Chapter 153: The Real Competition
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The Head Coach Office of the National Track and Field Team.
In front of a computer, Shuren Zhao was typing on the keyboard. The typing was fast, which meant he was busy. With a document in hand, Li Xue, the Deputy Head Coach of the National Team, knocked on the door and entered anxiously.
Shuren Zhao knew Li Xue was a quick-tempered person, so he asked, "Xue Li, why are you in such a hurry?"
"The police training base has sent us the results. They were just printed out in the office, so when I passed by I took a copy for you." Li Xue paused, then continued and said, "Guess what? There is a full score!"
With a look of disbelief, Shuren Zhao looked up. This physical training was for the police officers whose physical performance was subpar. The average score of the selected officers was lower than 100 points; these officers were not the best. Moreover, the training time was very short. According to Shuren Zhao's previous prediction, those who could score over 300 points should be considered top-notch talents.
Furthermore, the higher the score was, the more difficult the training would be. With a limited amount of time, it was almost impossible to get full score. Shuren Zhao thought that even with him as the coach, it would still be impossible to help a police officer get a full score in such a short time period.
"Who is it? This is really a remarkable achievement!" Shuren Zhao took the results from Li Xue.
"He's from Hanbei Province. His name is Dai Li," Li Xue said.
"Dai Li?" Shuren Zhao repeated. He felt like the name was familiar.
Dai Li had stayed in the Beikou Training Center for an additional month. To make this happen, Jihai Ding had made a special trip to ask Shuren Zhao for help. This was why the name was familiar to him. However, as time had passed by, coupled with being tied down with duties, Shuren Zhao had already forgotten about it.
"Has this Dai Li accomplished anything else before?" Shuren Zhao asked.
"I have already checked his records. He was the coach of Haiquan Fang in the Hanbei Province. When Haiquan Fang broke the U16 national record, Dai Li was his head coach," Li Xue replied.
"The head coach of Haiquan Fang! To be able to develop a talent like Haiquan Fang must mean that this Dai Li is really somebody. Now he has gotten a full score again. Let's focus our attention on him. If he is promising and worth working on, just have him stay here," Shuren Zhao said.
"That's what I was thinking," Li Xue nodded. He then said to himself, Wow, a full score. He was able to get a full score in such a short time! This young guy is more skilled than an old bird like me.
...
The bus was parked outside the police training base. The coaches brought their luggage and got on the bus. More than half of them would be leaving tomorrow.
Dai Li had only just gotten on the bus when someone said to him, "Coach Li, why don't you sit with me?"
A full score had put Dai Li in the spotlight. All the coaches who had participated in the training knew Dai Li, whether they had been knocked out or were still ableto stay.
Dai Li's capability was also recognized by everyone. Coach Qiao, who had come in 2nd place, and Coach Deng, who had come in 3rd place, were completely convinced of Dai Li's ability. Results were always the cornerstone of the sports world, and the strong were always admired.
As Dai Li sat down, somebody immediately said to him, "Coach Li, in a short period of time, you managed to help a police officer get a full score. Did you use some magic code? Could you please tell us?"
"Yeah, Coach Li, please give us some tips. I really want to learn from you," another person beside him said.
Dai Li smiled and said, "Those are very basic training subjects. I was very lucky that the police officer I trained had been an anti-drugs policeman before. His physical ability was already better than the others."
The 4x10m shuttle run, the standing long jump, the pull up, and the 1000m race were the most fundamental training subjects for professional sports coaches, who knew the training techniques very well. Dai Li really had nothing to offer to the other coaches that wasn't already common knowledge. As for the good luck, Dai Li did not lie.
Unlike other officers who had failed the examination because of their poor conditioning, Chong Lin's failure on the physical examination had been caused by some psychological problems.
For example, Chong Lin had been worried about his leg injury, and did not exert all his energy during the 4x10m shuttle run, which was why his performance had been unsatisfactory. When he was finally told that his leg had never been injured, he was able to make full use of his power without worrying about his legs, so his results improved remarkably. In terms of physicality, Chong Lin was far better than the other officers, which was the root of why Dai Li had mentioned his "good luck."
Chong Lin had also worked earnestly and assiduously during training. To Dai Li, it seemed like Chong Lin was the most hard-working one among all the trainees. He truly deserved the full score on the examination.
The next day, the coaches who had been knocked out would leave and return to their training teams. The coaches who could stay would go to the training base of the National Track and Field Team.
...
In the meeting room of the National Track and Field Team, all of the top management for the National Track and Field Team, including the Head Coach, Shuren Zhao, attended the meeting.
"Hello, everyone. Welcome to the National Track and Field Team, and welcome to the Youth Training Program of the National Track and Field Team." Standing centerstage with a piece of manuscript paper in hand, Shuren Zhao began introducing the program.
As Dai Li began to get drowsy, the microphone was finally handed to the Deputy Head Coach, Li Xue.
"This Youth Training Program we hold is mainly composed of 3 stages. The first stage is selection; the second stage focuses on development; and the third stage is examination." As Li Xue spoke, he looked at the participating coaches, then held up his index finger and continued, "So, we will start the first stage of selection today."
"What? A selection stage?" All thirty coaches were surprised, including Dai Li.
"Did I hear that right? Did Coach Xue just say 'selection?'"
"We have just returned from the police training base. We originally had over sixty people, and now more than thirty have been knocked out. Isn't that a selection?"
"What the hell is going on? Does that mean some of us might still be knocked out?"
Everyone was looking at Li Xue with a terrified look.
Li Xue said calmly, "I know you are dubious about our arrangement. You have just finished staying in the police training base for two weeks. More than half of you have been knocked out. What I'm trying to say is that what you experienced was not the selection of our Youth Training Program. Those who were knocked out over the last two weeks will not even have the opportunity to join our program.
"The original intention of the Youth Training Program was to find the top-notch talents from the best programs for further development. What we need are excellent coaches. The four training subjects used in the police training base can easily be handled by a PE teacher in middle school. How could those same subjects be used for the selection of coaches for the national team?"
The coaches were speechless. The four events used in the physical examination of the police were indeed the most elementary ones. They would not have baffled even middle school PE teachers. These training subjects were a piece of cake for professional coaches. Therefore, these subjects were not really the best standard to use as the talent selection criteria for the national team.
Everyone suddenly began to realize that the police training had only been the appetizer before the main dish. The real competition was just beginning.