and was neither punctual nor devoted to training. But Lin was a superstar athlete with amazing performance. He was able to refuse the guidance of a coach.

However, these five athletes on the Youth Team were neither experienced nor accomplished. Somehow they were ignoring Dai Li's instructions, which made him furious.

After a couple of days, Dai Li figured out that the five athletes were doing the bare minimum. Every morning each one showed up on the hour, and in the evening none of them could wait for the training to end.

What was more startling was that they were half-heartedly training. Each of them were aiming for completion of the chosen movement they were practicing. None of them bothered trying to improve or perfect it.

There were two reasons to practice the movements: one was to be more skillful, and the other was to correct any flaws. Neither purpose could be achieved if the training was superficial.

Dai Li had the urge to expel all five athletes for this. But after thinking about it carefully, he realized that expelling the athletes upon his arrival would prove nothing but his own incompetence as a coach, and an inability to train his own athletes. What kind of coach could he be if he could not handle a stubborn athlete?

Not only that, but these five men were all he had to coach. If they were expelled, Dai Li would become a general with no soldiers. Without athletes, a coach had no reason to be there.

Dai Li was troubled by this situation. He never learned how to deal with disobedient athletes in school. Eventually, Zhongyi Xu crossed Dai Li's mind. Xu's experience might have been able to help him with this matter.

Dai Li made a phone call and asked Zhongyi Xu out for dinner. Xu agreed promptly.

...

Dai Li told Zhongyi Xu about his recent conundrum at the dinner table.

"Disobedient? Just beat them. Beat them hard!" Xu's spirit was high after a few drinks.

"Xu, I'm not joking with you. I seriously need your help." Dai Li sounded slightly helpless.

Xu did not tease him any further. After thinking for a few seconds, he replied, "From what you described, I think the athletes have their own reasons for being disobedient. You mentioned that the five athletes were mediocre. If they haven't had satisfactory results in a long time, they may have lost their confidence and now train with a negative attitude. They may even resist the training."

Dai Li nodded in agreement. Zhongyi Xu was indeed an experienced top-level coach, and pinpointed the root of the problem.

"What should I do then?" Dai Li asked immediately.

While devouring the dishes on the table with his head down, Zhongyi Xu answered, "The first thing you need to do is re-establish their confidence. You need to make them feel that after following your training that their performance will indeed improve. Once they see that, they will no longer resist the training. It would be best if you can impress them and show them what you are capable of."

"I get it. What you are saying is, if I can impress them, they will listen to me!" Dai Li nodded after understanding what to do. "This is easy. I'm good at impressing people!"

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Chapter 101: Never Give Up

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The shot put training field.

"Pause for a moment," Dai Li said, clapping. "Come over here. Let's have a meeting first."

The five young athletes immediately paused and gathered around Dai Li. Dai Li swept his eyes amongst them with a serious look on his face, then asked, "You know how lousy your training has been these days, don't you? I am confused. Why are you fooling around all day and not taking the training seriously? Did I do something that offended you, and now you are holding a grudge against me?"

Dai Li said this on purpose. What he really wanted was to make the athletes talk. Before any of the five men responded, Dai Li pointed at a young athlete. "Zhanshan Zhao, you go first."

"No, sir, absolutely not." Zhao shook his head right away.

"Now you go, Jiankang Chen," Dai Li said, pointing at another athlete.

"We just met each other a few days ago. How could I possibly hold a grudge against you?" Chen answered with a grin.

"So nobody is upset with me?" Dai Li kept on glancing at them. "Let's make things clear today. Why are you refusing to take neither the training nor my instructions seriously? Are you treating me with contempt because I am new?"

"No, sir, why would we?" Chen continued with a grin. The others nodded in agreement.

Dai Li observed their facial expressions, and noticed that Bin Wang seemed to have something to say. He called his name right away. "Bin Wang, go ahead!"

"Me? Go where?" Wang was not expecting his name to be called, which caught him off guard.

"Just say whatever is on your mind. Be a man and speak your mind. Don't hide it inside!" Dai Li gave a straightforward answer.

Bin Wang hesitated for a moment, then gnawed his teeth. "Well sir, since you asked, let me say it out loud. We all know that you know a thing or two, and you pointed out our technical flaws on your first day. But to us it doesn't matter anymore whether we correct the flaws or not. We did not make it onto the sports team, which means our athlete career path has come to an end."

Bin Wang's words seemed to be the ice-breaker. Lei Qin was next to him and made the same comment. "Mr. Li, we all know that you are doing this for our good. But we truly feel that everything you are doing is meaningless. It's a waste of time to spend your hours and energy on us. If we were truly talented, we would have been selected by the sports team."

"Indeed. It's not that we don't want to train hard. But no matter how hard we train, it won't change the outcome." Jiankang Chen's grin had disappeared. "I'll be 18 years old after this summer. I would not have stayed here if I had anywhere else to go. My family actually wants me to attend a technical school for a vocational program. But the semester won't begin until September. So here I am now."

"Sir, please save your energy. We are not cut out to be athletes. As a matter of fact, none of us intend to be athletes any longer, and we all have back-up plans figured out." Bin Wang pointed at the others. "Jiankang Chen is going to a technical school. Zhanshan Zhao is going back home to run a small business with his mom. Lei Qin is heading south for work. Feng Luo wants to go back to school and retake the college entrance exam. As of me, there is an industrial park under construction in my town. I'm gonna try my luck after the construction is finished and see if I can find a job there."

This is exactly what Zhongyi Xu had told me. They have not achieved something in a long time and are giving up on themselves.

Dai Li looked at them sternly and uttered, "I haven't given up on you. But you have given up on yourselves already? You are not losers. You are still on your way to success. But now you are giving up before your arrive! I don't know how long you have been practicing shot put, but I know you have made tremendous progress. If someday in the future you look back and see how you had given up, wouldn't you feel regret?"

The five young athletes fell into silence. They had been training for shot put for many years before being selected by the provincial youth team. It had been their career for years. If they were to give it up due to lack of achievement, there would surely have been regret in their hearts.

"I may regret it, but that's the reality!" Lei Qin spoke first. "When we first arrived here we were ambitious, thinking now that we were on the provincial youth team, it was our time to shine. We had dreamed of entering the provincial sports team, and even the national team. We also dreamed of winning the gold and silver medals, and breaking the world record like Feixiang Lin. But our dreams were only dreams..."

Lei Qin looked emotional and was about to cry. He took a deep breath to calm himself, and continued. "I remember the dozens of people entering the youth team with me. We were going through the same training and had the same effort. Yet every day someone was falling behind. Fewer and fewer people stayed. I was trying my best every day, but all I could see was being left behind by those gifted ones. There's nothing we can do about it."

Pain and denial glistened in Qin's eyes. The same emotion began to appear on the faces of the others. Dai Li listened carefully, with the images of Qin's story in his mind.

A young man was at the top of the school team, the county team, and even the city team. He had joined the provincial team full of expectations, where everybody was as good and as talented as him. This was where the best athletes in the entire province gathered, yet he was no longer the best of the best.

He had gone from "extraordinary" to just "ordinary." The coach did not treat him differently, and assigned him the same training as everybody else. Gradually, he fell behind and could no longer catch up. He had always savored victory in the past, but now he had to swallow the bitterness of failure! Then, finally, he lost the confidence he had once had. Without the same ambition, he had given up!

...

This was a common situation on the youth team because there were not enough coaches. Especially during the new athletes' arrival each year, one coach was usually working with dozens of athletes. If one coach had too many athletes to train, it was just like a physical education class. The coach was unable to focus on every single athlete. They had to assign the tasks like a physical education teacher and ask the athletes to complete them on their own.

In this process, a difference was developing among the athletes. The top-performing athletes gained more attention from the coach and more guidance in turn. The under-performing athletes were gradually ignored and became the "stragglers." As the strong grew stronger, the weak grew weaker.

Dai Li never believed in this "one-pot-stew" training approach. To him, each athlete should be trained in accordance with his aptitude. It was like cooking dumplings—the dumplings that cooked faster would be the first to float to the top, but that did not mean the ones slower to rise were any less delicious.

"I understand it now," Dai Li said, letting out a long sigh. "I understand how you feel. But I'm begging you at the same time, please do not give up. Try again. I pointed out your technical flaws. I believe as long as you make the corrections, your performance will surely improve greatly. I hope you can give me another chance by following my instructions and see if it works. This is also another chance for yourselves, your last chance to try. Even if you don't continue your career path as athletes in the future, at least you can say you tried. There won't be any regret in your sports career as long as you try."

The five men fell into silence at the same time. Nobody replied to Dai Li. But Dai Li saw different responses from their facial expressions. Zhanshan Zhao and Bin Wang seemed lost. Lei Qin appeared to be struggling and conflicted internally. Feng Luo showed refusal to cooperate. Jiankang Chen was indifferent to Dai Li's remarks.

Qin is the breakthrough! Dai Li made his judgement immediately. Compared to the others, Qin's struggle was the most vulnerable, and also the easiest response to take advantage of. He would never turn Dai Li down.

"Qin, your biggest problem is putting your elbow too high when you thrust. Let's try lowering your elbow and see what happens." Dai Li dragged Qin to the throwing circle before he could speak. "Let's start with the throwing movement without the shot," Dai Li ordered. Qin was cooperative.

"Stop. Right here. Lower your elbow and try again..."

"Stop. Don't lower it on purpose. Be natural and try again...

"Right. Excellent, just like this. Now try again with the shot."

Qin learned to lower his elbow with Dai Li's instructions. This, however, was just the beginning. It would take a lot more practice to form a habit.

Dai Li handed the shot to Qin. "Qin, this is actual training. Try it the way I just showed you and see how far you can throw." As he was speaking, Dai Li entered the system and reloaded the explosive force halo.

During the training sessions these past few days, Dai Li did not load the explosive force halo, as he wanted to see the actual results. But now, in order to make Qin believe in his effective instruction, he decided to use the explosive force halo.

Qin stood in the throwing circle and adjusted his breath, preparing for the put.

"Pay attention to your elbow, and think back to what you just did. Be natural. Yes, just like this!" Dai Li continued to instruct him by his side. Qin made a solid thrust, and threw the shot.

Pong! The shot hit the ground with a dull sound. Everybody witnessed the shot land beyond the 15 meter marking.

"15 meters! Did I see it clearly? Qin threw beyond 15 meters! 14 meters was good enough for him on most days." The four athletes opened their eyes wide with astonishment.

"15 meters? I threw 15 meters? I've never thrown 15 meters!" Qin's heart was filled with a long-gone, thrilling joy. He looked at Dai Li the very next second. Mr. Li is right! His instructions really worked! Maybe I should do what he told me, and give it one last try!

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Chapter 102: A New Hope

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Track and field sports included track, field, and combined events. Field events referred to jumping and throwing events held in the center or outskirts of the open field, enclosed by the running track. The high and long jump, as well as any throwing events, were measured for competition. Track events were any foot racing events held on the running track, such as sprinting. These events were timed for competition. Simply speaking, field events were aiming for distance, while track events were aiming for time. Combined events were composed of both field and track events.

In track events, only short-distance competitions required explosive power. In events like long distance running, endurance was more important. For field events, explosive power was needed for both jumping and throwing. Based on this information, Dai Li concluded that the explosive force halo would surely boost the performance of the shot put athletes.

He was right. Lei Qin threw over 15 meters on one of his attempts, which was not only his best performance, but also an indication that he was making significant progress. That progress was partly because of Dai Li's instructions, but mostly because of the explosive force halo.

Yet Qin had no idea the explosive force halo was helping him. He thought his progress was entirely because of Dai Li's instructions.

All I did was lower my elbow, and now I have already made so much progress. If I had done this earlier, I would have been chosen by the sports team. I wish that I had met Mr. Li earlier. No! It's not too late. If I can throw more than 15 meters after only a few minutes of his guidance, and he teaches me for a few more months, I can surely make paradigm-shifting progress!

As this thought came to him, Qin regained his confidence. He spoke with enthusiasm all over his face. "Mr. Li, I will listen to you from now on. I will surely dedicate myself to the training!"

Dai Li nodded with satisfaction, then looked at the other four athletes. "Who else wants to try?"

The four other athletes were still in shock. Qin had thrown more than 15 meters after only a few minutes of instruction. It was incredible! They were unable to make this type of progress after months of training, yet Dai Li had made it happen within a few minutes. The remaining four athletes could hardly believe it.

"It's you then, Zhanshan Zhao. Come over here." Dai Li pointed at Zhao directly, given that he was relatively obedient compared to the remaining four.

"Zhao, your first problem is that your fingers are too relaxed when you are throwing. You don't grab the ball firmly. You have big palms, but short fingers. It takes more force for you to hold the ball. This is easy to overcome. Just grab the ball firmly. But you must pay attention to your pause after the glide. Try to pull the full force from your right leg while controlling your center." Dai Li began his one-on-one instructions with Zhao.

It took longer to help Zhao, whose main problem was the incoherent movement caused by the excessive lowering of his center of gravity. This was because of the under-use of his right leg, which was caused by the excessive swing of the left leg. It was a chain reaction. Therefore, Dai Li had to start by correcting the root problem, and teach him to adjust his center of gravity step by step.

"Zhao, you've been doing well these last few practices. Let's give it a test. Here, take the shot and do a serious put!" Dai Li handed the ball to Zhao.

...

Zhao stood in the throwing circle, staring far ahead of him.

Qin threw beyond 15 meters. I don't know if I can do the same! Zhao looked at the 15 meter white circle painted on the ground ahead of him. He took a deep breath, went over Dai Li's instructions in his head, and threw the shot with a quick thrust.

Soo...Pong!

The shot touched the ground with a dull sound. Zhao turned his head immediately to look, and saw that the ball had landed beyond the 15 meter circle.

"15 meters! I can throw 15 meters too!" Zhao looked at Dai Li with admiration. He also attributed his significant progress to Dai Li's instructions.

"Qin just threw over 15 meters. Now Zhao has also thrown over 15 meters!" The remaining three athletes were filled with amazement. If it had only happened to Qin, they might call it a coincidence. But Zhao had also thrown 15 meters, which clearly proved that Dai Li was indeed gifted.

After a brief pause of disbelief, the remaining three men began feeling uneasy. The five of them had started out on almost the same level. Yet after less than half an hour, both Qin and Zhan had achieved an impressive 15 meters, leaving the three others far behind. The gap that had now grown between them was unsettling.

"OK, Zhao, now go and keep doing what I showed you. Your throwing will get better with practice," Dai Li told Zhao.

Zhao nodded attentively. "Yes, Mr. Li. I will put my heart into the training."

Dai Li turned around and faced the remaining three athletes. Before he could utter a word, Jiankang Chen stepped forward. "Mr. Li, please give me some instruction!"

Chen was undoubtedly the smartest one among the five, and also the quickest to switch sides. He had been indifferent to Dai Li's words earlier, but after witnessing the progress Qin and Zhao had made, he changed his mind right away.

"Chen, you have a similar problem to Zhao with your center of gravity. Zhao lowers his center too much. Your center is unstable, with too many ups and downs."

Dai Li started his one-on-one teaching with Chen. After about 20 minutes, Chen had one throw. He also threw beyond 15 meters, and was only thirty or forty centimeters away from the 16 meter milestone.

I can't believe I can throw this far! Chen was beginning to have hope once again.

...

Dai Li looked at the five young athletes with a sense of relief. The improved performance of the five athletes had only partly been due to Dai Li's instructions. The main cause of the sudden progress was the explosive force halo. Using the halo made a huge difference. That was why Dai Li had been able to boost their performance significantly in only a few minutes.

But more importantly, the five athletes had regained their confidence, and were given a new hope! They were no longer reluctant to train, which made Dai Li's work productive.

The talent level of the five athletes was only a C, but Dai Li had the Coach System, a game-changing advantage. He was now at the senior stage of the junior coach level. In terms of training ability, he was absolutely comparable with an excellent coach of the national team, which made him more than qualified to train athletes on a provincial youth team.

Dai Li's previous trainees had been high-level professional athletes, such as Aiguo Jiang, who had mature techniques and was approaching the end of his career due to his age. Feixiang Lin was another one, who was already standing at the top of the world and at the limits of a human's capacity. Dai Li, a junior coach, could no longer help Lin improve.

But now, Dai Li was facing a group of youth team athletes, whose techniques were immature and shapeable. Their bodies were also growing stronger with age. Dai Li, the late-stage junior coach, was finally serving a powerful function. Under his instruction, the five young athletes were progressing like birds with wings, gradually approaching the qualification standards of national first-class athletes.

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Chapter 103: A Visit From A Strong Rival

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

A dark blur travelled through the air. The shot made landed on the ground.

"16 meters! I made it past 16 meters!" Qin began to celebrate with his hands in the air. Although he was the last among the five to achieve 16 meters, he was thrilled regardless.

The qualification stand for a national first-class athletes in shot put was 16.20 meters. This put Qin very close to the mark. He believed that at his current rate of progress, he could reach the standard very soon.

