On the side of the track, Dai Li looked at his stopwatch and couldn’t help but reminisce about his days in the national team a few years ago.
“Back then, I was only a young man who didn’t know anything. Feeling satisfied simply by being on the national team. And now, I have a large chain of training centers, and what’s more, I’m training world-class sprinters like Justin Alexander.”
Dai Li glanced at the number on his stopwatch again. “No wonder he was the second fastest man in the world. Although he has been suspended for four years, his results are still among the best in the world.”
“Coach Li, how did I do just now?” Pant… Pant… Alexander walked over. The full-strength sprint just now made him pant a little, but from his expression, Alexander was still rather satisfied with his performance.
However, Dai Li displayed a contrasting expression, and he said in a serious tone, “There’s a lot of problems in the details.”
Alexander was stunned slightly. He obviously knew what the “details” Dai Li mentioned were.
For sprinters who could finish the 100m sprint in 10 seconds, there were no longer any shortcomings in their overall techniques, and their sprinting methods were certainly also the most suitable to them. If that weren’t the case, it would be impossible for them to break through the 10 second barrier. Not to mention Alexander used to make it in 9.80 seconds. His sprinting techniques had long become the textbook approach that other sprinters emulated, and he was an object of study for coaches around the country. As such, even though Alexander was suspended for four years, his sprinting technique was immaculate.
This sort of world-class athlete no longer had any shortcomings in their technique. When it came time for the race, the primary factor that affected results was the execution during the race, as well as personal details. A good detail might only improve the time by 0.01 seconds. That difference might seem small, but for the 100m sprint, the gap between athletes were recorded in the hundredths of a second. In the 100m sprint, every 0.01 seconds was a difficult gap to close.
And in Alexander’s case, he had not participated in any race for four whole years. He had already lost the feel for a race when it came to details, and he was no longer the person from before. When placed in a real race, he would also not be able to find the feel for the race.
It was at that moment that a coach could show his effectiveness.
It was a question that tested Dai Li’s coaching ability.
Dai Li coughed and said, “Let’s first talk about the start of the race. Your starting reaction and your coherence after the start were fine, but your starting rhythm was terrible. To be precise, your body’s adjustment and adaptation to the starting rhythm did not match with your start reaction and coherence. It is like when you are starting a car; you turned on the car and accelerated without any problems, but you were not fast enough in shifting gears. It makes you lose speed.
I’ve only run once, and he’s already uncovered it. This Coach Li sure knows his stuff. It looks like I’ve made the right choice. Alexander removed his final bit of reservation and began listening attentively to Dai Li, who pointed out his weaknesses.
Dai Li continued, “Next, let’s talk about your step frequency in the first 20 meters…”
“You have to pay attention to maintaining tenacity when your right leg swings forward in force…”
“In the process of your sprint, your abdominal contraction affected your breathing rhythm. This might have a minimal effect on your final result, but it affects the transition from the middle of the race to the final dash…”
“And, when you’re making your final dash…”
Dai Li said a lot of things in a talkative manner while Alexander’s expression gradually increased in seriousness. In the end, he even had a slightly shocked expression
Coach Li got everything right, and among them are problems that even I hadn’t noticed. This Coach Li is amazing. With this kind of observation skills, he’s definitely not inferior to Sebastian. No! He’s better than Sebastian! I’ve seen a lot of world-class track and field coaches, and their observation skills are just as accurate, but they were definitely not this fast! Alexander thought.
Alexander knew the phases that he did not perform well in, so he knew what Dai Li said was extremely accurate. Especially when it came to the details, there were even problems that Alexander didn’t pay attention to, but after Dai Li’s reminder, he immediately became aware of their existence.
It was also the standard of world-class sprinters; just a little advice and reminder would help them realize their errors. Even on the 100m sprint, the kind of sport that seemed simple, to become a world-class athlete, one could not simply be a simple-minded brawn. They were good not only because they were faster than others, but also because their understanding of sprinting allowed them to stand above the others.
Alexander listened to Dai Li’s guidance with full conviction. Alexander might have chosen Dai Li because of superstition previously, but now he had been awed by Dai Li. Even if he did not have his discussion with the priest at the church, he would have still chosen Dai Li as his coach.
Dai Li continued, “Alright, I’ve finished talking about the detailed problems in your sprint. Next, let’s talk about the other aspects.”
“There are other aspects?” Alexander was slightly shocked and did not understand Dai Li’s meaning.
Dai Li, instead, looked at Alexander’s waist and asked, “What’s with your lumbar muscle sprain?”
“How did you know?” Alexander looked as if he’d seen a ghost.
The previous afternoon, Alexander had gone bowling with a few of his friends and accidentally sprained his back. It wasn’t a serious injury, only a simple muscle strain.
