Rivers handed his letter of resignation to Williams, CEO of the U.S. Track and Field a.s.sociation.
Williams took the resignation and asked, "Coach Rivers, why do you want to resign?"
"I don"t think I am qualified to be the head coach." Rivers was clearly ashamed of this statement. "I"m not as talented as many of the athletes and they don"t respect me. Our training didn"t go well.
At the moment, Rivers felt a little gratified. Aylwin"s bullying gave him an excuse to resign. Williams had to accept his resignation.
Williams nodded to show that he has understood River"s concerns.
As the leader of the U.S. Track and Field a.s.sociation, Williams certainly had to pay attention to the daily training of the track and field team, so he knew that Rivers was not lying.
The main issue that Rivers had was with Aylwin. Rivers lost his respect so he lost the respect of the entire team. That"s why I have to solve the problem from Aylwin first. No one will be able to coach the team if he keeps this att.i.tude of his.
Williams felt helpless.
Aylwin was no ordinary athlete, he was the king of the 400-meter sprint. When an athlete was as famous and brilliant as Aylwin, he had power over the U.S. Track and Field a.s.sociation. The a.s.sociation needed Alywin to get sponsors.h.i.+ps and commercial spots. He was one of their most popular athletes
Moreover, because of the scandal, there were few athletes left on the US team that could win a gold medal. Aylwin was there best shot at getting gold this year.
Normally, the a.s.sociation wouldn"t bother Aylwin. If they wanted him to do something, they"d ask him. If he said yes, that was great. If he said no, they couldn"t force him to do anything that he didn"t want to.
In this instance, Williams made up his mind to have a talk with Aylwin. After accepting Rivers"s letter of resignation, Williams personally went to the training ground and invited Aylwin to the training room.
...
Williams handed Aylwin a bottle of unopened mineral water and said, "Jimmy, Coach Rivers has handed in his resignation letter."
Aylwin replied with "Oh." His tone didn"t give anything away.
"Jimmy, I was wondering if you were dissatisfied with Rivers?" Williams asked with a smile.
"Dissatisfied with Rivers? No!" Aylwin shook his head, "I just think he is not qualified to be the head coach of the national team. You know, Mr. Williams, that high-level physical training is like sailing against the current. You have to forge ahead or be driven back. If a coach is bad, then his athletes get worse. I didn"t follow Rivers" instructions, because I don"t think his training ability can help me maintain my current compet.i.tive state. On the contrary, it may cause it to become worse."
"I see!" Williams pretended to understand what Aylwin meant. "But you must know our current situation. We are greatly affected by the performance-enhancing drugs scandal. Most of the best track and field coaches in America are involved, so it"s really hard for us to find an excellent track and field coach to lead the national team. Rivers, at the moment, was the best choice for us."
"I understand." There was still a look of defiance on his face.
Williams continued. "Now, Rivers has resigned, so we need to look for a new coach to replace him. We might not be able to find a better coach than Rivers but, for the sake of the team, I hope you can accommodate yourself to the new coach and support his work."
As Williams spoke to Aylwin, he observed Aylwin"s expression, hoping that Aylwin would nod and agree.
However, to Williams" disappointment, Aylwin shook his head.
"Mr. Williams, all I can promise is that I won"t make trouble for the new coach. If he can"t help me to maintain the current state, I won"t follow his training programs," said Aylwin.
Williams was back to feeling helpless, because what he said was no effect on Aylwin. All the members of the track and field team followed his leaders.h.i.+p. If he didn"t accept the new coach, then the new coach would be the next Rivers, and leave the national team in dejection.
Realizing that Williams was in quandary, Aylwin felt he should make a concession, so he said, "Mr. Williams, I won"t partic.i.p.ate in the national team"s training next time. I will continue to train with my former coach so that I won"t affect other athletes, I think it"s a viable solution."
"So, you are not going to partic.i.p.ate in the training camp? No! That"s impossible!" Williams immediately shook his head.
Aylwin was the top star of the U.S. National Track and Field Team. They needed him to attract the attention of the public. Aylwin was more of a symbol than an ordinary athlete. Aylwin to the team is what the giant panda is to a zoo. Without him, the team would not be much less attractive.
"I"m sorry that I have no other solutions." Aylwin looked helpless.
Williams came up with an idea immediately.
"Aylwin, now that you have some doubts about our new coach, we can hire your former coach to the national team and appoint him a coach of the national team. He can continue to train you, and your training won"t be affected. I think this plan is feasible, right?" Williams asked smugly.
Aylwin thought for a while and said, "This is a feasible solution, but I think Coach Li may not agree. He may not be energetic enough and he may not be willing to be an ordinary coach led by someone else."
"Coach Li? He is your coach, right? What"s his name?" Williams asked subconsciously. Williams thought his name was Lee, which is a common surname in British and American countries.
"His name is Dai Li, and he has a chain physical training center in Los Angeles. You may have heard of him," said Aylwin.
"Dai Li? That Chinese coach! He is your coach! He"s also the coach of Justin Alexander!" Williams looked surprised.
Williams began to think about other possibilities.