Jiankang Chen made the quickest progress among the five. At his best, he could already throw beyond 16.20 meters, the qualification stand for national first-class athletes.

Throwing a 16-pound shot ball over 16 meters was good enough to participate in national-level field events. However, this was merely the qualifying distance. In events such as the National Track and Field Championship, 16 meters would be at the bottom of the ranking.

If the age of the athlete were taken into consideration, 16 meters would have be extremely meaningful. In fact, considering the average physical condition of Asians, reaching the national first-class athlete standard before the age of 18 would be a remarkable achievement in any sport.

Compared to world top-level athletes such as Feixiang Lin and Feifei Yu, C-level talent could barely be considered talent at all. But not every athlete was able to be a world champion. C-level talent, however, was much better than the average person, which made for an excellent athlete.

Dai Li was satisfied enough being able to cultivate excellent athletes. Being an excellent professional in any profession was already a success. Not every software developer could become Bill Gates, just as not every e-commerce merchant could be as rich as Jack Ma. Likewise, not every internet enterprise could be as successful as Tencent, nor could every online writer have as many fans as Tang Jia San Shao.

However, nobody should disregard the achievements of those who are excellent, nor deny their success. Athletes should not be given up on just because their talent was not enough to make them champions, nor consider them to be unworthy of cultivation.

Time flew by. Dai Li had spent four months with the provincial youth team. As June approached, the team prepared to embark on the busiest time of year— the arrival of new young athletes.

June was also the season of graduation. The athletes with were finishing their nine-year compulsory education. Most of them would enter city youth teams, sports schools, or became sports talent students in high schools. Those entering the provincial youth team were the best ones among them.

...

All the coaches of the youth track and field team were gathering in the conference room. Bin Lu, the head coach, was sitting in the center with a grave look on his face.

Bin Lu said, "The reason I have gathered everyone here is to make an announcement. I was just notified by the provincial sport bureau that at the beginning of July, the track and field team at the Nantan Middle School is visiting us for an exchange. I'm sure that everybody has heard of the famous Nantan Middle School of Nanwan?" All the coaches nodded in acknowledgement, including Dai Li.

When talking about the Nantan Middle School, everybody working in the sports business knew about it. It was an ordinary public high school in Nanwan, except the word "ordinary" referred to the education. Outside of that, the Nantan Middle School was far from "ordinary."

All students who attended the Nantan Middle School were sports talent students, meaning that the school was running an amateur sports school business under the name of an ordinary high school. The only difference separating it from a real sports school was that the Nantan Middle School was putting more emphasis on the academic lessons. The graduates there were qualified to enter universities, a perk not available in technical secondary schools like the sports schools.

Beginning on the very first day, apart from completing the regular high school courses, all students in the Nantan Middle School were required to undergo physical training. By the third year, the students took the college entrance exam as high-level athletes, special exam takers, or sports talent students, then entered universities as sports students.

The education in the Nantan Middle School was delivered in an uncommon way. However, because the minimum acceptance score in college was much lower for sports talent students, the percentage of students entering college from Nantan was very high. Their students had been training for sports for three years. They would surely have better results on sports talent exams than the students taking up sports in their last year. Not only that, but they had not given up their academic classes. Almost all graduates of Nantan could be admitted to universities.

The high college acceptance rate also gave Nantan a good reputation. This drew in students from all over the country. Parents sent their teenagers to Nantan if their children did not enjoy studying but aspired to make it into college. Choosing from students from all over the country, Nantan had the option of selecting only the best of the best, which was beneficial for the school. This formed a virtuous cycle. As a result, the Nantan Middle School was well known throughout the country, especially among sports professionals. Everyone had heard about this school.

Head coach Bin Lu continued, "The Nantan Middle School is not a friendly visitor. The summer before last, they visited the youth track and field team in the Minnan province. Last summer, they paid a visit to the youth team of the Jiandong province. I didn't expect it to be our turn this year."

The coaches in the conference room had grave looks on their faces, as if they were facing a great enemy. Dai Li also felt the change of atmosphere in the conference room. As a newcomer with little insider knowledge, he gently asked the coach next to him, "Mr. Zhang, isn't it just an athletic team coming for a visit? We just need to greet them as any other team. Why is everybody so nervous?"

Mr. Zhang leaned over and whispered, "The Nantan Middle School always brings their young athletes for the exchange visits, and propose a friendly match. This is what really matters. Last year and the year before last, the Nantan team played friendly matches with the Jiangdong and Minnan provinces respectively. Guess what? Nantan had dominating victories in both matches!"

"Really? It is just a high school. How come their athletes are better than those on the youth teams?" Dai Li found it incredible. A provincial youth team was where the top athletes from the entire province gathered. How could they not compete with a high school?

Mr. Zhang explained, "Nantan is a strong team. They have students from all over the country, and there are surely some excellent athletes. But it's still impossible to defeat the provincial youth team. It's all about the timing. Nantan visits each year during the transition period of the provincial youth teams, when the new athletes are just arriving and have not had enough training yet. Meanwhile, for the older athletes, the good ones have already been taken by the adult teams, while the bad ones are about to quit. How can we compete with Nantan like this?"

"How can they do that, paying a visit when we are short of people? This is a sneak attack, not an elegant victory, even if they do win," Dai Li complained.

"Yes, it is a sneak attack. But Nantan doesn't care about elegant victories. Instead, they promote themselves with their victory. An ordinary high school from a prefecture-level city defeating the provincial youth team. It is big news!" Mr. Zhang said with a slight hint of sarcasm.

"Why are they doing this? They are offending others. What do they have to gain?" Dai Li asked.

"It helps them attract better students during the admission season," Mr. Zhang continued. "A high school does not recruit the same way our athletic team does. Our provincial youth team has a pool of candidates from the city youth teams and sports schools. Even if we sit around and do nothing, each city will send the best candidates to our doorstep. But a regular high school has to rely on itself to recruit the best students. Most students will apply for the schools with the best reputation."

"I get it. After defeating the provincial youth team, the Nantan Middle School will use this victory as their admission advertisement to draw in the excellent candidates. They may get good students, but we will become their stepping stone!" After saying this, Dai Li looked distraught.

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Chapter 104: Battle Preparation

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

In the conference room, the other coaches also looked indignant about the injustice.

"The Nantan Middle School is shameless. They don't visit us when our team is strong. They challenge us when we are transitioning."

"We should just ignore them, in my opinion. We can refuse whatever friendly match they propose."

"Refusing is not an option. We are a provincial team, after all. They are just a high school. If we refuse their challenge in our own house, then we have already lost! Then rumor will get around that our provincial youth team doesn't even have the guts to compete!"

"Right. We are sports professionals. Surrendering without a battle is worse than losing a battle. So we must participate in this match!"

The coaches in the conference were busy expressing their own opinions. As a newcomer, Dai Li did not have enough seniority to interrupt them. He sat on the side in silence.

A few minutes later, head coach Bin Lu waved his hands, signaling for silence. "If the Nantan Middle School proposes a match, we cannot surrender. Even if we are not as good as them, we have to stay till the end, and lose with dignity!" Bin Lu clenched his fist, then changed his tone and continued, "Of course, my ultimate goal is to get a victory!"

"But we are missing good players! The good athletes on our team have been taken by the sports teams. Most of the remaining ones have made plans for their future and are ready to leave. Some are returning to their old teams, some are looking for jobs, some are planning to return to school," somebody uttered on the side.

"The newly arrived athletes have barely begun their training. We can't count on them. The Nantan athletic team is a strong one. Some of their athletes have participated in the National Youth Track and Field Championship, and their best record was a bronze medal! They are surely bringing their best athletes for the visit. Even if we have enough people, our victory is not guaranteed," another person added immediately.

"Let's borrow some athletes from the sports team, and call back the athletes they took away earlier," someone suggested.

"What are you thinking? Competing with borrowed athletes will make us look like a joke if word spreads. How could we maintain our dignity amongst the other provinces?" someone refuted right away.

Bin Lu's face grew sulky all of a sudden, his eyes serious. As chief leader of the youth team, what he wanted to hear the most at this moment was a resolution to take on the difficult challenge rather than put an emphasis on the difficulty.

Bin Lu coughed gently. "In past years, many athletes have left the team at the end of the month. However, because we are going to take the challenge from Nantan this year, I hope the athletes can stay for another month. Although the departing athletes are mediocre, they are better than the rookies. At least we'll have some people to handle Nantan Middle School."

"They are getting ready to leave. If you ask them to stay for another month they may not like it. Not to mention that many of them have finished the paperwork for departure. We can not stop them from leaving," an experienced coach said, uttering his concern.

"That is why I need all of you to work on it and try to make them stay," Bin Lu continued. "You have to feed the horses if you want them to run. For this reason, I have decided to pay a 1000 RMB stipend to each person willing to stay for another month!"

Everyone relaxed upon hearing about the stipend. In the modern world, money could always make things easier.

...

To Dai Li's delight, all five of his athletes were willing to stay. After all, the five athletes had been training with Dai Li for four months. He did not want to see them quit their athletic career.

New groups of young athletes were arriving one after another. There were suddenly over 30 new faces on the shot put team. Counting the previous five, Dai Li was responsible for training more than 40 athletes, making him quite busy all of a sudden.

With one coach instructing over 40 athletes, it was impossible to be comprehensive. Dai Li was forced to train in the "one-pot-stew" fashion. Similar to a physical education class, Dai Li listed one training plan and asked each to complete it according to their own schedule. He could only offer limited instructions.

This was when the differences among athletes became detectable. Some were devoted in the training and finished each session with great dedication, while others only aimed for completion; some added extra training voluntarily after completing the assigned tasks, while some relaxed after completion.

It took both talent and hard work to become an excellent athlete. Sometimes hard work could make up for the disadvantage in talent. Some athletes who failed were gifted, but did not work hard enough. Regardless of talent level, hard work was a must.

...

The new athletes' training had just started when the Nantan Middle School arrived. In front of the ill-intended visitors, the entire youth athletic team had fully prepared. The coach of each sport was prepared for battle, and the athletes knew that a match was expected today.

On the shot put field, the 30 or so newcomers were doing routine training while the original five athletes including were warming up. Dai Li did not assign high-intensity training to them so they could keep their stamina up against the Nantan visitors' team.

A team of 6 or 7 walked towards them from a distance. Two of them led the group. One was senior coach Hui Zhang of the youth team. The other was a Nantan visitor. Dai Li didn't know his name, but remembered meeting him at the welcoming ceremony.

Here come the Nantan visitors! Dai Li stepped forward to greet them.

"Li, allow me to introduce you." Hui Zhang pointed at the person next to him. "This is Hu Liu, head chief of the Nantan throwing team. Mr. Liu was an athlete on the national team, and has participated in the Asian Games!"

"That was more than 20 years ago. You don't have to bring it up." Hu Liu looked at Dai Li and continued. "Mr. Li is so accomplished at such a young age!"

"You are flattering me, Mr. Liu. You are the veteran here, I could use some advice from you," Dai Li replied immediately, a sudden uneasiness in his heart. This Hu Liu represented the national team for the Asian Games. He had to be good.

"Don't say that. We should learn from each other." Hu Liu was smiley. He did not seem proud.

Hui Zhang gestured to Li and said, "Li, I'll let you introduce our shot put team, and ask for Mr. Liu's instructions."

...

Hu Liu could not give real "instructions" under such circumstances. He was a guest, after all. Even if Dai Li was not being a good host, Hu Liu could not point it out upfront. It would have been embarrassing to the host.

While Dai Li was showing him around, Hu Liu kept nodding and saying good things. Because they were both professionals, Dai Li did not have to go through too many details, only introducing him the basics. Within a few minutes, Dai Li's introduction was finished.

"Mr. Liu, I am trying to show off in front of an expert," Dai Li said modestly.

"Don't say that. I'm learning a lot today after seeing how you carry out your training. The future belongs to young people like you. Old men like us do not have many years left on this earth." Hu Liu smiled and carried on, "I'm sure a strong coach like Mr. Li has plenty of good athletes. We happen to have two shot put athletes on our team. What a coincidence! I think it's a good idea to engage the athletes in some mutual exchange activities. What do you think?"

As Hu Liu spoke, his smile grew even more sincere. To Dai Li, however, this was a disguise for a malicious scheme!

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Chapter 105: Strong Rivals

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The so-called "mutual exchange of activities" definitely did not refer to the athletes sitting in a circle, exchanging insights and reflections on their daily training. The mutual exchange activity that Liu Hu was referring to was actually a match—a serious match between both sides!

"Here comes the main course," Dai Li told himself. He had been preparing many days in advance for this match.

Dai Li put up a friendly smile on his face. "I heard a long time ago about the excellent athletes at Nantan Middle School. I can't wait to meet them. Just a moment, Mr. Liu. I'll ask the athletes to clear the field."

As he spoke, Dai Li waved his hands. The athletes paused their training to give up the best training field. The original five athletes, Chen included, walked towards them.

"Mr. Liu, this is our training field. It is not as good as a formal game field. Let's settle for this!" Hui Zhang explained from the sidelines.

"You are too modest, Mr. Zhang. Your facilities are top notch compared to the rest of the country." After saying this, Hu Liu pointed at the two athletes behind him and told Dai Li, "Mr. Li, these are two of my shot put students. This is Jinpeng Lu. He just received the qualification certificate of national first-class athlete."

"National first-class athlete! Nantan is indeed bringing some strong competitors." Dai Li's heart began beating faster.

To become a national first-class athlete in track and field sports, one had to achieve the qualifying result in a high-rank game. In shot put, the qualifying distance for men was 16.20 meters with a 16-pound shot, which was equal to 7.26kg. In youth games, however, if a 6kg shot was used, the qualifying distance was 17.80 meters. This suggested that Jinpeng Lu must have had a lot of formal game experience.

Dai Li's students might have reached the qualifying distance, but they lacked formal game experience. This could be their disadvantage.

After introducing Jinpeng Lu, Hu Liu pointed at the other athlete. "This is Xian Su, also a national first-class athlete." Mr. Zhang then added immediately, "Xian Su is not only a national first-class athlete. He once participated in the National Youth Track and Field Championship, and won the bronze medal in shot put!" Mr. Zhang was reminding Dai Li to be careful.

Dai Li looked at Xian Su from head to toe. "He is the bronze medallist in the national youth championship. I've heard before that Nantan Middle School has a few athletes participating in the national event, and the best one won a bronze medal. It must be this Xian Su. He is the trump card for Nantan, and here he is in front of me!"

After thinking about this, Dai Li commented, "National first-class athletes, and a national bronze medallist. You are worthy of your name. My athletes are mediocre. None of them are first-class athletes, only second-class."

As Dai Li spoke, he introduced Zhanshan Zhao, Lei Qin, Feng Luo, Jiankang Chen and Bin Wang.

"Mr. Li is is planning to send five men to compete!" Hu Liu said casually, which seemed to be more of a complaint. He felt Dai Li was sending too many people.

Shot put was not a combat sport, but having more people had its advantages. More people meant more chances. If each athlete was allowed three attempts, 10 athletes would mean 30 attempts, increasing the chances of getting a further distance. It was like buying lottery—if one ticket had a winning chance of 1 in 17 million, 1 million tickets could increase the odds to 1 in 17.

Dai Li detected the complaint in Hu Liu's words, but secretly felt good about it.

"Now you are sensing the unfairness? What were you doing earlier? You didn't think it was unfair when you decided to raid us during our transition period?" Dai Li cursed them in his mind.

Instead of saying what was really on his mind, he laughed. "My athletes are inexperienced in competition. They train on an isolated team without much of a chance to learn from others. Now that we finally have an opportunity to learn from high-rank athletes, they are all eager to try. I think they should be given the chance to see the outside world. Mr. Liu, my athletes are rookies who have never been in a match. Please be kind to them!"

Dai Li's remark was irrefutable. Hu Liu finally realized that this young coach in front of him was not simple person. He added, "Since this is a friendly match, we don't have to follow the rules of a formal game. How about 3 attempts per person?"

"Not a problem. Let's do it your way." Dai Li turned his head towards his five athletes: "Look carefully and learn from these high-rank athletes. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir!" the five men answered in one voice. They then stepped backwards and to the side, making the field available.

This made Hu Liu slightly passive. He had intended to discuss with Dai Li the order of the athletes would perform. But now, it seemed that Dai Li was so well prepared that he didn't even offer Hu Liu the chance to do so. By claiming "learning from them", Li put himself in the position of the weak side, which forced the two Nantan athletes to go first.

"We don't know each other. Going first in this situation will expose our true strength. This is not good for us. This young coach may not be good at his job, but he surely knows how to play tricks. Young people today are too reckless. They think playing a few tricks will give them a head start. Yet they don't realize that they have to rely on their true abilities in the sports business. If they are not good at their jobs, playing tricks won't help them."