As a track and field athlete, his muscle density was very high, or to put it in simpler terms, the muscles were tough. This sort of muscle sprain wouldn’t do much damage to someone like Alexander, and he didn’t even need a rehabilitative massage. It would heal automatically in a few days, so Alexander hadn’t paid too much attention to it.
Alexander hadn’t told anyone about it, not even the friends who went bowling with him, but Dai Li brought it up.
How did Coach Li find out, it’s just a normal muscle sprain. It shouldn’t be possible to discover this from appearance alone. Besides, I never told anyone about it, but Coach Li knows about it. Have I really met a prophet?
…
Two weeks passed, and Sebastian still had not received any reply from Alexander.
The end of Alexander’s suspension is getting closer, but how there isn’t any news on him. Could it be that he’s not prepared to make a comeback? Or perhaps he has found another coach? That’s impossible, right? With Alexander’s condition, he is definitely going to become the focus of the Anti-Doping Committee. No coach would want to work with him!” As Sebastian thought of that, he pulled out his phone and dialed a number.
“Tom, it’s me. It’s been a while…”
“To look for a news-clever journalist like you, of course, it is to inquire about something!”
“Relax. I know. I’ll make it worth your while…”
“I’d like you to find out about Justin Alexander. His suspension is coming to an end soon, and I want to know if he has found a coach.”
“What? You know? Alexander went to Coach Lee’s Physical Fitness Training Center? Which Coach Lee’s Physical Fitness Training Center? He needs a professional track and field coach right now, not some fitness coach.”
“You mean the fitness training center that discovered the ‘Blade Warrior’ Philip? That Chinese coach? He was able to train Philip, he does indeed have some mettle in track and field training…”
Sebastian ended the call and sat there alone. He began to ponder.
After half an hour, Sebastian stood up and walked deliberately to the side window and shut it. He then dialed another number.
“Mr. Franklin, it’s me, Sebastian. Are you free to talk? Alright, I’ll wait for you.”
Sebastian held his phone and waited for around two minutes before the other person told him that he could speak.
“Mr. Franklin, do you know about the fitness training center operated by the Chinese coach? Yeah, that’s the place. How well do you know that place?”
“Oh, your laboratory hasn’t worked with him?” Sebastian seemed much more relaxed, he then continued asking, “Then do you know if this Coach Li has any relationship with the other labs? Yes, those rivals and competitors of yours. Are they working with him?”
“No! They’re not affiliated with any labs?” Sebastian let out a long breath before smiling.
Nowadays, without the support of a research lab, how big a wave can you set off! Alexander, you’ve made the wrong decision this time! But it’s also for the best. When you grow tired of losing in races, you will naturally understand that coming to my training camp was the best choice, Sebastian thought gleefully.
…
A suited gentleman was seated in front of Blake. He was a salesman who specialized in selling nutrition products.
“I’ve heard of the products of your prestigious company, especially the osteocollagen. It has received great reviews from consumers, and a lot of gyms are using it.” Blake shook the product manual in his hand and continued, “But we have already got four different brands of nutrition products, so…”
“I understand!” the salesman immediately said. “Our company can increase the sales commission by 2%. From what I know, the other four brands don’t have such preferential conditions.”
“But the products of your company are more expensive,” Blake said.
“Isn’t that better? The higher the price, the higher the commission after a successful sale,” the salesman smiled eerily.
“That is indeed the case, but we will not forcibly recommend your products to our clients, even if the commission you give is high. Here at our place, you can only compete fairly with the other brands. I accept your products, but it is only to provide our clients with more choices,” Blake said. He then continued, “The main reason I brought up the price is that I wanted to inform you that compared to the other four brands, your product has no competitive advantage when it comes to pricing. If the sales volume of your product is low, I cannot guarantee that we will let your products remain.”
“I understand, I understand…” The salesman nodded awkwardly. Then he leaned forward and whispered, “In truth, we have a few other products. The kind that improve an athlete’s results.”
“We don’t need that kind of stuff.” Blake obviously knew that the other products that the salesman was talking about were performance-enhancing drugs, so he replied without any hesitation.
“Mr. Blake, I know that you have your worries, but your worries are unfounded. Our company is a long-time sponsor of the Hoffman Lab…”
Blake interrupted the salesman, “I’ve said it before, we don’t need that kind of stuff. That’s a rule set by our boss; performance enhancers are a taboo that we must avoid at all cost! If any one of our coaches dares to break the rules, he’ll be kicked out immediately! So what you’ve just said, I’ll pretend that I didn’t hear it. But if you really want to continue with that conversation, I will have to ask security to escort you out.”