Chapter 507: Not a Simple Coach
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
Dai Li entered the room and saw Coach Logan. They both greeted each other before heading to their respective seats. Logan then began the conversation by asking a question. “Coach Li, may I know the purpose of your visit?”
“I’m here to recruit athletes for the national team.” As Dai Li spoke, he pulled out a lit of athlete’s names and pa.s.sed it to Logan. He then said, “The five athletes on this list are all currently enrolled in the University of Oregon, and they’re also your students. I hope to invite them into the U.S. National Track and Field Team.”
Logan took the list and reviewed the names. The expression on his face suddenly became serious.
“Coach Li, on what do you base your selection of these five athletes? From what I know, their performances at the Olympic qualifiers were terrible. According to the rankings, they have no chance of getting onto the national team. There are more than one or two names above them,” Coach Logan said.
“This list wasn’t made based on the results of the qualifiers. These five athletes are athletes that I believe will do well,” Dai Li said.
“But according to the rules of the national team, athletes should be selected according to their rankings in the qualifiers.” Logan’s expression became even more solemn. He then continued, “Coach Li, am I mistaken or are you free to select athletes by yourself?”
“That is the case,” Dai Li nodded.
Coach Logan’s expression relaxed a great deal and an unpredictable smile appeared on his face. “Coach Li, I’m guessing that was a condition you had for taking over the U.S. national team, am I right?”
“That’s right. Due to the time constraints, I need to have some sort of autonomy. If I don’t, I might not even be able to get the numbers needed for the team,” Dai Li stated.
Logan shook the list with the names of the five athletes in his hand and asked, “Who recommended the athletes on here?”
“No one recommended them to me,” Dai Li said.
“Then how did you come to the decision of selecting these five from a huge pool of athletes? Like I said, their results and performances during the qualifiers weren’t exactly great,” Logan said.
“I’ve seen their performances during the qualifiers. Still, I believe they have what it takes to represent the U.S. at the Olympic Games. As for their results at qualifiers, I believe these athletes did not perform to the best of their ability,” Dai Li said.
Coach Logan glanced at Dai Li with a faint smile on his face.
Logan did not believe Dai Li’s statement that no one recommended them. However, Logan completely agreed with Dai Li’s latter statement that the five of them had the skills and strength to represent the U.S. and compete in the Olympic Games.
The five athletes on the list were all trained personally by Logan. No one knew their capabilities and strengths better than Logan. He had also once been the head coach of the U.S. National Track and Field Team and, based on his estimates, the five athletes were indeed strong enough to join the U.S. national team.
However, there are times when a man stumbles. There were times when an athlete was not at his best, and all five of the athletes did not exhibit enough of their skill during the Olympic qualifiers. Because of this, they didn’t even make it into the final.
Situations such as these were common in every selection of the national team. It was, after all, decided in one race. Even the best athlete could keel over in the qualifiers. A world record holder might not make it through the U.S. qualifiers. So of course it was normal for a more average athlete to fail in the contest.
However, what surprised Logan most was Dai Li personally making the trip there to select those five specific athletes.. It was apparent that he knew how strong each one of them was.Logan would never believe this was a coincidence.
There were a lot of athletes competing in the qualifiers. To handpick these five from all those contestants, this Dai Li isn’t a normal coach! As Logan thought this, his curiosity in Dai Li piqued. He wanted to get a chance to test Dai Li.
“My afternoon tea is about finished.” Logan glanced at his watch and said, “Coach Li, are you interested in visiting my training?”
“It would be my honor!” Dai Li nodded as he agreed.
…
The University of Oregon was located in the city of Eugene. The track and field team of the University of Oregon was a level above the track and field teams at other universities. Whether it was the facilities, the standard of the coaches, or the talent of the athletes, the University of Oregon was among the best.
“Coach Li, what do you think about these youngsters,” Coach Logan asked with a bright smile.
“They’re pretty good, and it’s all thanks to your great coaching,” Dai Li said politely.
Coach Logan wasn’t satisfied with Dai Li’s answer. He pressed on. “Coach Li, you are the head coach of the U.S. National Track and Field Team. If you could just give these youngsters a pointer or two, they would be delighted.”
Logan didn’t wait for Dai Li to answer. He waved directly to the a.s.sistant coach beside him. The a.s.sistant coach understood and immediately gathered a few athletes from the training ground.
Is he putting on an act for me? Or is he testing me? Although Dai Li did not yet understand Logan’s thoughts, he knew that his opponent had already dealt his card. There was no reason Dai Li shouldn’t deal his own card.
At that moment, the other coaches all stopped their work and gathered around. They wanted to see just what kind of tricks Dai Li, the new head coach of the U.S. national team, had up his sleeves. They also wanted to see Dai Li make a fool out of himself.
Dai Li looked towards the first athlete and at the same time, started the detector.
“You injured your thigh not that long ago, is that right? You haven’t recovered fully yet, but you’ve already started high-intensity training. That’s not good, as this might cause an even more severe injury which could destroy your career path. You’re still young, so you still have time. My suggestion would be for you to lighten your training load and perform more rehabilitative training that would aid in your recovery,” Dai Li said to the first athlete.
“How did he know Jim got injured a few days ago?” The surrounding coaches all looked at Dai Li, shocked.
Coach Logon then asked directly, “Jim, has your leg not fully healed?”
“Ugh, the doctor said it’s almost there, but I feel like it’s fine…” The athlete answered weakly.
“You feel like it’s fine? Are you a doctor?” Coach Logan grunted coldly and said, “You will stop training now. Go to the team doctor for a checkup. I forbid you to come back to training before I see the doctor’s report.”
Dai Li then looked toward the second athlete.