After thinking about this, Hu Liu waved his hands to get Jinpeng Lu near him. He whispered in a very low voice: "When you go in a minute, don't reserve your strength. Use all of it. I want you to throw far enough to make them feel despair. Crush their morale!"

"Yes, sir! I understand what to do." Despite saying so, Lu appeared relaxed. Hu Liu glanced at Dai Li secretly, smiling with content.

Before this, Nantan had been snooping around. They heard that the Hanbei provincial youth athletic team was missing good athletes, as the good ones had already been taken by the provincial sports team. As a result, Hu Liu was filled with confidence. He believed that as a national first-class athlete, Jinpeng Lu could obtain a victory with ease.

Lu stood in the throwing circle, smeared a handful of chalk powder around his neck, then held the shot ball firmly. He faced the throwing circles with his back, and made a preparatory swing with his body. His torso and shoulders spun rightward, with his upper body leaning forward.

"Ahhh-hah!" With a loud shout, the shot ball flew through the air. As a result of the momentum from the thrust, Lu's body also spun for a while in the air, then stopped.

The shot made a dent in the ground a bit further than the 16 meter circle.

The youth team's coach's face tightened up. "I'm afraid the distance is around 16.30 meters, an excellent result by the standard of a young athlete. I don't think we have a chance of winning this match. Li is a young coach without much experience of leading a team in a match. I don't know if he can handle the stress."

Hui Zhang looked towards Dai Li after thinking about this. However, he found that Dai Li was smiling just as before.

This Dai Li has a calm state of mind, Hui Zhang pondered.

"16.31 meters!" the person in charge of measurements announced.

On the side, Hu Liu started clapping for Lu's excellent performance.

"Excellent! Jinpeng Lu had a very good attempt. 16.31 meters is 11 centimeters further than the qualifying distance of a first-class athlete, and enough to make these second-class athletes on the Jiangbei youth team tremble! As for that young coach that likes to play tricks, I'm going to teach him a lesson today. I'm going to let you know that in front of absolute excellence, no trick will work."

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Chapter 106: The Strongest of the Strong

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Hu Liu looked at Dai Li and the five athletes with pride. He was expecting to see Dai Li panic, as well as how shocked the athletes were. To his surprise, they all appeared calm, not surprised by 16.31 meters at all. Hu Liu felt as if he had just thrown a punch into thin air.

Dai Li spoke first. "This is indeed a national first-class athlete! Fantastic! Admirable!"

"Admirable? I don't see a trace of admiration on your face!" Hu Liu complained silently to himself. He said, "You are most kind. This is an average performance for Jinpeng Lu."

"If an average performance is this impressive, I cannot wait to watch the national bronze medallist!" As Dai Li spoke, he looked at Xian Su, the bronze medalist of National Youth Track and Field Championship.

Xian Su looked arrogant. He told Hu Liu, "Sir, I think Lu will suffice. I don't need to participate, do I?"

The youth team members frowned. By saying this, it was clear that Xian Su was looking down upon the youth team athletes. He didn't even consider them worthy competition. He was trying to embarrass them.

Hu Liu's face turned cold. He criticized him by saying, "This is a friendly match, but no matter what kind of match it is, you must treat it seriously. Will you refuse to participate in a formal game because your rivals are not good enough?"

It sounded like Hu Liu was criticizing Xian Su, but in fact he was being sarcastic in front of the youth team. He thought they were too weak!

But the speech did not work on Xian Su. As a national bronze medal winner and a superstar in Nantan, he had won his fame at a young age and feared no one. He didn't seem to care, and spread his hands. "If so, I will forfeit my first pretrial attempt. This is permissible by game rules, correct?"

"You!" Hu Liu could not do anything about it. He turned his head and said, "Mr. Li, Xian Su forfeits this attempt."

Dai Li suppressed the anger in his heart. He looked at his five students and said: "Qin, you go first!"

Qin was not the best among Dai Li's five students, but he was the steadiest one. Letting him go first was a strategy to stabilize the team.

Qin walked to the throwing circle, grabbed the shot, played back the movements he had been practicing inside his head, then prepared himself to throw.

In a similar fashion to Jinpeng Lu, his back faced the throwing circles. He stood near the inside rear of the circle, with one foot in front of the other spread about 30 centimeters, his right foot pointing at the inner throwing circle. Then he relaxed his body, lifted up his left arm naturally, and positioned his body weight on the straight right leg.

"Hehh!" Qin's body moved with a loud shout. The shot gained powerful momentum with a sudden spinning of his body. With a solid thrust, the giant shot ball took off in the air.

Hooh… The shot ball travelled through the air and landed solidly on the ground.

In the distance, Hui Zhang's heart was filled with a sudden excitement. "What? Over 16 meters again? It seems to be as far as Lu's attempt just now. This is enough to qualify for a national first-level athlete. Why was he not selected by the sports team last year? I guess they also make mistakes sometimes!"

"16.37 meters!" the measurement crew announced.

What? 16.37 meters! Hu Liu's face suddenly turned grim.

"16.37 meters, that is further than my distance!" Jinpeng Lu was also shocked.

"Good job, Lei Qin!" Dai Li was satisfied with Qin's performance, but not surprised at all. In fact, he had already detected Jinpeng Lu. Lu's ability value was slightly higher than Qin, but Qin had the help of the explosive force halo. It was such a miraculous gizmo for shot put athletes. Dai Li estimated that Qin could throw 16.50 meters if he performed well. Yet Qin had only thrown for 16.37, suggesting a mediocre performance.

"Zhanshan Zhao, your turn!" Dai Li appointed his next player.

Zhao stepped onto the field without saying a word. He was as good as Qin. Qin's 16.37 meters made Zhao confident. He felt that if Qin could beat Lu, so could he.

"Go!" Zhao threw the shot with a similar shout.

"16.41 meters!" The result was announced by the front crew.

Coach Hui Zhang was astonished. "This is further than the other two people, beyond 16.40 meters! When did we get such competent athletes on our team? Did the sports team make another mistake in their selection?"

On the side, Hu Liu's face turned gloomy. Two athletes in a row from the Hanbei youth team had outperformed Jinpeng Lu. This was not a coincidence. At this moment, Hu Liu finally realized why he could not find a single sign of panic on Dai Li's face earlier. It was because he was confident all along!

"I thought he was just a young coach playing petty tricks. Turns out he's playing pig to eat the tiger! I may have kicked on an iron board." Hu Liu shook his head silently. But he did was not worried.

"Even if you are an iron board, we have a diamond drill. We'll drill through your iron board!" Hu Liu looked at national bronze medalist Xian Su.

Dai Li pointed at Feng Luo to signal his turn. Luo did not disappoint Dai Li. He threw 16.36 meters, still further than Lu's 16.31 meters.

"Another good throw. There are three consecutive good attempts already. This athlete was not chosen by the sports team either. How could it be? One could be a mistake. They could not have made the same mistake three times!" Hui Zhang suddenly realized the key to the problem. He turned his head towards Dai Li, with mixed emotions in his eyes.

"This Mr. Li was transferred here at such a young age. He is not an ordinary guy. He is capable of something."

Counting Xian Su, who had forfeited his attempt, there were five athletes who had completed the first attempt. To everybody's surprise, Jinpeng Lu, the national first-class athlete from the Nantan Middle School was at the bottom of the rankings.

Lu was the most upset by this. He had come with pride, believing that he could smash his rivals easily, but he was ending up at the bottom. Each of the three athletes from the rival team were better than him. He felt as if he had smashed his own head against the wall.

But Dai Li was smiling with content. Behind him was Bin Wang and Jiankang Chen, who had not appeared on stage yet. They could not wait to try. However, Dai Li did not intend to let them compete. He told Hu Liu, "Mr. Liu, you are a guest from afar. I have two more athletes, but they will forfeit their first attempts as well!"

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Chapter 107: A High Mountain

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

"This is cathartic!" Hui Zhang thought to himself, feeling relieved. His gloomy mood disappeared.

It was not long ago that Xian Su of the Nantan Middle School had forfeited his first attempt with arrogance. Now Dai Li had also asked his two athletes to forfeit. This was like slapping Xian Su in the face and saying, "Let me save some strength so I can punish you later." Xian Su was furious. He gave Dai Li a nasty look.

Dai Li pretended that he had not seen it, then uttered, "Mr. Liu, let's move on to round two!"

"Fine!" Hu Liu also harbored some anger towards Dai Li. In order to make up for the embarrassment, he agreed without hesitation.

Jinpeng Lu was still the first one to appear on stage. This time, his face seemed more serious. His relaxed look was gone; it was replaced with fierceness in his eyes.

"I was being careless just now. I thought they were weak, but it turns out they were only pretending to be weak so they could defeat us. And there are three of them! I have never been embarrassed like this. Just wait and see. Now I'm going to show my true colors," Jinpeng Lu thought to himself.

Jinpeng Lu stood in the throwing circle for the second time. But this time, instead of throwing the shot right away, he began by carefully adjusting his stance. Everybody could tell that this time Jinpeng Lu was taking things seriously.

Finally, Jinpeng Lu finished adjusting his stance, and was ready to throw.

"Go!" Lu spun his body with a loud shout, fierce enough to emit a shock wave through the ground.

The flying shot ball seemed to have channeled Jinpeng Lu's heart. It flew forward with anger, like a bomb. The measurement crew at the front seemed to be frightened by this anger, and stepped back subconsciously.

Poon!

The shot landed on the ground. The measurement crew walked towards it with a ruler.

"16.48 meters!" the crew's voice sounded.

"This is far, almost 16.50 meters! Lu did well this time." Dai Li was surprised, but he did not appear to panic. If Lei Qin, Zhanshan Zhao, and Feng Luo did well, they could also throw 16.50 meters.

Hu Liu nodded with satisfaction. He knew that 16.48 meters was almost the best that Jinpeng Lu could have done.

"16.48 meters is apparently not enough. The rivals are strong. I'm sure a couple of the previous three athletes can throw just as far. In a moment like this, we have to rely on our trump card player, Xian Su!" After thinking about this, Hu Liu looked towards Xian Su.

Xian Su did not forfeit this time. After having been humiliated by Dai Li, he could not wait to participate. He walked towards the throwing circle and immediately drew the attention of everybody. The coaches and athletes watching the match began talking about him in low voices.

"That is Xian Su, the bronze medal winner of the National Youth Track and Field Championship. He is the trump card for Nantan Middle School!"

"National bronze medalist. He must be good. I'm not sure how far he can throw."

"6kg shots are used in the Youth Championship. You have to throw at least 18 meters to win a medal. They are using 7.26kg shots today in the match. I think Xian Su can throw at least 17 meters."

"17 meters? That's impossible! If someone could throw beyond 17 meters, they could enter the top 10 in the National Track and Field Championship. Xian Su is a youth athlete after all. He cannot be that good!"

"I remember in the national track and field throwing group games earlier this year, the qualifying distance was 17.03 meters. If Xian Su can throw beyond 17 meters, he can qualify for the national throwing group game."

As the audience discussed amongst themselves, Xian Su was ready to throw.

With a swift turn, his tall figure spun in the air with the dexterity of a ballet dancer, yet filled with the beauty of explosive power.

"Beautiful movement!" Dai Li complimented secretly. Xian Su deserved the title of national youth game bronze medalist. His movement was not only textbook, but also pleasant to watch.

With a shout, the shot left Xian Su's hand. It travelled through the air like a shooting star, so fast that it was hard to capture with the naked eye.

Dai Li suddenly had a bad feeling. The faster the shot travelled, and the stronger the athlete's force was, the further the shot would fly. In global-level events such as the Olympics and the World Championships, not even the high-speed camera on TV broadcasts would play the motion of a flying shot ball. They would only feature a close-up of the impact point instead. The speed of the ball was too fast for the camera to capture.

Once the shot landed, the measurement crew took a few steps back. After seeing the impact point, they had realized that it was the right decision.

"17 meters? It seems to have reached 17 meters!"

"No, not yet. It is just very close to the 17 meter marking."

"16.98 meters!" the measurement crew shouted, with the voice resounding throughout the entire stadium.

"It is close, only 2 centimeters away from 17 meters!" Xian Su shook his head with disappointment.

Hu Liu was satisfied with the result, however. Xian Su was only in his second year of high school, and was about to start his third year in September. Considering his age, he barely had a rival amongst his peers.

...

Dai Li's face grew serious, and all five of his athletes felt extremely pressured. Lei Qin felt especially nervous, as he was the one who was about to step onto the field.

Lei Qin's best record was around 16.50 meters in his training, which was almost half a meter away from Xian Su's 16.98 meters. Even if Lei Qin performed extraordinarily well, it would be impossible to overcome such a gap. Each attempt of Xian Su's was like a mountain standing in front of the youth team.

"He is too strong. I do not have any hope of winning!" Lei Qin appeared to have some stage fright, which was immediately spotted by Dai Li.

Stage fright was a fatal weakness for athletes participating in competitions. In sports games, there was always someone among the strong who was the strongest. Even world record holders made mistakes. When facing a stronger rival, the athlete could perform very well if he or she chose to compete without fear or doubt.

Because young athletes lacked in-game experience, they might have been able to do well when they had an advantage. However, if they were at a disadvantage, they were likely to underperform because of fear, doubt, and hesitation.

All five of Dai Li's athletes were facing the latter situation. They had barely any in-game experience, and that problem was evident when they saw that their rival had thrown almost 17 meters.

Stage fright and low morale were what was making Dai Li worried.

Lei Qin was the next one to step into the field. His attempt had become crucial. If he did well, it could reassure the next four athletes waiting for their turns. But if he did not do well, it could trigger a domino effect.

"No, if all of them are in the same state, we cannot continue the match like this. I need to boost their morale and get them fired up. It is time to try the morale-boosting book." After thinking about this, Dai Li suddenly said, "Lei Qin, come here first."

Dai Li decided now was as good a time as ever to use the morale-boosting book.

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Chapter 108: The Best of the Best

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Lei Qin had almost reached the throwing circle when he heard Dai Li's words. Once he heard him, he turned around and walked back.

Nobody understood what Dai Li was trying to do. They all looked at him. Dai Li recalled how to use the morale-boosting book.

"Step one, praise the athlete before he goes on stage. How? I suppose any praise will do!" After thinking about this, Dai Li told Lei Qin, "Lei Qin, you are awesome!"

"What?" Lei Qin's mouth was wide open. He had not expected these words to come out of Dai Li's mouth. He thought Dai Li was about to give some additional instructions, so he had put up an attentive look, preparing to listen while he was standing there.

"This is praise. It should work." Then Dai Li said, "OK. You can go now!"

Lei Qin suddenly felt clueless. He had been called back by Dai Li, expecting to receive detailed instructions. Yet all he had gotten was "You are awesome."

"What is Dai Li doing? Calling the athlete back just to tell him that he is awesome?" Hui Zhang, the youth team coach, looked perplexed.

Hu Liu, the coach of Nantan Middle School, had the same look on his face. "Is this even encouragement for the athlete? You are awesome? Is that it? Shouldn't you say a few more words? What half-hearted encouragement! I think shouting 'go for it' would work better than calling back the athlete to tell him 'you are awesome.'"

At that moment a clapping sound could be heard. It was Dai Li clapping for Lei Qin.

Dai Li thought in silence, "Step two: clap for the athlete when he walks up to the stage. My hands are hurting from the clapping. It should work! Next is step three: cheer for the athlete during the match."

Dai Li's clapping did not draw any attention. It was too normal that a coach clapped for his athlete during a game.

Lei Qin stood in the throwing circle, held the shot, and prepared himself to throw.

"Come on, Lei Qin! Go for it! Go!" Dai Li's sudden cheering sounded particularly loud.

Everyone in the audience looked at Dai Li. He was not behaving the same way a moment ago. It was too abnormal.

"Is Mr. Li frightened out of his mind? He is being stupid!" Hui Zhang suddenly felt embarrassed.

At the same time, however, Lei Qin's spirit was suddenly elevated. The morale-boosting book had worked.

All Lei Qin felt was a sudden excitement, as if he had a great mission to accomplish and could not wait for it. The anxiety, restlessness, and fear of failure suddenly vanished in the air.

Right now, Lei Qin's morale was high. He shouted and threw the shot.

"16.53 meters!" the measurement crew announced.

"Good job, Lei Qin!" Dai Li could not help but yell. This was the best record Lei Qin had ever gotten.

Jinpeng Lu, the athlete from Nantan Middle School, felt pressure in his heart. His rival had just had another breakthrough. He had a feeling that consecutive defeats might happen again.

Hu Liu, on the other hand, seemed much calmer. He had expected that some of Dai Li's athletes would be able to throw beyond 16.50 meters. Yet even in this case, it would be 0.5 meters away from Xian Su's 16.98 meters. This was a gap impossible to bridge.

Zhanshan Zhao was the next one to step up. Dai Li repeated his trick.

"Zhanshan Zhao, you are awesome!" He uttered the same pointless praise. Then came the clapping sound from Dai Li.

"Come on! Go for it!" Dai Li's cheering could be heard throughout the entire field. The others gave the same awkward look to Dai Li. In their eyes, he was truly being silly. Yet Zhanshan Zhao's morale was boosted as well. He threw the shot 16.56 meters.

Feng Luo was the next in line. He also reached 16.50 meters.

"16.50 meters is a great record for athletes under the age of eighteen, enough to qualify for the provincial sports team of any province. But it is not enough to beat Nantan. They cannot defeat Xian Su." A relaxed smile appeared on Hu Liu's face. "I thought the Hanbei provincial youth team was short of athletes and would be easy to defeat. I cannot believe that we kicked an iron board. Luckily we still have Xian Su on our shot put team as a trump card. Otherwise we may have failed miserably on an easy task!"

Not far from him, Dai Li still looked calm. None of the results had been anything he had not expected. A distance over 16.50 meters by Lei Qin, Zhanshan Zhao, and Feng Luo was already good performance. Dai Li had not been counting on these three to defeat Xian Su from Nantan anyway. Dai Li's real trump card were the two remaining athletes, Bin Wang and Jiankang Chen.

Bin Wang had thrown almost 17 meters in his training. If he was able to outdo himself, he might exceed 17 meters.

Jiankang Chen was the strongest among the five. He was smart, a quick learner, and more gifted than the rest. Although he was not as competitive as Xian Su, Dai Li believed that he would definitely have a chance to defeat Xian Su with the help of the explosive force halo.

Xian Su did not forfeit this attempt this time, nor did Dai Li forfeit on behalf of Bin Wang and Jiankang Chen. He sent Bin Wang up first.

This was Bin Wang's debut, which made him slightly nervous. But he was anxious to go. Dai Li boosted his morale in the same way.

Hu Liu squinted his eyes. "This athlete did not compete just now. I'm not sure how good he is. Under most circumstances, the best athletes either compete first to boost the morale, or compete last to ease the others. I do not know how this Dai Li will choose to go about it." Then he smiled. "Even if this athlete is good, he will not be comparable to Xian Su."

"Go for it, Wang!" Dai Li's cheering was still loud and clear, which was the last step of the morale-boosting book. Wang's spirit was suddenly boosted. He then used all his strength to throw the shot.

"This is far!" Hu Liu's eyes suddenly widened. The shot landed on the ground the moment he had the thought.

"17 meters? Did it reach the 17-meter marking?" Hui Zhang craned his head, anxious to know the result.

"I underestimated this athlete. He might be as good as Xian Su! I can't believe that the Hanbei youth team has athletes of this level, especially during a time where they are supposed to be depleted of talent!" Hu Liu became nervous. If the shot had indeed touched the marking, even by a little, it would have been a better result than Xian Su's.

"16.97 meters!" the measurement crew announced with a tone of disappointment and shame.

"Oh, it was close! Just one centimeter off!" Hui Zhang looked mortified, almost as if he had just missed a million-dollar jackpot.

"Phew...it was close. Only off by one centimeter." Hu Liu, on the other hand, was sweating a cold sweat. He was extremely nervous a moment ago, fearing that Xian Su might lose the game.

"Excellent! Great job!" Dai Li continued clapping for his apprentice. Despite Wang not exceeding Xian Su's 16.98 meters, it was a great attempt that was worth acknowledging.

Hui Zhang had a hint of despair in his eyes. "We will not make it in the end. It is not easy to defeat the bronze medalist of the National Track and Field Championship. Besides, there was still a third attempt left. Xian Su might do even better that time.

What Hui Zhang had forgotten was that Jiankang Chen had not competed yet.

"Jiankang Chen, come here!" Dai Li waved his hands to summon Jiankang Chen.

"Sir, do you want to tell me that I am awesome?" Jiankang Chen asked him directly. Dai Li had been saying "you are awesome" every time he used the morale-boosting book earlier.

"Right. You are awesome!" Dai Li felt a little embarrassed, but he said it anyway.

"Sir, if you are not good at complimenting, then do not do it. It sounds pretentious." Jiankang Chen was being snarky again. "How about this: next time I will think of some kind words for you. You can recite them before the match, then use them on us. What do you think?"

"Go ahead with the match now. Do your best. Do not embarrass me!" Dai Li almost kicked Jiankang Chen's butt. But Jiankang Chen walked towards the field chuckling.

"He is an optimistic guy. His morale seems fine!" Dai Li decided to clap for Jiankang Chen anyway.

"Go for it!" As Jiankang Chen was getting ready to throw, Dai Li began cheering.

At that very moment, the morale-boosting book kicked in. Jiankang Chen suddenly had the illusion that he had become an almighty gladiator who was about to step into the arena, surrounded by clapping and cheering. The drum was beating as the audience cheered for him. He was a superstar at the centre of everybody's attention.

He could almost envision a horn that signaled it was time to march forward into battle, which excited him. His heart was burning with passion. His head was filled with intense impulses that would not go away. Even the shot in his hand felt lighter.

"Huhh!" With a loud shout, Jiankang Chen threw the shot.

Jiankang Chen's momentum reached its peak in that moment. The distant measurement crew suddenly moved back a few steps. In fact, they were standing around the 20-meter marking. Only a world-class shot put athlete could throw far enough to hurt him. Nonetheless, he was stunned by Jiankang Chen's momentum.

The shot made a perfect line in the air, then landed solidly, leaving a clear dent.

"17 meters! We made it! It is over 17 meters!" Hui Zhang was the first to yell out in excitement. The dent in the ground was clearly beyond the 17-meter marking, and by quite a bit at that.

"Yay!" Jiankang Chen clenched his fists and shouted in excitement. Behind Dai Li, the other four athletes cheered at the same time.

Hu Liu of Nantan Middle School was shocked. It was as if his chest had been hit by a heavy object.

"How could it be? Over 17 meters! This is a 16 pound ball, and it was thrown beyond 17 meters by a youth athlete! This is definitely a top 10 distance in the national adult championship."

Xian Su's face turned red. He had always been full of confidence, and looked down upon the Hanbei provincial youth team members. Even when Bin Wang had thrown 16.97 meters, it did not make him nervous. But now, a distance beyond 17 meters made his face change.

Everybody could tell that Xian Su was astonished. They were eager to find out how far Jiankang Chen had actually thrown.

The measurement crew took the measurement a few times in the front, then finally announced his result.

"17.11 meters!"

"Excellent job!" Dai Li finally smiled with relief.

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Chapter 109: Losers' Success

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

"17.11 meters!" Coach Liu repeated the number. His face was quite serious.

Xian Su's best performance using a 16 pound shot was 17.15 meters. He has never had such a high score in a competition. Are we going to lose the game? Coach Liu glanced at Xian Su, perplexed.

Coach Liu knew that the best performance could only be used as a reference. As a coach, he could not expect every athlete to be the best version of themselves in every single competition.

The first two attempts were finished. But although everyone would now have their last chance, they all knew that this game belonged to three people: Xian Su, Bin Wang, and Jiankang Chen.

Xian Su began to feel anxious. It was his last chance to win the competition.

Although it was a friendly match, the atmosphere was not very friendly. Xian Su did not want to be defeated by a nobody who was not even a first-class athlete. If he did, it would hurt his reputation badly. Xian Su was regretting giving up his first attempt. If he hadn't, he would have had another chance.

Coach Liu was more eager to win that Xian Su. The purpose of their visit had been to win the game. To do so, they had deliberately picked a time when the youth team lacked sufficient athletic talent. If it meant getting more fame for Nantan Middle School, they did not care about having an even contest.

Xian Su was the trump card for Nantan. If he lost the competition, the trip would have been made in vain. What could the Nantan Middle School boast about their school if the best athletes from the school were defeated?

On his third attempt, Jinpeng Lu quickly finished his throw, then left the mound to make way for Jiankang Chen. Jinpeng Lu had finished his role as a co-star; nobody cared about his performance. They all wanted to see whether Xian Su could surpass 17.11 meters or not.

Xian Su stepped onto the field. His face was very serious, and everyone's concentration on him put him under a lot of pressure. He felt even more stressed than when he had taken part in the National Youth Athletics Championships.

Although the youth championships were a big competition, he had competed for his pride; no matter what he had gotten, it would have been his business. But today's friendly match was different. It was at a lower level, but Xian Su was representing the entire Nantan school. If he failed, the school failed. The pressure was quite different when representing a group as opposed to oneself.

You cannot fail! Xian Su told himself. He took a deep breath, then sddenly spun his body like an elegant dancer dancing beautifully in the throwing circle. With a loud shout, he stretched out his arm and pushed the shot. It raised high into the air.

"17 meters!" Coach Liu shouted out loud.

The shot touched the ground, leaving a mark outside the 17-meter arc.

Everybody was staring at the surveyor. Only he could give the final result.

It is too far from here, I cannot see it clearly. I do not know how Xian Su did this time. Dai Li was a little nervous, but he was still calm knowing that Jiankang Chen had one more attempt.

Coach Liu's palms were sweating. Whether they sank or swam depended on this contest.

This time, the surveyor was extremely cautious. He measured the mark several times, then finally gave the result: "17.08 meters!"

"I win! I win!" Jiankang Chen jumped high. He was euphoric.

He ran to Dai Li and gave him a huge hug. "Coach, I win! I win, I win..." He was crying tears of joy, as if he were a child. In fact, to most people present, he was a child; he was not even 18-years-old yet.

Although it had been a small friendly match, Jiankang Chen had defeated Xian Su, the third place finisher in the national youth game. To Jiankang Chen, it was a miracle.

In that moment, Jiankang Chen thought back to four months ago when he had been willing to go on as a loser, preparing to end his career. He had been planning to enter a vocational school. But four months later, he had defeated a national third place finisher!

To him, the whole world had changed. He knew that it was Dai Li who had brought about those changes. He had been a degenerate, but thanks to Dai Li, he had gained his confidence again. He was able to devote himself to the shot put, and even taste victory.

Today's glory had taught Jiankang Chen a lesson: whenever he did something, as long as he insisted to never give up, he would be rewarded.

"Thank you so much, Coach!" Jiankang Chen was sobbing uncontrollably.

Dai Li patted Jiankang Chen's shoulder, then looked at the other four athletes. They were all excited. Although they had not been able to defeat Xian Su, they had still outperformed Jinpeng Lu, who was a first-class athlete. That brought them satisfaction.

There was no need to continue the contest. Xian Su had failed, so Dai Li did not plan to embarrass the competition any further.

...

How could I have failed! He is only a second-class athlete! Xian Su's face was full of pain and unwillingness.

Xian Su was not someone who had never failed before, but he had never expected to be defeated by a nobody. It was like a kung-fu master confidently preparing for a fight, but then being beaten by a street thug. No words could express his discontent.

Coach Liu's face was pale. When Xian Su had failed, the entire Nantan school had failed. To make matters worse, Xian Su had been defeated by someone who, he had never heard of before; someone that was not even a second-class athlete. If the news of this spread, Nantan would have a difficult time recruiting athletes in the future.

Coach Zhang, on the other hand, was delighted.

Haha, we win! And we beat your trump card! Nantan Middle School, you have finally learned your lesson. Well, I should report the good news to the chief coach...

Thinking about this, Coach Zhang took out his phone and called Coach Lu.

"Sorry, the number you dialed is busy. Please stay on the line..."

Coach Lu is talking to someone else. I will call back later. Coach Zhang put down his phone.

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Chapter 110: The Only Winner

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Meanwhile, Coach Lu, the chief coach of the Youth Team, was sitting in the meeting room, anxiously waiting the results. He was holding a form in his hand that listed all the events. After each title of each event there was a big red cross, indicating that the Youth Team had failed in the event.

Fail, fail again! We began preparing one week beforehand, yet we are being disastrously defeated. Nantan Middle School is strong, and they are well-prepared. We will be their stepping-stone.

Coach Lu sighed with disappointment. The Youth Team was good at middle and long distance running, especially in the 1500m and 5000m. The team had earned several national championship titles in the 1500m, while in the 5000m, the team had also raised some Asian Games champions.

Unfortunately, the youth team had failed in the two events. The main reason for this was that the best athletes had been selected to the Provincial Sport Team, and the new athletes were not good enough to compete yet.

Damn! If I had another half year to train the new athletes, we would not fail! Coach Lu gnashed his teeth in anger.

Every team has reported their results except for the throwing team. I will cross my fingers and pray that we win at least one of the four throwing events. Coach Lu stared at the form, praying in his heart.

Javelin is not our strong suit, so forget about that; Coach Sun of the discus team is experienced. He might win; hammer is one of our strengths. Coach Cai has been evaluated as an excellent coach for two years. Even though the best athletes were taken away, he should be able to handle the situation.

Finally, Coach Lu focused on the shot put team.

"Dai Li is the new coach of the shot put team It seems like he has a good relationship with Coach Xu from the swimming team. Coach Xu called me to take care of Dai Li. Because Dai Li was introduced as a person with ability, he should have some strengths. Alas, Nantan's trump card, the National Youth Games third place finisher, is a shot putter. We cannot defeat that guy.

Suddenly, Coach Lu's phone rang. He picked it up and answered the call.

"Coach Lu, we failed in javelin!" said the caller.

"Got it." Coach Lu was not surprised. Javelin was not their strength.

One minute later, Coach Lu's phone rang again.

"Coach Lu, we failed in discus! But we didn't lose by too much..." said the caller.

"Failure is failure, no matter how much we lose by," said Coach Lu. "Tell me the details..."

Ending the conversation, Coach Lu shook his head helplessly.

I expected the discus team to win the game. Seems like my expectations were too high. Coach Sun is a skillful coach, but he does not have any amazing athletes. Now we have to depend on the hammer team. If Coach Cai also fails, our team will be completely dominated by Nantan.

Coach Lu put his phone right in front of him as he stared at the screen, waiting for the next phone call.

Ring ring... the phone rang. Coach Lu picked it up immediately.

"So, how are you doing over there? Did we win?" Coach Lu asked straightforwardly.

"We almost won!" the caller answered.

"Almost! So we fail again!" Coach Lu was upset.

Coach Cai of the hammer team was an excellent coach, and was also one of the best coaches on the Youth Team. Coach Lu was praying that he would win, but the result was not what he had hoped for.

All the good athletes were taken away! We cannot do it! If even Coach Cai failed, then we have been defeated by Nantan!

Although the Hanbei Youth Team was not the first team to be beaten by Nantan, and Coach Lu had prepared for the failure, when the time came, he still felt unhappy.

As for shot put, Coach Lu did not even fool himself into thinking the team could win. Nantan had sent their best shot putter. According to the team's current ability, they would never win the game.

...

"Why won't Coach Lu answer me?" Coach Zhang was staring at the re-dial icon, counting the seconds.

Coach Zhang had jsut called Coach Lu, but the phone had rang several times, only for Coach Lu to not answer.

Perhaps he is out without his phone? Or maybe he is too busy to answer it? If it is the latter, should I even bother him? Will he be upset me? Coach Zhang hesitated for a few seconds, then finally pressed the re-dial button.

Whatever. I have a good news for him. He won't blame me for my rudeness!

...

The phone rang again, pulling Coach Lu back to reality. The screen displayed Coach Zhang's name.

He must have the results for me, thought Coach Lu.

But he was in a bad mood. He ignored the phone call.

He must be calling to tell me that they failed. I already know the result, stop bothering me! Coach Lu wanted to ignore the bad news, so Coach Zhang's call, leaving the phone ringing on the table.

Soon, Coach Zhang called again.

Why won't you leave me alone! Coach Lu was pissed off. He answered the call and said in a serious tone, "What is the result? How much did we lose by? Were we defeated badly?"

Coach Zhang did not notice Coach Lu's tone. He was still excited. "Coach Lu, we won! The shot put team won!"

"What did you say? We won? Say it again!" Coach Lu sat up straight right away.

"We won the game!" Coach Zhang repeated.

"How is that possible? Did the third place finisher show up?" asked Coach Lu.

"He did. But he was defeated," answered Coach Zhang.

"Was he injured? Did he hurt himself?" Coach Lu asked maliciously.

"No, nothing happened,Coach Zhang.

"Then how did we win?" Coach Lu was confused.

Coach Lu's questions confused Coach Zhang.

"How did we win? It is not a battle. If it was basketball or ping-pong, I could describe the process in detail. But it is shot put! Isn't the game only about throwing a shot the furthest to win the game?"

Coach Zhang had a perplexed look on his face. He said, "Our athletes threw the shot further, so we won!"

The next second, Coach Lu's roar could be heard on Coach Zhang's phone. "Idiot! I know that whoever throws the ball further wins the game! I'm asking for the details!"

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Chapter 111: Goodbye, "Agent"

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Hui Zhang told the entire story to Bin Lu.

"17.11 meters? Did Jiankang Chen really throw 17.11 meters?!" Bin Lu knew the details, but had no idea who Jiankang Chen was.