“You’ve dislocated your shoulder joint before, have you?” Dai Li asked.
“How did you know?” The athlete asked instantly, “Am I like Jim? And I haven’t fully recovered? I feel weird in my shoulder, now, when I throw the javelin. I always feel like I can’t exert all of my power.”
Dai Li shook his head, “No. You’re different from the athlete just now. You are fully recovered. However, you don’t feel like you’ve fully recovered. To be more precise, you are physically fine, but psychologically, you have not recovered. You’re worried that your shoulder will get dislocated again, so subconsciously you dare not fully utilize your strength. I suggest you visit the psychologist and have a rehabilitative counseling session.”
Dai Li then looked towards the third athlete, who was a long jumper.
Before Dai Li spoke, the third athlete said first, “Um, I’ve never been injured.”
“I know that you haven’t been injured before, but your technique needs to improve. In high school, you managed to defeat your opponents with your physical advantage and natural talent. However, in college, although your body might still give you some advantage, if you want to really become a compet.i.tive professional athlete, your natural abilities won’t be as important. You have to have better technique,” Dai Li said.
“But I think that my technique is decent,” the athlete said unhappily.
“Really? I saw your long jump practice just now. You have 11 areas in your technique that need improvement. Number one…” Dai Li began explaining in detail.
Dai Li spent around five or six minutes talking about the weaknesses of that athlete. By that time, the surrounding coaches had gone silent. All of them looked at Dai Li in disbelief.
As for that athlete, apart from being shocked, he was visibly grieving. He had actually actually thought that he was a decent long jumper.Now, after Dai Li’s comments, he realized that he was actually worthless.
How is that possible? He only took a glance at this kid. How could he know so many details? He sounds as if he has been training with the athlete for a few months. Is it possible that some of my coaches leaked information to him beforehand? Coach Logan subconsciously looked at his subordinates. The shocked expression on their faces made it clear that none of them leaked any information to Dai Li.
It can’t be leaked information. None of my coaches have the ability to discover all of those 11 areas of improvements that Dai Li just highlighted.
Could it be that this Dai Li really found out about them himself? Discovering so much just from a short observation, how is this possible? I don’t believe it.
At that moment, Dai Li turned towards the fourth athlete. The fourth student was instantly engulfed in fear.
Having one’s weaknesses, let alone 11 of one’s vulnerabilities, pointed out in front of so many people was certainly not a pleasant experience.
…
After more than ten minutes, Coach Logan was convinced by Dai Li. Dai Li’s review of every athlete was spot on. Some of the weaknesses highlighted by Dai Li were things that Coach Logan himself had never noticed.
No wonder he could open so many chain physical fitness training centers in Los Angeles. His sharp observation skills alone are unequaled. Based on that, he is far better than me. Coach Logan could not help but admit Dai Li was much better than him, a past head coach of the U.S. National Track and Field Team. He no longer had any desire to test Dai Li.
Dai Li’s gaze turned to a tall athlete in front of him.
He was a Caucasian who was more than 1.90m in height. He had blonde hair, blue eyes, and very distinct features. He was undoubtedly regarded as a handsome guy.
However, Dai Li’s expression froze when he U.S.ed the detector on this athlete.
This guy’s ability value is around 800. This young athlete’s level is already close to a world champion. More importantly, his talent potential is grade S, meaning he’s capable of breaking world records! Who is this guy? Coach Logan really has such a hidden talent within his ranks! If I were to train this guy for a month, he might be able to compete for a gold medal.
As Dai Li was thinking, he asked, “Coach Logan, what’s this athlete’s name?”
Dai Li actually noticed Muller! Logan thought. He then responded, “He’s called Muller, Franz Muller. He is a pole vault athlete.”
Franz Muller? Dai Li thought deeply and said, “I don’t think I’ve seen this name in the list of the athletes who partic.i.p.ated in the qualifier. Did he not attempt to qualify?”
“His mother was involved in a car accident during the Olympic Qualifier, so he did not compete,” Coach Logan answered.
“Then, has his result reached the A standard of the Olympics?” Dai Li asked impatiently.
“Early this year, he reached the Olympic A standard,” Logan answered.
Dai Li’s face suddenly lit up. Logan continued, “Muller’s parents are both Germans and he was born in Germany. He grew up there, he’s only been in the U.S. since high school.”
“So he’s a German?” Dai Li suddenly looked disappointed. A German could not represent the U.S. national team in the Olympic Games.
“He has both German citizens.h.i.+p as well as American citizens.h.i.+p,” Logan answered.
The U.S. was a country that allowed dual citizens.h.i.+p. Although there was no specific law focused on the issue of dual citizens.h.i.+p, U.S. policy allowed it. However, the government had always maintained that they did not encourage it. As for Germany, they only started recognizing dual citizens.h.i.+p in 2002.
“I a.s.sume he hasn’t joined the German national team, right?” Dai Li asked immediately.
“That’s correct.” Logan nodded and said, “His father is an auto engineer and their family came to the U.S. a few years ago. They have all even obtained U.S. citizens.h.i.+p. Muller hasn’t gone back to Germany in a few years.”
“Which is to say, he can represent the U.S. in the Olympic Games!” Dai Li’s face lit up with excitement once again. He then said, “Coach Logan, there’s a need to add one more name to the list. This Franz Muller, I want to bring him onto the national team!”
…
Coach Logan personally escorted Dai Li out of the main gate of the University of Oregon.
“Coach, you sure think highly of this Chinese coach, it’s been a while since we saw you personally sending someone off at the gate,” an a.s.sistant coach by his side said sarcastically.
“This Coach Li is no simple person!” Logan smiled. “Suddenly, I feel that the current U.S. National Track and Field Team still has a glimmer of hope.”