Because there were a lot of athletes that left every year, there were always newcomers. People came and left frequently, and as a chief coach, Coach Lu was unable to remember everyone's name. He only knew the outstanding ones. Jiankang Chen was a nobody, so it was no wonder Bin Lu did not recognize him.

17.11 meters. That is good enough for him to participate in adult-level competitions. How could the Provincial Sport Team have missed such a good athlete?

Coach Lu searched for Jiankang Chen's personal information on his computer.

Found him. His score was 14.74 meters in the selection. He has improved so much within such a short period of time! Did he crack under the pressure during the selection?

Coach Lu combed through Jiankang Chen's performance evaluation from the previous month.

December, 14.68 meters; November, 14.63 meters; October, 14.59 meters...

Coach Lu sighed. He realized that Jiankang Chen had made a huge improvement after four months of training. Before, he had been a loser, and could not even threw beyond 15 meters. Now his score was above 17 meters.

Incredible! How did he do it?

Coach Lu suddenly remembered that the other team members on the shot put team had also all gotten over 16.50-meter performances.

What are their names again? Never mind, let me check the name list. Coach Lu typed something in, and seconds later the name list showed up on the screen.

None of them were able to throw over 15 meters! Coach Lu gasped at the result. He stared at the screen in astonishment.

It is not just Jiankang Chen—the rest all made great improvement! In only four months of training, just after the new year! What happened?

Nothing had changed. It was the same training field, same devices, same amount of training time; even the food in the canteen had remained unchanged. The only difference was the coach. Dai Li was the new shot put coach.

In athletics, only the coach could transform athletes! Coach Lu realized that the next second.

Dai Li, it must be him! Amazing! He is able to help the athletes greatly. He even defeated Xian Sum the third place finisher in the National Youth Game! I never knew he was so great! Coach Lu took a deep breath. His face was brightened with a gleaming smile.

...

That night, the Youth Team held a welcome party for Nantan Middle School.

Coach Lu was euphoric. Joy had that effect. He held his glass as he walked around and toasted. His face was full of cheerfulness.

The vice president of the Nantan Middle School squeezed out a smile and tried his best to maintain it. The smile conveyed a sense of embarrassment. Nantan would now have to return home with nothing. Their trump card had been defeated by a nobody, which was a great shame.

Dai Li, however, had amazed everyone on the Youth Team. He had transformed five "losers" into top young athletes within only four months. That alone was extraordinary.

In athletics, people judged others only by their ability. This rule was used to evaluate not only athletes, but coaches as well. Generally, coaches of youth teams were not as good as those of sport teams. Otherwise, they would not be with the youth team in the first place.

With the Coaching System's help, Dai Li was now a second-rate coach in his senior phase. His coaching ability was almost identical to the best coaches on the national team. He was now much better than most of the youth team coaches.

Dai Li never showed off, and because he was a newcomer, no one ever noticed him, nor expect him to achieve anything. But now things had changed. Everyone admitted that Dai Li was the one with great ability, and would definitely have a bright future. At the dinner party, Dai Li was the focus; many people came over to toast to him, hoping to build a closer relationship.

Later, Coach Lu came over to Dai Li.

Because he had been too excited, Coach Lu was drunk. He was red in the face, but looked delighted.

"Well done, Dai Li! You saved us all! Without you, we would have hurt our reputation! Bottoms up!" Coach Lu smiled and glanced at his own glass, saying, "I will finish a third of it!"

Coach Lu clinked glasses Dai Li, then drank.

Dai Li did not refuse. He drank the same amount of wine. Dai Li's drinking capacity was decent, and the glass was small. He was able to handle it.

But Coach Lu was drunk. He said, "You know, Dai Li? I knew you were a good man the first day we met! We welcome you! We love you! Wait a minute, are you still an agent coach?"

Dai Li nodded, "Yes. According to normal procedures, it should take me three to six months to become a formal coach, I think."

"Don't you worry!" Coach Lu waved his hand and said straightforwardly, "Tomorrow! Tomorrow I will submit a report and request that you to be a formal one!"

"That would be great! Thank you so much!" Dai Li thanked Coach Lu.

"You are one of us own, make yourself at home! Your are my worker, how could I not help you? I really like you. Keep working hard like this. You are still quite young; you must make great achievements in the future!" Coach Lu said, raising his glass again. "Come on, let's drink another round!"

...

Dai Li thought Coach Lu had been too drunk, and that he would never remember his promise. Dai Li had planned to remind Coach Lu about it, but hesitated. Because Coach Lu was Dai Li's boss, he did not want to push Coach Lu for a job.

However, Coach Lu did not forget what he had said. One week later, the approval came in, and Coach Lu immediately called Dai Li into his office.

"Congratulations! Dai Li, from now on, you are an official coach!" Coach Lu handed Li a document.

"Thank you, Coach Lu!" Dai Li took the document with excitement. He opened it and read it carefully.

Dai Li has been working hard throughout his career. He is responsible and loyal. Therefore, after thorough consideration, the department party committee has decided that Dai Li will become the chief coach of the Youth Team Long Jump Program for two years. This is the approval of the final decision. The decision of the above appointment begins as of the date of release...

Dai Li was frozen. He re-read the document again word for word, making sure that he had not missed anything.

Long jump? How come I am becoming a long jump coach? I'm the chief coach of the shot put team! Is there a mistake?

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Chapter 112: Freeloader

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Dai Li was completely confused. He stared at the red seal at the bottom of the document, knowing the appointment must be correct.

Dai Li looked up at Coach Lu for an explanation. Coach Lu smiled with embarrassment and said, "Do not look at me like that. The appointment is correct; you are the chief coach of the long jump team."

"Coach Lu, did you want me to coach long jump team?" Dai Li probed.

"It was not my idea," Lu shook his head, "In my report, I wrote the shot put team. But they decided to let you coach long jump team. It was the leaders' decision."

"Then what about Coach Zhuang, the original coach of the team?" Dai Li wanted to know what would happen to the current coach of the long jump team.

The long jump team already had a chief coach, Xuexi Zhuang. If Dai Li went to long jump team, there would be two chief coaches. He would have to figure out their relationship, as far as who was primary and secondary.

Coach Zhuang had connections. His uncle was a vice director for the Provincial Sport Department. If Dai Li became Xuexi Zhuang's coworker, he would probably become his subordinate.

"Zhuang won't stay. He will become the chief coach of the shot put team," said Coach Lu.

"Then it is like we exchanged jobs," Dai Li sighed with relief. He did not want to work with someone who had connections like Xuexi Zhuang. Otherwise, he would always be the one who worked hard, while the other would sit and enjoy the fruits of his labor.

Coach Lu lowered his voice and said, "You know that Xuexi Zhuang is Director Zhuang's nephew, don't you? He thought that with Director Zhuang's special care, he would be promoted quickly. He only came to our youth team so he could move up. He was planning to leave once he made some achievements. However, he has been here for two years and still has not made any progress. None of his athletes have succeeded. We coaches are judged by our ability; if we have no good scores, we cannot be promoted. Director Zhuang lacks an excuse to promote his nephew, and he dare not to break rules."

Dai Li nodded. If a sports coach was really outstanding, he could work in governmental institutions. For example, a vice director for the State Administration of Sports would have been a famous coach before.

But being a civil servant meant that one had to obey rules. It was similar to working for a private company, in that one had to strictly follow the boss's orders. If the boss asked you to be a manager, you could not be an inspector. When working for the government, the higher the level, the stricter the rules were. Especially when it came to appointing officials, leaders had to be cautious. They could never do anything that others could hold against them.

Because of this, Xuexi Zhuang had not been promoted for two years due to the fact that he had not achieved anything. If he could attain even a little progress, he would not stay on the youth team; his uncle would promote him to someplace better.

Coach Lu continued, "To be honest, you should keep leading the shot put team. But Xuexi Zhuang wants your athletes. Jiankang Chen threw 17.11 meters, and Bin Wang got 17 meters, right? For teenagers, those are outstanding results."

"He wants to trade because of the scores?" Dai Li immediately realized what this was really about.

With his uncle's assistance, it was easy to trade places Dai Li. That was why Dai Li had been appointed the chief coach of the long jump team.

Coach Lu had confirmed Dai Li's suspicions, saying, "At the end of August, the Provincial Youth Game will start. This game is also a selection period for the National Youth Game. The ones with good performances can represent our province in the national game. Xuexi Zhuang is seizing the opportunity. He plans to lead the shot put team and get some outstanding scores in the competition so he can have a shot at being promoted. Get it?"

"Are you saying Xuexi Zhuang is a freeloader?" Dai Li understood Coach Lu's point.

"A freeloader? I guess you could say that. Sorry to make things difficult for you. You have been spending so much time and energy training these athletes; it should be time to reap the rewards, but suddenly someone else has grabbed them," Coach Lu sighed pitifully. He tried to comfort Li by saying, "But we can do nothing to change the situation. Do not worry about it too much, you will still have plenty of chances."

Dai Li was pissed off knowing what was really happening. He had been training so hard, witnessing five kids grow up. Now someone else wanted to take advantage of his hard work. It was really unfair.

But he could do nothing to stop it. The youth team directly belonged to the Provincial Sport Department, and because Xuexi Zhuang's uncle was a vice director of the department, Xuexi Zhuang had strong backup. Dai Li would not dare to complain. He was an ordinary person without any connections. No one would support him.

Besides, there was nothing wrong with the procedure. Director Zhuang had Dai Li to the long jump team, which was reasonable. As an agent coach, being transferred to a new team as a formal chief coach meant being promoted. Everything looked acceptable on the surface.

Leaving Coach Lu's office with the appointment document Dai Li felt depressed. He felt like a farmer who had been taking very good care of his vegetables and working really hard for months, but when the time had come to reap his rewards, someone else had grabbed everything to enjoy it themselves.

Shxt! Dai Li swore secretly. Leading his athletes through the fight for honor was something Dai Li had wanted to do so much. He deserved it. But instead, someone else had taken his place.

The next second, Dai Li suddenly realized that the reason Jiankang Chen had been able to throw 17.11 meters was because he had gotten the benefit of the explosive force halo and Morale-Boosting Book.

According to Jiankang Chen's ability, he could not achieve that score without those tools, let alone defeat Xian Su.

If I leave the shot put team, after a while those athletes will be deleted from my training list. They will not be able to enjoy the benefit of the explosive force halo anymore. That means that even if Coach Zhuang leads the team, the athletes will not be this good. When they compete on the field, they will not have outstanding performances, Dai Li thought.

Zhuang, even if you take my place, so what? You do not have a Coaching System, nor do you have an explosive force halo. My team will no longer be special under your guidance! They will return to ordinary people again without me! You wanna earn your fame using them? Think again!

But Dai Li immediately became sad again. He had been working with those kids for so long. He truly wished them all the best.

On the one hand, there was freeloader Coach Zhuang trying to take advantage of his hard work; on the other hand, his students were excited to get some achievements to prove themselves. Dai Li was facing a dilemma.

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Chapter 113: An Awful Mess

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Dai Li was deep in thought. He walked towards the training field wondering what to do next.

Without him, there would be no more explosive force halo. His trainees' performances would decline without a doubt. Dai Li was part of the group, so he definitely knew what would happen to the athletes, but he could do nothing to save the situation. He even felt a sense of guilt. It had been him who had taught them to fly, then kick back into the ground. He did not want to crush their dreams.

"Hey, do not overthink it, OK? You are just their coach!" said the System. It seemed like it had felt Dai Li's depression. It changed its tone to become more serious.

"Do not feel guilty. You have done nothing wrong. Do not forget who you are—a coach. As a coach, you have done pretty well. They are a group of C-level athletes. Remember that C-level athletes can only become good athletes at best, even under your guidance. Their future has already been determined.

"In professional athletics, genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration, but the inspiration is more important. You see those foreign soccer stars, they all train very hard. Why do their careers turn out differently? Some people become rulers, some become superstars, some are celebrities, and some are nobodies. You know why? Because they all give different amounts of effort? No! The only reason is talent. They have different talents.

"Talent decides where one will land. It is like buildings with different heights; some buildings have ten floors, some have twenty, and some may have thirty. If it is a ten-floor building, no matter how hard you try, you will never reach the 11th floor. The same can be said about talent. Coach are stairs for athletes to climb. You, with the Coaching System, I would say you are more of an elevator. But you can never break the boundaries of walls."

The System kept trying to get its point acrossDai Li only caught the last few words. He said, "I got the idea. You are saying that one's talent decides one's peak ability, and the my Coaching System only helps them to reach their peak, right?"

"Correct. You got it. You have already helped them, so there is no need to feel any regret. With your help, the five athletes have reached their peak. But with their C-level talent, they will never be world champions. They will just be their normal selves without you. Isn't that a good thing? You are just a coach. They need to take their own path. You cannot help them forever," said the System.

"Walk their own path? Right, I have my own way to go!" Dai Li was suddenly enlightened. The next second, he laughed, "Ha, I never thought I would be enlightened by you!"

"Hey, do not take me so lightly! My intelligence is beyond your imagination!"

...

"Coach Li, are you really leaving?" The five young athletes surrounded Dai Li. After months of training, they had developed close relationships. Now that Dai Li was about to leave, they were not willing to let him go.

"All good things must come to an end. To tell the truth, even if I stayed with this team, you would still leave one day, wouldn't you? You are almost 18-years-old, it is time for you to leave the youth team. We were going to split up eventually." Dai Li gave them an encouraging smile and said, "Some of you may continue your careers as athletes, and some of you may not. But I hope that in the future, no matter where you are, or what you do, that you remember what I taught. Try hard, don't give up, and never regret anything!"

"Understood!" The five boys said in one voice.

"Alright then. I will go talk to Coach Zhuang. You should listen to him, and do your best!" Dai Li patted their shoulders, then turned around and left.

Coach Zhuang could not wait to join the shot put team. He had gone through the procedures quickly to transfer. He showed no sympathy for what he had done, feeling that everything was behooved.

This made Dai Li feel gross. He hoped to see Xuexi Zhuang mess everything up in the Provincial Youth Games.

After the transfer was completed, Dai Li headed to the long jump training field.

Once he Dai Li noticed that there were less people on the long jump team than he had expected.

The old athletes had all left after the friendly match with Nantan Middle School. Dai Li was not surprised. Besides the shot put team, old athletes on the other teams had all left because they had either reached the age limitation or had no reason to stay, since they could not make any further progress. The shot put team had astonished everyone. Even the weakest one had reached the minimum standard of a first-class athlete. The shot-putters had all been selected by the Sport Team, which was why they were willing to stay here.

The rest of long jump team were all newcomers, and there were only sixteen people altogether. Dai Li was confused.

Every July, Hanbei's good young athletes were sent to the Provincial Youth Team. Usually there would be anywhere from twenty to fifty people in each group. When Dai Li had originally trained the shot put team, there had been forty people in the program.

Why is this team is so small? The long jump is quite popular. Why are there only sixteen people? Dai Li was confused, so he called an athlete over.

"Is your team always this small?" asked Dai Li.

"No, we used to have more than fifty people. But they were all selected. This is all we have left," answered the young boy.

"You had more than fifty people but only have sixteen left? More than thirty have left? Who took them?" Dai Li asked. He was astonished.

"The sprint team, hurdle team, and high jump team. Even the badminton and tennis team took some people away," answered the boy.

Long jumpers had a lot of explosive force, so it was understandable that the sprint team and hurdle team had taken some of the athletes away. The sports shared something in common. Take Feixiang Lin as an example: He had originally been a long jumper before he had been selected by Coach Jihai Ding. He had become a hurdler afterwards. There were other good long jumpers who had originally been sprinters, too.

But no matter which sport it was, they all belonged to Youth Athletics. Such a transfer could be considered an inter-team transfer. But why had the badminton and tennis teams taken athletes?

Thinking about this, Dai Li felt there was something wrong.

Wait a minute. Coach Zhuang's uncle is Director Zhuang of the Provincial Sport Department. With such strong connections, who would dare take people Xuexi Zhuang?

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Chapter 114: An "A"

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Coach Zhuang had an uncle who worked in the Provincial Sport Department as a vice director. Although he may not have had the strongest network, he definitely had a good one. When trying to bully people, one had to watch out for powerful connections. Other coaches who wanted to grab athletes from the long jump team had to evaluate themselves first, and decide whether they were able to offend Xuexi Zhuang without any negative effects.

On an entire team, it was OK if only three to five people transferred to other teams. But thirty was definitely beyond acceptable. Even badminton and tennis had dared to take athletes from this team. It was incredible.

Xuexi Zhuang does not look like a loser. How could he take that? Dai Li thought. He asked, "What did Coach Zhuang do when the others came to take the athletes?"

The long jumper immediately replied, "He did nothing but welcome the coaches. I guess he thought the less people there were, the easier the job would be."

Another athlete interrupted him and said, "Actually, lately Coach Zhuang had not even arranged our training. We all worked on our own."

"Why?" asked Dai Li.

"Because he is going to the shot put team, he did not pay attention to us anymore," said the athlete in a low voice, "I heard him talking to someone else on the phone. He said that because he was going to the shot put team, there was no need to waste his time and effort on the long jump team."

How could he evade responsibility! Dai Li was filled with fury. He had been pissed off by Coach Zhuang several times already in only one day.

To Dai Li, as long as he was in charge, he would perform his duties. Afterwards, he would have to shoulder the responsibility. Dai Li had not asked Xuexi Zhuang to be as considerate as he had been, but he could have at least not left an awful mess for him.

Nevertheless, Xuexi Zhuang did not seem to have done anything right. Once he found out that the shot put team surprisingly defeated Nantan Middle School, he had decided to take the team as his own. He had even let the other teams pick out athletes as they wished, and did not even schedule daily training. Dai Li had inherited an impossible situation.

Luckily we have sixteen people left. I guess since they remain unpicked, their ability must be so-so, Dai Li thought. He detected the whole team.

First one... D talent? What the heck is this? How could a D be on this team?

Second one… D talent! Even worse than D. Does it only get worse from here?

Third one, D! Another D, what is going on here? Why are there so many untalented athletes on a provincial team? I guess technically D-level talent can be categorized as amateurs, but they have a long way to go to become professionals.

Dai Li was upset. He dared not detect anyone else, worried he would see a worse result.

This team is awful. The previous shot put team had five C-level athletes. Now I have to deal with a group of D-level athletes. Damn Xuexi Zhuang! How dare you grab my team and leave me a mess? Even with my great ability, I can't do anything in this situation. Dai Li swore Xuexi Zhuang in his mind.

It was common to have D-level athletes among Youth Team newcomers. Although Dai Li had had five C-level shot putters, they had been training for more than a year and had not be kicked off the team. These D-level athletes already meant game over. Because Dai Li was leading a group of newbies, it was no wonder he had so many D-level athletes.

While Dai Li was worrying about what he was going to do, three people walked towards him.

The leader was a middle-aged man in his fifties with dark skin and medium figure. He was well-dressed. The other two following him were in their thirtes. The one on the left wore a pair of golden wire frame glasses and had a briefcase in his hand, looking studious; the one on the right was a muscular man in a T-shirt, and was not very tall. He looked like a soldier.

The three gathered a lot of attention. They walked directly towards Li.

"Manager Fang, this is the long jump training field." The studious man pointed in Dai Li's direction.

The middle-aged man nodded, striding forward. Dai Li welcomed him.

"What can I do for you?" asked Dai Li.

"Are you the coach of the long jump?" the middle-aged man asked in reply.

"Yes, I am. I'm the new chief coach of the long jump team," Dai Li nodded.

"Nice to meet you. I'm Haiquan Fang's father. I'm here to take him away." The man introduced himself in a flat voice, but Dai Li could feel a sense of dignity.

"Haiquan Fang?" It was Dai Li's first day here, so he was not familiar with his team. He thought about it carefully, then finally remembered that there was someone named Haiquan Fang. Dai Li immediately opened the name list, and the name was right there.

There is someone named Haiquan Fang, but I do not know which one he is. Dai Li turned around to an athlete behind him and said, "Go tell Haiquan Fang to come here. His father is looking for him."

Dai Li thought it was a parent asking for his child's leave, so he asked, "Could you please tell me the reason Haiquan Fang has to leave? When will he return? I need to know so I can make a record."

"Leave? Who said my son is asking for leave?" Manager Fang stood in a daze, then realized that Dai Li had misunderstood him.

"I'm not asking for leave, I'm here to take him away from here. We will never come back," said Manager Fang.

You mean Haiquan wants to leave the team? Dai Li's thoughts were all over the place.

What a bad day it is! The first day I'm on duty I'm welcomed with a mess, and now someone wants to leave. It must be because Xuexi Zhuang did not train the athletes hard recently, which disappointed the parents.

Thinking about this, Dai Li smiled and said, "I heard that you are 'Manager Fang.' May I refer to you the same way? Manager Fang, allow me to explain. Recently we had an inner transfer. The previous coach, Xuexi Zhuang, went to another team, which is why training was not as effective as before. But please relax. There is no need to worry about this anymore. I'm the new chief coach of the long jump team. I will take good care of the team, and never allow those problems to happen again."

"I don't care about what happened here. I'm here to take my son." Manager Fang looked indifferent.

Haiquan Fang was running towards them.

"Dad, why you are here!" Haiquan Fang looked resistant. "I told you I would never leave this team!"

"No way! You have to go back!" Manager Fang said decisively.

"No! Never!" Haiquan Fang was also stern in his speech.

"How dare you! If you do not come with me, do not expect to get a cent from me!" Manager Fang was angry.

"Who cares! My team takes care of my living and dining costs. Once I join the Sport Team, I will make a living myself. I do not need your money!" Haiquan Fang had adequate reasons for not needing his father's money.

Seeing that the father and son were having an argument, Dai Li immediately interrupted and said, "Please, there is no need to argue. How about we sit down and discuss it?"

Meanwhile, Dai Li detected Haiquan Fang. An "A" showed up in the System!

What! A-level! Fang has A-level talent in thelong jump! He has the potential to become a world-class athlete. If he is lucky enough, he may be able to win a world championship!

Dai Li made a decision: never let Haiquan Fang leave!

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Chapter 115: A Rich Second-Generation Athlete

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Having worked with several athletes, Dai Li realized that it was difficult to find one with top-level talent. It was like building a pyramid; more bricks were needed at the bottom, but once it reached the top, only one brick was required.

Among all the professional athletes Dai Li had ever met, 95% of them had been C-level, which was good. B- level athletes were hardly ever found. People like Feixiang Lin and Feifei Yu, who were S-level talents, were rarely seen.

With A-level talent and hard work, one could become a world-class athlete, and win a medal in international games. If lucky enough, assuming the other competitors were relatively weak, the athlete may even be able to win a gold medal.

And Haiquan Fang had A-level talent in the long jump!

A gold medal in athletics was hard to get. Asian countries' athletics abilities lagged behind other countries. If one was a world-class athlete, they had to be great. In that case, the coach of said athlete could be promoted.

When Dai Li had detected that Haiquan Fang had A-level talent, he realized that he was a gifted athlete. He decided that, by any means necessary, that he must keep Haiquan Fang on the team.

Dai Li said, "Haiquan Fang, Manager Fang wants you to leave. What do you think?"

"Why should I obey him! I just got here, why should I leave? I will not leave!" said Haiquan Fang firmly.

"No way! You must go back with me!" Manager Fang ordered.

Dai Li could tell another argument was about to break out, so he immediately interrupted, saying, "Excuse me, Manager Fang, but why do you want Haiquan Fang to retreat? Is there anything we have done to disappoint you?"

"Sorry, Coach, don't get me wrong—there is nothing I am dissatisfied with. I just want my son to go back to school instead of jumping around in a sandpit. Everyone else his age is studying at school," said Manager Fang.

Back to school? He is one of those parents who think being a "scholar" is the best thing someone can be. Dai Li sighed. He understood the concern.

Being an athlete was a profession that depended on youth to make a living. In parents' eyes, studying hard, entering a college, and finding a stable job was more realistic than being an athlete. Young athletes had usually just graduated from junior middle schools, so it seemed more reasonable for them to go to high school, then to college.

But an A-level athlete would be a top-class athlete, which was much better than just finding a normal job.

Dai Li said, "Manager Fang, to be honest, being an athlete is not a bad thing. I'm not going to talk about superstars like Feixiang Lin. Ordinary world champions can also get nice jobs after they retire. They can be coaches or work in governmental organizations. They will always have an something going for them. Especially for famous athletes, they can easily earn a living through advertising endorsements, and can earn much more than college graduates. Besides, nowadays it is really difficult to find a job. Even post-graduates cannot find satisfying jobs, let alone college students."

While speaking, Dai Li glanced at Haiquan Fang, then said, "I think Haiquan is gifted in the long jump. If he is willing to train hard, I'm sure that he can be an outstanding athlete. Even if he is not as good as Feixiang Lin, he still has the potential to be a top national long jumper."

Dai Li did not want to say "world-class," so instead he said "top national." He did not want to make Manager Fang feel like he was bragging.

Shattering Dai Li's expectations, however, that father laughed disdainfully. "National best? I will never let him be an athlete, even if he could be the next Feixiang Lin!"

Dai Li was astonished. Feixiang Lin was a national treasure, especially after he had broken the world record again last year. His fame had increased rapidly. It was definitely not an exaggeration to say that Feixiang Lin was a national idol who was full of positive energy.

Dai Li believed that parents would be delighted to hear that their children had become as good as Feixiang Lin. Why did Manager Fang have such a bad attitude?

Suddenly, the studious man stepped forward and introduced Manager Fang more thoroughly, saying, "Our Manager Dalu Fang is the president of the Continental Corporation."

The Continental Corporation? Dalu Fang? He is Dalu Fang! Dai Li finally realized who he had been talking to, as well as why he had disregarded Feixiang Lin. In actuality, Dalu Fang had not meant to disregard Feixiang Lin. But they were in completely different worlds.

If he had only been informed of his name, Dai Li would have needed some time to recall who Dalu Fang was. But the Continental Corporation was a resonant brand.

The Continental Corporation was built off of land sale, and had also recently gotten involved in other trades like entertainment and e-commerce. The chairman, Dalu Fan,g was the richest man in the Hanbei Province. His private property was worth over 20 billion yuan. Although he was not the richest man in the country, 20 billion was an enormous figure to normal people.

Dai Li understood right away why Manager Fang had been indifferent when talking about athletes' futures. As an extremely rich man, why would he care about advertising endorsements and secure jobs? Just as Dalu Fang had said, even if his son became the next Feixiang Lin, he did not care. In Feixiang Lin's career, he could earn no more than one billion yuan; the Continental Corporation could easily earn more than a billion by building two or three estates.

I never thought I would speak to a billionaire one day. That studious man must be his assistant, and the strong man must be his bodyguard. He looks like a retired soldier. But as rich as Dalu Fang is, only one bodyguard is with him. Isn't that modest?

Dai Li looked Haiquan Fang up and down. He had never expected to have a second generation rich kid on his team, let alone a super rich one.

Haiquan Fang was just above 1.80 meters. He was pretty tall compared to his peers. He had inherited Dalu Fang's dark skin, thick eyebrows, medium-sized eyes, and prominent cheekbones, which made his face angular. He was in a common sport suit, and looked no different than other high school students.

He does not look rich! Dai Li thought to himself.

In his mind, rich children were always well-dressed, driving sports cars, showing off everywhere, arrogant, and rude. Those qualities did not describe Haiquan Fang. Dai Li felt that even if Haiquan Fang had told the others that he had a super rich dad, nobody would believe him.

What is going on in his mind? Why does he want to be an athlete? Being an athlete is not an easy job. If I had a super rich father, I would never be an athlete!

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Chapter 116: My Dream

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

20 billion was a figure completely beyond Dai Li's imagination. He only had a vague concept. However, as a coach, he really hoped that Haiquan Fang could stay. After all, Fang had A-level talent; it would be a waste if he couldn't become an athlete. It was the same as a good chef not being able to use the best materials to make a dish; an outstanding jade master would not be able to stand if he was not allowed to carve jade. As for coaches, if he missed out on a talented athlete, he would be disappointed.

"Haiquan Fang, you would rather stay than retreat, right?" asked Li.

Fang nodded. "Yes, I want to stay. I love long jump! It makes me feel like I can fly."

"You wanna fly? I can buy you a plane! You can fly by plane to wherever you want!" Manager Fang snorted.

If someone else had said it, he may have been regarded as a joker. But Manager Fang was different. With his resources, it would not be a problem for him to buy a private plane, which is why nobody dared to laugh at him. Some salesmen might actually immediately come advertising their private planes to Manager Fang.

Worried about having a third quarrel, he turned to the father and said, "Manager Fang, if you never wanted your son to become an athlete, why did you send him here? Our youth team only recruits juveniles, they can't enroll without a guardian's permission."

Li was telling the truth. No matter what team it was, as long as it referred to juveniles, the recruitment required a guardian's permission and their signatures on relative contracts.

Upon mentioning this, Manager Fang became annoyed. "This is all about his mother! She secretly sent him here, my son is spoiled by his mom!"

"I see." Li was still smiling. "in my opinion, it would be better for you to have a negotiation first. It seems like you and Mrs. Fang have different views. If you don't come up with a final decision, you might bring your son home only to have Mrs. Fang send him back tomorrow."

"She wouldn't dare!" Manager Fang snorted again. He sounded less confident.

"Perhaps he is intimidated by his wife?" Li continued, "Manager Fang, we have a high elimination rate, so much so that our training is too intensive for teenagers to insist. A lot of people give up by themselves because they can't stand it anymore. Usually, only 20% of athletes can make it until the end. Therefore, I suggest letting your son try first. There is no need to push him too hard right now. Besides, he is not willing to go back. How about you give him a chance?"

Hearing this, Manager Fang's face brightened. He thought that Li was indicating that his son may not hold on for much longer. What he didn't know, however, was that it was just Li's misdirection.

The father finally went back alone, while Haiquan Fang stayed. But Li could sense that Manager Fang wouldn't easily give up. He would return soon. Staring at his father's back, the son was still filled with anger.

"Hey, are you still annoyed?" asked Li.

"He never thinks about me! He never knows what I want! He only cares about himself!" The son showed his anger by giving a snort.

"I would say that your father does all of these because he really cares about you, otherwise he wouldn't come here by himself. Think about it; if he really wanted you to leave, he could simply tell our leader and have you expelled," said Li.

As an extremely rich man, Manager Fang definitely possessed a strong network. In the last few years especially, after the rapid development of the Continental Cooperation, even the local government began trying to please Manager Fang in an attempt to attract his investment. Therefore, as long as he wished, he could simply pressure the Provincial Sport Department to expel his son.

But he didn't. This did not mean that he lacked power, nor did it mean that he did not think about it. It was because he cared too much about his son. Mr. Fang loved his son; he was just expressing his love in the wrong way.

Fang knew that Li was telling the truth. He thought in silence for a few seconds, then replied, "My father wanted to send me to the UK for high school. Then he wants me to major in business management in college so I can take his position after I graduate."

"Isn't that cool? Leading a huge company with billions of dollars worth of property?" Li felt jealous.

"That is not what I want! I love long jump; I love the feeling when I'm flying in the sky. I enjoy the excitement whenever I challenge myself and outperform myself, especially when I have a good performance. Nothing else can bring me such satisfaction!" Fang's eyes were full of longing.

"I don't know what's going on in your mind. You know, being an athlete means receiving intense training every day, no matter how bad the weather is," said Li. "I have to make it clear: if you insist in doing this, you are going to have a hard life. Are you sure you want to do this?"

"I'm sure!" answered Fang firmly. His eyes were shining with stubbornness.

"Alright, let's get started then." Li patted Fang's shoulder. "From now on, you are going to live in hell. If you can't deal with it, leave!"

...

Li already knew that Fang was a stubborn person. That was why he had prodded Fang into action. During their daily training, Li was very strict with Fang. He had A-level talent, which was above all the other teenagers. He deserved more attention.

Long jump training was not a big deal. It was a sport that required basic skills, and whose training was divided into two parts: explosive leg strength and methods training. Every sport shared similar explosive force training skills. The main emphasis was on weight training and additional resistance. Considering the limitations of human muscle, overloading or offering too much resistance could cause harm to the body, especially to professional athletes who received high-intensity training each day. It was very important to control the weight and resistance to make training effective.

Luckily, because Li owned two beneficial tools—Muscle Relaxation and Rehabilitative Massage—he didn't worry about Fang getting injured. He pushed Fang to improve his capacity, and as a result, Fang's workload indeed became "hell." Under such intensity, Fang made a lot of progress.

Manager Fang didn't come back for his son, which comforted Li. What Li didn't know, however, was that Manager Fang had everything under control!

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Chapter 117: Rejection

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Continental Corporation, president office.

"Manager Fang, Haiquan's training intensity has increased again," the book assistant reported.

"Again? Last time you told me the same thing. Haiquan's training is already longer and more intense than all the other athletes', and now it has increased again? Is he still keeping up?" asked Fang.

"Yes, he is still persisting. It seems like he doesn't want to give up," answered the assistant.

Manager Fang nodded. "We are similar. He inherited my stubbornness. Keep watching over him, do not let him get hurt."

"Do not worry Manager, there is always someone monitoring. Even though Haiquan's training intensity has increased, his coach gives him massages every day to relax his muscles. It works," reported the assistant.

"Is that young coach named Li? He is smart, knowing when to let Haiquan take a few steps back before the impossible happens, all while not hurting his self-esteem. He has been taking good care of my son. Be sure to pay him back later," Manager Fang ordered.

"Sure, I will let the driver deliver a Continental Square golden shopping card to him," replied the assistant.

In actuality, both the Manager and his assistant misunderstood Li. They thought Li had arranged all those things on purpose in an attempt to please Manager Fang and dissuade Haiquan.

Having been a rich man for such a long time, Manager Fang had experienced many people waiting to please him, as well as many different ways that did please him. Fang was used to it, and always thought that others, especially those of lower status, were attempting to do so. It was no wonder he felt like Li was pleasing him on purpose to benefit from it. It was because of this that he thought Li was "smart."

Li had actually never meant to please Fang. All he was doing was trying to promote Haiquan Fang's growth.

...

Haiquan Fang truly loved the long jump. Previously, when other teams had come to pick out athletes, some coaches had wished Fang join their teams. Fang was unwilling to leave, however. He only wanted to be on the long jump team. Under Li's guidance, Fang had transformed into a completely new person. His grades increased rapidly.

A-level talent was extraordinary indeed. Other coaches could help Fang improve, but not as effectively as Li. After all, Li was at the junior coach advanced level, which was much better than the other coaches on the youth team.

The entire long jump process could be divided into four parts. The first part was the running start; the second was the takeoff; the third was to rise high; and the last part was landing.

There were two methods for accelerating. One was active acceleration, similar to a sprint. This method required higher ability, which suited athletes with quickness. However, it affected takeoff accuracy and performance stability, which led few top-level athletes to utilize this method.

The other method was to gradually increase one's speed, which could guarantee takeoff accuracy and stability. On the other hand, however, it was much more difficult. Professional athletes often chose this method because it was reliable.

The takeoff and rising high into the air could be considered a complete action. The most important thing for the takeoff was to not step on the takeoff line. Otherwise, the athlete would receive a zero.

Rising into the air was the crucial part of whole long jump. After rising into the air, athletes could choose one of three techniques: the knee-tuck method, the back-straightened method, or the walk-in-air method. The knee-tuck method was commonly taught in high schools, and was the most traditional way of performing the long jump. It required low technical skill, hence the reason professional athletes rarely used it.

The back-straightened method was to straighten one's back after takeoff. This action improved the athlete's ability to pull their stomach in, bend their hips, and stretch their legs, which lengthened the distance between the takeoff and landing points. Its one drawback was that it was difficult for athletes to maintain balance when in the air.

The walk-in-air was a posture that became popular following World War II, and was still popular among professional athletes to this day. The movement required the athlete to make a three-step walking movement in midair. The athlete was able to keep good balance prior to landing, which was very beneficial.

The three techniques all had their pros and cons. The world's best athletes had to master all three styles, but they could make choose whichever they wanted between the three based on their takeoff.

Right now, Haiquan Fang was using walk-in-air style. For young athletes, only those who were proficient adopted the style. Because the technique contained three steps, if the takeoff was not high or long enough, one could not complete all three steps. Usually young athletes were not as strong as adults, so the walk-in-air method might not work well for them. This was why many young athletes chose to use the back-straightened method for their performance.

However, without hesitation, Li had Haiquan Fang grasp the skill. Fang didn't disappoint Li, and after a while he got the method down.

On the training field, Li was giving instructions.

"Haiquan, after you complete your three steps in the air, remember to pull in your stomach as much as possible. Only in this case can you stretch your legs. Also, wave your arms firmly."

But Haiquan suddenly stopped. He stared at somewhere far, murmuring, "That guy looks like Mr. Zhu."

Li looked in the same direction, seeing a man walking towards them.

"You know him?" asked Li.

"Mr. Zhu is my father's driver. He used to take me to school when I was young," answered Haiquan.

As they were talking, Mr. Zhu stopped in front of them.

"Coach Li, Manager Fang wanted me to meet you." He took out an envelope from his pocket and handed it to Li. "Manager Fang said to thank you for taking care of Haiquan these last few days. This is a thank you gift."

Li opened the envelope. Inside it was a golden card.

"A Continental Square golden shopping card! I heard that each card shows its value by number. If the number begins with 1, it is worth 18,888 yuan, if it starts with a 2 it means 28,888 yuan, etc." Li searched the card carefully. It did not take him long to find the number.

The first number is a 6! This card is worth 68,888 yuan! That is a lot, even more than my annual income!" Li was shocked. He never thought that Manager Fang would give him such a big gift.

To ordinary people, 68,888 yuan was a large sum of money. But to a billionaire like Manager Fang, it was nothing.

"At the Continental Square, the ground floor is a supermarket; the first and second floors are a hypermarket; the third, fourth, and fifth floors are big brand kiosks; the sixth floor has a cinema and entertainment stores; and the seventh floor is a huge food court. It is a wonderful place for fun! If I use this card, I wonder how many people will envy me!" Greediness flashed across Li's eyes, but the next second, his eyes were clear again.

Li gave the card back to Mr. Zhu without hesitation, "Thank you, but I cannot accept it. Sorry." Li rejected the card straightforwardly.

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Chapter 118: Proof

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Mr. Zhu went back to where he had come from. Dai Li was still thinking about that golden shopping card. To him, it was definitely a huge amount of money; it was more than his annual income. He could enjoy his life with that much money.

But he also knew he had done the right thing. It would not be right to take the card.

"Well, I never thought my father would want to buy your support, but what surprised me even more was that you rejected his money!" Haiquan Fang laughed.

"What do you mean?" asked Li.

"My father always does this. He hopes that everyone will listen to him, and in his mind, money is the best way to persuade people to work for him," Haiquan said with scorn.

"It really works, though. You know, I was considering keeping the card," Li said, giving Haiquan a slap on his shoulder. "Alright, cut the crap. Back to your training!"

...

The assistant gave a pile of documents to Manager Fang. "Manager, please sign these files."

"Put them here." Manager Fang was focused on his financial statements. He did not raise his head.

"Manager Fang, there is another thing that I think you might be interested in. Coach Li from the youth team rejected the 68,888 yuan golden shopping card," said the assistant.

"Rejected?" Manager Fang finally raised his head, showing some interest. "He cannot be earning that much money being a coach. I would bet his annual income is less than that. He really rejected my offer? Huh, interesting. Seems as if I looked down upon him. Alright, let it be!"

...

To Li, the gift had been an episode in his life. Soon he forgot about it, and returned to focusing on his training. Haiquan Fang had made huge progress. He outperformed his other teammates after only two weeks of training. After a month, he had obtained an adult athletes' ability.

During the process, Haiquan gave Li more and more respect. He could clearly feel his competence skyrocket, more so than with any other coach.

Because he had a rich father, Haiquan had taken advantage of the opportunity to receive good training. He had not only been taught by Hanbei Provincial coaches, but also coaches from national teams. Yet as far back as he could recall, none of them had ever helped him improve this rapidly.

To Haiquan's surprise, Li was also good at massaging. Every time Li finished massaging him, Haiquan got most of his energy back. One time during Haiquan's training, he had been distracted for a second, and sprained his ankle. Haiquan had planned to pause and ask for a doctor, but Li instead gave him a massage for half an hour, and he recovered. After that, Haiquan admired Li from the bottom of his heart.

Li was satisfied with Haiquan. Haiquan was took training quite seriously. He did not show any arrogance like many rich children. Instead, he worked even harder than the others, even if he was exhausted and still struggling. Li used to think that rich kids like Haiquan would not be able to bear such hardship, but he had been touched by Haiquan's persistence and passion. As time went by, the two began cooperating better and better.

...

One day during the break, Haiquan was sitting on the corner, resting.

"Haiquan, how do you feel? Still good? I have increased your training intensity again." As he spoke, Li sat down beside Haiquan.

"I'm fine, I can do this," said Haiquan firmly.

"To be honest, your workload has reached an adult level, in fact even higher than some adults." Li paused to think, then continued, "Feel free to let me know if you cannot bear it. We can make some adjustments."

"It is just an adult level, I can do more than this. I want to try the same workload the national team gives to its athletes," said Haiquan.

"The national team's workload is much more than this. The better the athletes, the higher the workload. Take Feixiang Lin for example, his training intensity is considered 'hell mode,'" said Li.

"You must be joking, coach, I don't believe you!" said Haiquan. "I'm 16 now, not a kid anymore. Tell me the truth."

"This is the truth! You know, this time last year I was Lin's fitness coach at the Beikou training center! You don't believe me? Here, let me show you a picture!" Li took out his old phone and showed Haiquan the group pictures he had taken with Feixiang Lin.

The pictures were Li's best show-off tools. Previously, when he had been on the shot put team, he had showed those pictures to his team and everyone worshipped him. Today he was taking out the pictures again.

"It is really him! Hey coach, I never thought you were so good!" Haiquan was astonished. He now looked at Li in a different way.

"Of course! If I did not have sufficient competence, how could I have coached Lin! Believe it or not, my work is well above average on the national team," said Li confidently.

"I believe you." Haiquan was thoroughly convinced of Li's words. He was still focusing on the group picture.

"The celebrity effect is so good! No wonder people always show off their group pictures with celebrities. It works." Li was joyful. He told Haiquan, "Well, so far you are performing beyond my expectations. I suggest you continue your current workload for a while and forget about the national team's workload. You are not ready for that."

"I have to persist for my mom!" said Haiquan.

"Your father doesn't support you, but your mom does, hm?" asked Li casually.

Haiquan nodded, then recalled, " When I was in grade 4 of primary school, one day in PE class we practiced long jump, and I got first place. No one jumped as far as I did. My PE teacher said I was talented in this activity, then taught me some professional actions. After that, I was addicted to long jumping. I wanted to be a top-level athlete.

"My father was busying working. He was always on business trips or socializing. Everyday when I got up, he had already left. Every night after I fell asleep, he would finally come back home. Even though we lived in the same house, I could go without seeing him for weeks.

"My mom knew that I loved long jumping, so she invited several coaches to teach me. She employed a dietitian, found someone to dig a sandpit, built me a fitness room; she even requested a coach from the national team to guide me."

"Your mom loves you so much!" Li said this, but he was secretly thinking about how nice it must be to be rich.

Haiquan continued, "The first several years my father did not say much about my hobby. But later, as I grew up, he disagreed. He thought that I had been wasting my time doing the wrong things, and that I should focus on studying. He wanted to send me to the UK. But I did not want to go abroad, I wanted to stay for my hobby. My father thought it was all my mom's fault, and that she had spoiled me too much. For that shxt reason, he had a big argument with my mom."

"So you want to prove yourself?" Li sensed what Haiquan was getting at.

"Right! I want to prove that I'm not kidding, and that I'm taking it seriously! I want to be a professional long jumper, and I will be the best long jumper! I will teach my father a lesson: that my mom is always right, and she has been helping me the whole time to achieve my dream! A dream that he has no idea about!" Haiquan was speaking in an agitated tone. His eyes were shining with fierceness.

Li was touched. He was moved by Haiquan's words. This boy's persistence was not only because of his dream, but also for his mom. He was trying his best to prove that his mom was a wonderful mom, as opposed to someone who only expressed their love through money.

"I trust you. You will make it!" Li stood up and patted Haiquan's shoulder. "Keep working hard like this. At the end of this month there will be a provincial youth athletes game. The number of participants is limited, but I plan to submit your name. Win the championship and shock your father. Good luck!"

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Chapter 119: Participant

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The Youth Athletics Team meeting room.

Coach Lu pointed to the file in his hand, telling everyone, "As everyone knows, the Provincial Youth Game is about to start. What I just handed out is our participant list. We have a limited number this year, since in addition to our team, the other city teams have joined in. The Provincial Sport Team will selected some young athletes under the age of 19 for the game."

Coach Lu raised the document, then changed the topic, "Therefore, we have to send our best athletes! We are not as competitive as the provincial sport team, but we should not be defeated by city teams! Today I want you to check and discuss the list so we can make a final decision."

The coaches all lowered their heads and read through the list carefully, whispering to each other from time to time.

"That Yuantong Chen from the sprinting team is on the list! He was the champion in the junior athletics game!"

"Xiangnan Liu is the best runner for the long-distance race. He has two events, 1500m and 5000m."

"The shot put team has three people! Jiankang Chen, Bin Wang and Lei Qin will all go. This must be the greatest number!"

Hearing someone speak about the shot put team made Coach Zhuang joyful. Because the number of participants was limited this time around, it was pretty good for a team to get two slots. Most teams only had one. But the shot put team had gotten three slots, indicating that the team was quite competitive.

The shot put team was indeed impressive, but nobody gave the credit to Coach Zhuang. Everyone in the room knew that Coach Zhuang had grabbed Li's achievements. The shot put team had obtained its current power because of Li's hard work. Therefore, when someone referred to the three participants for the game, the other coaches all turned to Li subconsciously. Some people even showed him admiration.

Seeing this, Coach Zhuang was pissed off. He thought unhappily to himself, "Why do they all want to admire Li for when he was the coach of the shot put team?!"

He snorted as he looked down the list. He found Haiquan Fang's name under the section for the long jump team.

"What? How could the long jump team have any participants? Didn't I send all the best performers out?" Coach Zhuang was surprised.

Before he transferred to the shot put team, he had left an awful mess for Li to figure out. He knew what he had left on the long jump team; no one was good. He had even given out several good athletes to other teams when they had come to him for recruitment. At the time he did not think he would stay on the team any longer, so why not act recklessly and get something out of it by selling his team members away.

Because he had sent who he considered the best athletes out to other teams, he had never expected to have any team members competitive enough to attend the youth game. But now a name had showed up on the list.

"Haiquan Fang? Who is he? Sounds familiar." Coach Zhuang never paid attention during his training because he had been eager to transfer to the shot put team. He did not even consider getting to know his trainees, let alone recognize Haiquan's wealth. After a month, he had already forgotten who Haiquan Fang was.

"How could a nobody sneak onto the list?" Coach Zhuang glanced at Li. He suddenly remembered the others' admiration and respect to Li, which made him even more upset.

His anger turned into hostility. He coughed deliberately, then said, "I used to coach the long jump team. This year the team's ability is below average. They lack talented athletes. I do not think it is a good idea to send any of them to the game since none of them are competitive, and none of them can bring back any good results for our youth team. They will be defeated without a doubt. I suggest the long jump team give their spot up to someone else so the opportunity is not wasted. What do you guys think?"

Had it been someone else, they may either have said nothing or expressed the thought in a more polite way, as well as omit the words "What do you guys think?" It was the leader's responsibility to ask for thoughts. Coach Zhuang had obviously crossed the line. But Zhuang had a vice-director uncle to support him, which was the only reason he had dared to say or do anything he wanted.

Coach Lu was offended, but he could do nothing. Zhuang had a strong network. A few years down the road Zhuang could turn out to be his leader. There was no need to argue with him now. But he was definitely upset with Zhuang's rudeness. He swore Zhuang and his uncle secretly, but his face showed nothing unpleasant. "Haiquan Fang from the long jump team is a special case, we need to take care of him."

"Special? Did his family die or were his parents gone?" Coach Zhuang said offensively. He was trying to embarrass Li. He then said, "There are always people who need special care. How can we take care of everybody?"

Coach Lu shrugged his shoulders and explained loudly, "Haiquan Fang's father is Dalu Fang, the chairman of the Continental Corporation! Haiquan is the prince of the Continental Kingdom!"

"What? He is the son of the Continental chairman? How did not know that!" Coach Zhuang's face was red with embarrassment. He had just accused Fang's family of having died, and now he really regretted it! He was swearing a super rich and powerful man. That was asking for trouble! He was terrified, and prayed that Manager Fang would not send someone to cut off his tongue.

Meanwhile, the other coaches were enjoying the show. Zhuang had done many bad things before by abusing his power, so people were done with him. It was a nice to see him in trouble for once.

Zhuang's last words "How did I not know that!" soon became a joke among the coaches. As a previous coach for the long jump team, that fact that he had no idea about his trainee's background was strong evidence showcasing his attitude towards his job. Even if one day he really got his tongue cut off, none of his colleagues would show any sympathy.

Suddenly, Li stood up. He said, "Our Provincial Sports Center was built by the Continental Corporation. In recent years, the newly built competition venues were made by it. Take the stadium for this year's Youth Game for example: it was also created by Continental. They used the BOT architectural style. This means that we are going to be competing in their territory, so we have to do a favor. That is why I submitted Haiquan's name."

BOT? What is BOT? Coach Zhuang was eager to find out the meaning of BOT, but he was worried that if he asked he would become a laughingstock. Because of this, he pretended to know what was going on.

On the inside, however, he was screaming, "Someone ask what BOT is! You are driving me crazy!"

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Chapter 120: Throwing Money

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

BOT was the abbreviated version of "BUILD, OPERATE, and TRANSFER," which referred to the transferring method of civilian construction after operation. The government had appointed a civilian company to build and operate construction for a while, but later took back the construction responsibilities and ran it by themselves.

The major focus of BOT were infrastructure constructions. The government did not have enough money to operate, so it transferred its rights to civilian companies. Those companies constructed buildings. The companies had a period of time to run the construction before they had to give it back to the government. Through this method, the companies could make up for the constructions fees, as well as benefit from the builds.

The Channel Tunnel was a famous BOT case. The entire project had cost twelve billion dollars, but the UK and France had not agreed on the cost. During the period when the two countries had decided to build the tunnel, Margaret Thatcher was in control of the UK, while President Mitterrand was in control of France. Neither of them were willing to pay the cost of construction, so they chose to adopt the BOT method.

The Provincial Youth Games were being held in the Civilian Sports Center, which had been built through BOT. According to the contract, the first several years of management rights belonged to the Continental Corporation. Because of this, having a competition in that particular building was undoubtedly stepping on Continental's territory.

Coach Zhuang was really hoping someone could ask what BOT was for him so he could satisfy his curiosity while keeping his reputation intact. However, when he looked around, the other coaches all had the same knowledgeable look on their faces. It seemed like everyone except for Coach Zhuang knew what BOT was.

"Seriously? Am I the only one who does not know?" Coach Zhuang was upset. In fact, most of the coaches had no idea what BOT was, but because nobody wanted to risk embarrassing themselves, nobody asked.

Chief Coach Lu said, "Coach Li is considerate. We cannot offend the Continental Corporation. What if they take their funding away? Moreover, we are going to compete in their territory."

"But what if that Haiquan Fang is unwilling to attend? As a rich kid, he must not have sufficient skills. If he was to come in last place, it would be a shame! Perhaps his family would complain about our decision!" Coach Zhuang acted as a critic, nitpicking the decision.

Dai Li immediately argued back, "Whether Haiquan Fang likes it or not, I think we should give him a chance. One, because it shows our attention to Haiquan Fang, and two, because we are doing them a favor. If Haiquan Fang does not want to go, he can ask for an abstention. But it would be a completely different thing if we did not give him a chance at all."

"I agree. It is just a number anyway. It does not make much of a difference to us, but it is a good way to show our attitudes. It is like sending a gift: regardless of if the receiver likes it or not, we still sent them something! That's out of our consideration. All in all, I say we need to give Haiquan Fang a chance, and I think the leaders will support us," Coach Lu said, making the final decision.

Coach Zhuang looked like he had been humiliated. He always tried to give Dai Li trouble, but always ended up with trouble in return. He was still wondering what BOT was, so he was concerned about letting his tongue slip. It was such a terrible feeling!

Dai Li, you must do this on purpose! Wait here and see, once I get good achievements in the games, the day I'm promoted will be the day you die! Coach Zhuang thought ferociously.

Dai Li took a deep breath. Haiquan Fang's competence was good enough to attend adult competitions, let alone the youth games. But instead of revealing the secret, he had used Haiquan Fang's rich father as a shield.

Dai Li already knew the principle: in competitions like this, where the numbers of participants were limited, it was hard to get a chance purely through ability; it was much easier to have some type of network. Continental Corporation's fame was the best excuse!

It had proved to be a good idea. Coach Lu had approved of letting Haiquan Fang go, and no one had disagreed.

...

As the game approached, Li increased Haiquan Fang's workload again.

Monday afternoon, after they had eaten lunch, Dai Li was on his way back to his dorm. He took out his phone to search for a shared bike. A black Maybach halted in front of Li.

The door opened, and a man stepped out. Li took a closer look and recognized that the man was Manager Fang's assistant.

"Coach Li, Manager Fang is waiting in the car. He wants to talk to you about Haiquan Fang," said the assistant.

"No problem," Dai Li nodded. He bent over to get into the car. The assistant gently closed the door. The driver got out and stood outside.

"A Maybach, what a nice car," Dai Li sighed. He subconsciously touched the black dermal seat; it was really nice. Then he turned to Manager Fang and said, "Good afternoon, Manager Fang. What can I do for you?"

Manager Fang nodded his head gently and said, "I am having a dinner party soon, so I will make it short. I want you to persuade Haiquan Fang to give up long jumping and study in the UK."

Dai Li was in a daze. He had never expected Fang to make such a request. He asked confusingly, "Why me?"

"Because I have never seen a person that Haiquan Fang admires so much. You are important to him, so I think you would be the best one to persuade him," said Manager Fang.

Dai Li was even more confused. He did not understand what was going on.

Fang explained, "Recently, when Haiquan Fang went back home for the weekend, he said a lot about you. He said that you are the best and most skillful coach he has ever met. Before you, we had employed several coaches for him, but none of them had ever received such good compliments. He must trust and listen to you. So I am hoping that you can tell him that he is not suitable for the long jump, and to stop doing the wrong thing."

Dai Li had enjoyed the first part of what Manager Fang had said because it was praise. But the latter was nowhere near as enjoyable. Dai Li immediately shook his head to express his attitude.

"Haiquan Fang is gifted in the long jump. Even the national team does not have a talented long jumper like him. He was born to do this," said Dai Li.

Dai Li was not exaggerating. Previously, when he had been in the Beikou Training Center, he had detected a lot of athletes there. The fact was that even on the national team, there were only a few A-level talent athletes; most of them were only B-level. There was no A-level long jumper on the national team, so even if Haiquan Fang went to the national team, he would still be the most talented person there.

However, Mananger Fang seemed to misunderstand Dai Li. He took out a check and gave it to him.

"What is this for, Manager Fang?" He did not understand.

"Take a look first," Fang said emotionlessly.

"Oh my! How many zeros are there behind two? One, two, three, four… it's a 200,000 yuan check!" Dai Li's hand quivered. He had never held such a large amount of money in his hand.

"If you can help persuade my son, this check is yours!" Manager Fang said crisply.

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Chapter 121: Choose Your Own Path

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Dai Li did not doubt Manager Fang at all with a check for 200,000 yuan in his hand. He was holding four years' worth of Dai Li's salary and did not have a care in the world.

Li really wanted to put the check in his pocket, but, how could he betray Haiquan Fang? "Haiquan trusted me so much," he thought to himself.

"Manager Fang, I'm sorry, but I can't help you with this." Li returned the check to Manager Fang.

"Young man, you are smart. You know how to play hard to get. You refused the shopping card last time, and now you are refusing a check. Is it not enough for you? Ah, that's right, the prices of almost all commodities are rising because of inflation. You cannot buy anything valuable with only 200,000 yuan. How about we do 500,000 yuan and quit the bargaining? Is that enough for you? I'll have a new check brought right up." Manager Fang was acting like a true businessman.

"Manager Fang, you are misunderstanding me. I do not want your money." Li flat out refused this time. He was worried he would be misunderstood again if he hesitated.

"You don't want money? Well how about an apartment then? If you can persuade Haiquan to study in the UK, I can give you an apartment in the Mainland's Prestigious Residence."

The Continental Cooperation was a real estate enterprise, which meant selling buildings was their main business. The Mainland's Prestigious Residence was a new project that had just been completed by Continental. Although it was far from the center of the city, the housing price was close to 20,000 yuan per square meter. If the apartment was even 80 square meters, it would be worth about 1,600,000 yuan.

Dai Li was really wavering now. It was many young people's dream to own an apartment. Many people struggled their entire lives to pay off a 30 year loan for an apartment. These days, owning an apartment was the standard used to judge whether one was successful in their career or not. For men, owning an apartment could at least help them please their future mothers-in-law.

But Li only wavered for a moment. He had his own principles that had to be adhered to.

Li took a deep breath and calmed himself down. "Manager Fang, you must know that Haiquan does not want to go abroad. He wants to be a long jumper. Why are you forcing him to do something he does not want to do?"

"At Haiquan's age, the only thing he should be doing is studying hard. He is too young to understand me. I am his father. I would not hurt him. Everything I do is for my kid!" Manager Fang said.

Li sighed in silence. "Everything I do is for my kid" was the motto of most domestic parents. They made many decisions on behalf of their children using this reasoning.

The after-school classes, specialties, and friends a child had were all decided by their parents. Even as they got older, the major they chose in university and their job after they graduated was decided by their parents. The same parents sometimes even decided who their child would marry.

Li experienced the same thing when he was a child. He understood these parents. They had more life experience, and could see more things than their children could. But Li also knew that the choices the parents made were not always correct.

He subscribed to a different method of teaching, where the children made decisions themselves while taking their parents' suggestions into consideration. Because it was their life, they should experience it by themselves. If they made the right decision, they would enjoy the honor and success that came along with it; if they were wrong, they would taste bitter defeat. But regardless of if it was right or wrong, it would be an experiences they could learn and grow from.

Dai Li said, "Actually, the senior middle schools in Qingcheng City, such as the first and second middle schools, are also great. Both of them have very high academic reputations. If you are not satisfied with those schools, you can send Haiquan to the capital city, or Donggang City, where top domestic educational resources come together. They have education quality similar to foreign countries."

For ordinary families, studying in the capital city was very difficult. Zoning enrollment and registered residency problems were large obstacles. But for Haiquan's family, it would not be a big deal.

Hearing Li's words, Manager Fang stated fiercely, "No way. He must go to the best school in the UK! He is going to a noble school where princes and princesses study, like Eton or Winchester! Many business partners of mine sent their children there. My son cannot study in a middle school in our country!"

"They sent them there because their children are not gifted like Haiquan!" Li was annoyed. He knew Haiquan was very hard-working. Haiquan was not some ignorant rich kid. What had really upset Dai Li was the blind decision Fang was making.

Fang wanted to send his child to the UK only because his business partners had done so. He was simply following them. It was like buying an expensive piece shirt only because everyone else was buying one.

This was a decision that would influence Haiquan's life. He could either stay home and become an outstanding athlete, or study in the UK and become an affluent second generation child with an uncertain future.

Manager Fang's face had turned red because he was offended. He had not been offended in a long time, excluding his son, Haiquan. However, Li did not pay attention to Manager Fang's facial expression. He said, "Haiquan likes long jumping. He would like to take on the long jump as his future career, and he made the decision himself. Studying in a British Noble School like other affluent second generation children is the decision you are making for him.

"Perhaps, you can force him to follow the path you choosing for him. But in the end, he will have to experience his life by himself. Whether he succeeds or not, it is his life. He will enjoy the taste of the ups and downs of life by himself. You can do nothing for him."

After pausing for a moment, Dai Li continued, "Manager Fang, I am very sorry for being unable to help you. I am a coach. I will teach my athletes how to get past their problems; I will teach my athletes how to insist on the things they enjoy; and I will teach my athletes how to stand their ground. But I will not teach them how to quit!"

Dai Li finished his speech, opened the car door, and got out of the vehicle, leaving an astonished Manager Fang alone in the car.

The next second, however, Dai Li came back and sat beside Fang once again.

"What's wrong? Do you regret what you said now?" Fang asked unconsciously.

"I want to tell you that the Province Youth Game will be held in the Sports Center on the 29th of this month. I have already submitted his name for the competition. I think Haiquan would look forward to seeing you there cheering for him," said Li. He then smiled at Manager Fang, got out of the car, and left without looking back.

Manager Fang sat in the car for a while. As he watched Dai Li walk away from him, playing back his words in his head. He had a perplexed expression on his face.

...

"No, my apartment! My apartment in the Mainland's Prestigious Residence! I have lost it!" Dai Li yelled after letting out a long sigh. "I am so impulsive. If I cannot afford my own apartment in a few years, I will probably regret what I have done today."

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Chapter 122: Haiquan Fang's Competition

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

The end of August had arrived quickly. The Province Youth Games began on the 29th. There were 36 athletes in total participating in the long jump event. They were all from different districts of the cities in the Hanbei Province, so the competition was relatively fierce. Everyone first had to get through the qualifying session. The thirty-six athletes were divided into two groups, and each one had three attempts to complete a trial jump. The twelve best athletes would go through the next round. The rules were the same as in the Olympic Games.

Haiquan Fang had been put in Group A of the qualifying session, so he would come to the stage first. It was the first time he had participated in a match of this level, so he was a little nervous. Dai Li tried to comfort him and said, "Take it easy. You are the best."

Dai Li was not boasting. He had already observed the other surrounding athletes. None of them could compare to Haiquan Fang. The abilities of most of the contestants were below the national first-class athlete level.

National first-class athletes in athletics events had to get the corresponding achievements in formal competitions to qualify. These formal competitions included national competitions, competitions held by the National Track and Field Association (NTFA), and comprehensive sports meetings held by provincial institutions. If one wanted to become a National Sports Master, he or she had to get the corresponding achievements first. Comprehensive sports meetings held by provincial institutions were not qualified to assess National Sports Masters.

The Province Youth Games were a kind of comprehensive sports meeting held by provincial institutions, so if an athlete could get the corresponding achievements here, the person would be granted the title of national first-class athlete.

In fact, in the U18-level Province Youth Games, national first-class athletes were the highest-level participants. National Sports Masters participated in the U20-level games.

Haiquan Fang was a second-class athlete with Grade-A talent. With Dai Li's training, his ability had already surpassed that of a first-class athlete. Dai Li even believed Haiquan Fang could reach the level of National Sports Masters with his explosiveness.

Many of the other contestants had only barely reached the first-class. Dai Li could see Haiquan Fang surpassing the others completely.

But Haiquan Fang was a bit unlucky. He had gotten drawn first, which meant that he would be the first to make an attempt.

"Come on! Relax and think about the main movements. No mistakes. It is the first attempt. Your goal is to finish it smoothly," encouraged Dai Li. It was only the first attempt, so Dai Li had low expectations for Haiquan Fang. He was just hoping that Haiquan Fang would not make any vital mistakes.

Haiquan Fang entered the run-up area. Surrounding contestants and coaches' eyes were fastened on him. Because he would be the first one making a trial jump, it was normal for everyone to see how it would go. Some coaches even began to whisper to each other about him.

"The first to go usually does not have much luck. Youngsters never have enough experience, and get stage fright in large competitions. It is difficult to behave normally as the first contestant."

"This athlete is from the Province Youth Team. He must be skilled, otherwise they would not have sent him here."

"I'm not sure. I saw the data for the contestants just now. He is only 16-years-old."

"16-years-old? What a young boy! I guess he just came here to try and reach the standard. Still, to get this far at 16, he must be a good athlete."

The age restriction for the youth athletes was from 16 to 18 years of age. If one was older than 18, they had to join the U-20 or adult competitions. But even though the official requirements stated anyone from 16-18 years of age could compete, almost all the contestants were 18-years-old. It was rare to see 17-year-old athletes, let alone 16-year-olds.

For ordinary people, there were big differences in physical development between the ages of sixteen and eighteen. For athletes, however, physical development was identical. Many athletes had adult bodies by the time they were 18-years-old, while 16-year-olds were normally only slightly stronger than younger competitors. Because of this, most players who participated in the Youth Games were eighteen. If they participated in the games at sixteen, there were many physiological disadvantages.

Upon hearing that the first contestant was only 16-years-old, everyone lost interest in Haiquan Fang's attempt. In their opinions, a 16-year-old athlete had to have been a bystander. His performance was irrelevant in their eyes.

Haiquan Fang took a deep breath and began to run up. With Grade-A talent and excellent explosiveness, plus the power of the explosive force halo, he ran quickly.

"He has respectable speed," someone said. The next second, Haiquan Fang reached the takeoff board, and jumped high into the air.

Haiquan Fang was still extremely nervous, and was worried about making the mistake of stepping on the line, so he did not make full use of the takeoff board. He had taken off when his toes were far from the edge of the board.

It was not a successful takeoff. All the professional long-jumpers knew how to make full use of the board, but Haiquan Fang had not achieved it because he was nervous.

But it did not influence his rise. He flew like a bird, and made the walking-in-air movement with his arms and legs. Once he had taken off and felt the adrenaline rushing through his body, he was no longer nervous.

"Whew!" Haiquan Fang's body fell to the sand. He stretched his legs forward and kicked sand into the air. The sand formed a yellow wave that rose up, and then fell down all at once. Haiquan Fang used his waist to stand up from the sands right away.

"Not bad, no big mistakes," commented a coach. At the same time, he turned to the line markings outside of the sands. He was shocked.

"He jumped further than 7 meters, and not just barely further!" he gulped.

An athlete whose performance was better than 7 meters could be selected in the qualifying session even in the National Youth Game. In the Province Youth Game, a 6.60 meter jump could put the player in the top twelve. According to this standard, it was safe to say that Haiquan Fang would go through the next round.

The inspector gave the official result for Haiquan Fang. "7.33 meters!"

The standard for national first-class athletes in athletics events was 7.30 meters. Haiquan Fang would be able to apply for the national first-class with his score.

"Did you hear that? 7.33 meters! He reached the standard!"

"What a lucky guy! He achieved the standard on his first jump!"

Haiquan Fang was looked at enviously by those around him. Most of the contestants were here for the national first-class. But Haiquan Fang did not look very happy. He walked over to Dai Li and said in low spirits, "Coach, I did not do well."

"It does not matter. It is only the qualifying session. And you can enter the next round with your score now," Dai Li smiled.

7.33 meters was not a good mark for Haiquan Fang, but Dai Li knew that at least twenty of the thirty-six players could not obtain a score higher than seven meters.

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