I Wasn't Born a Champion - Chapter 12

Although the training of the two individuals Su Yu and Zhou Yu’ang took place at the training field of the youth group, their training was not carried out jointly with the provincial team’s youth group.

Regarding the basic conditions of the two individuals Su Yu and Zhou Yu’ang, to use Pei Dingshan’s words, it was “neither is good enough, both have to train.”

Of course, training was training, but it certainly was not chaotic training. Pei Dingshan individually set up different training schemes for both Zhou Yu’ang and Su Yu to target the two individuals’ different characteristics.

For instance, aiming at Su Yu’s training, what was emphasized for the time being was not yet a high-load training scheme. Regarding Su Yu’s current physical condition, it was necessary to grant his body sufficient training stimulus under limited training intensity, and at the same time leave enough recovery and adjustment space for his body, letting Su Yu obtain enhancements in various ability qualities such as physical energy, strength, and speed within effective training, while at the same time not leading to generating an excessively large load capacity on his body.

The training direction aimed at Zhou Yu’ang, however, was completely different.

Before training, Pei Dingshan put forward the first and only requirement to Zhou Yu’ang—forget all the techniques you have learned in the past, including your active exertion leg, which is also your starting leg, which needs to be readjusted.

When listening to the previous words, Zhou Yu’ang was still happily expressing “no problem,” but by the time he heard that he had to change his starting power-exertion leg, Zhou Yu’ang’s expression truly changed.

For a sprinter, the alternation of the front and back of the starting power-exertion leg was not a small matter. After years of training and learning, the starting power-exertion leg was to an athlete just like a right-handed person’s right hand, already a habitual instinct deeply engraved into the marrow of the bones. Wanting to change the starting power-exertion leg was a painful process no less than extracting tendons and washing marrow.

Or to put it another way, such a learning process was precisely a process that wanted to make Zhou Yu’ang start learning how to run all over again.

After Zhou Yu’ang gave a start, for the first time he asked Pei Dingshan “why.”

Pei Dingshan cast a glance at him, and cast another glance at Su Yu who was likewise on the side, nodding his head before looking toward Zhou Yu’ang: “You know how to grow a mouth today?”

Listening to Pei Dingshan’s cold-faced roasting toward Zhou Yu’ang, Su Yu silently raised his eyes, looking toward the stunned Zhou Yu’ang.

Zhou Yu’ang at this moment put away his usual bouncing and cheerful posture, and the expression on his face was much more solemn and serious than usual. It could be seen that this requirement put forward by Pei Dingshan wanting him to change his power-exertion leg had a very large impact on him.

“Coach, you have led us to do physical tests; my right leg’s strength is relatively larger.”

Pei Dingshan flipped through the training manual in his hand, displaying the page that recorded Zhou Yu’ang’s data: “Almost no different.”

Zhou Yu’ang was still striving for it: “But for so many years I have used the right leg as the active power-exertion leg. I am already extremely adapted toward the right leg’s power exertion. This is beneficial toward my starting reaction speed…”

Pei Dingshan cast a glance at him, saying calmly: “What you have used habitually all along does not represent that it is correct. If you believe the current starting power-exertion leg is precisely the best for you, then in reality you even do not need to come find me to train anymore.”

“I know that domestic coaches are not strict regarding the choice of the starting power-exertion leg. The vast majority of coaches all let you make a choice in accordance with your own habits, but have you ever observed whether on the international arena, the top players adopt using the left leg as the active power-exertion leg in the vast majority?”

Zhou Yu’ang at this moment gave a start once more, and then shook his head: “…No.”

“When I was studying at the Brad Academy, I once read such a set of data—when adopting the left leg as the active power-exertion leg, athletes generally can obtain a faster reaction speed. This numerical value ranges from 80 milliseconds to 100 milliseconds.”

“Of course, perhaps your current strength has not reached the time when you need to pursue these 80 milliseconds to 100 milliseconds, but when one day, your distance to the national record or even the Asian record is already very close, yet your speed encounters a dilemma, you at that time perhaps can read and understand the meaning behind these 100 milliseconds.”

Listening to Pei Dingshan’s words, Zhou Yu’ang was somewhat in a daze.

Judging from the training situation of these few days, he originally thought that what Pei Dingshan thought more highly of was Su Yu. As a giant pendant who picked up a bargain to train together, it was already very good that the coach could give him individual guidance.

But this speech of Pei Dingshan made him suddenly startled into realizing that in reality, Pei Dingshan had not failed to think highly of him. Toward his training as well as the future, Pei Dingshan, from a coach’s perspective, had likewise considered a lot for him.

Just at this time, only then did Pei Dingshan put away the training manual in his hand, saying: “Whether to follow me to alter your active power-exertion leg now, or to wait until later when your muscle memory is more deeply engraved into the marrow of the bones to alter your active power-exertion leg because of a performance dilemma that might appear, this is your choice—tell me after you have decided well.”

After throwing down this sentence, Pei Dingshan no longer paid attention to Zhou Yu’ang, but instead looked toward Su Yu: “Zhou Yu’ang’s choice is very hard, and your choice will be equally hard.”

“Before this, you completely lacked any training foundation. This decides that the content volume you need to learn will be several times that of Zhou Yu’ang, and at the same time your physical conditions also decide that your training volume must be less than Zhou Yu’ang.”

When Pei Dingshan turned the muzzle of the dialogue toward Su Yu, Su Yu also looked fixedly toward him.

Pei Dingshan saw the stubbornness in Su Yu’s eyes, clearly meaning refusing to admit defeat.

A sliver of imperceptible satisfaction flashed through his eyes, nodding his head slightly, saying: “Can persist?”

Su Yu pursed his mouth and said in a muffled voice: “Can.”

Pei Dingshan smiled a bit, saying: “Then I hope you can manage to have all training movements accurate and in place, using the most accurate and most efficient learning method to make up for your current stage’s deficiencies in physical energy and physical quality.”

“No matter what method you use, I need you to form sufficiently excellent muscle memory as soon as possible—but I hope your process of self-learning does not exceed your physical load.”

“Since you have already agreed to become a member of my project experimental group, I hope you can be responsible toward your own body, strictly carrying out training in accordance with the training volume I have stipulated.”

“What I need is a healthy experimental group member, rather than an experimental group member who injures themselves first before even waiting for my project to draw a conclusion.”

“I speak like this, do you understand?”

Su Yu finished listening to every sentence of Pei Dingshan, finally responding with a muffled “Mm” in annoyance.

He felt that he clearly was still standing here with his clothing complete, yet seemed to have been seen through by the Pei Dingshan before his eyes—indeed as Pei Dingshan expected, within his original thoughts, what he thought of was since his own foundation was too poor and inferior to Zhou Yu’ang and the others, then he would add training in private to catch up.

But very obviously, Pei Dingshan saw through his thoughts, and disagreed with his thoughts.

“Ancestor, what is it with you again this time?”

When training dismissed at noon, Jiang Yuan, who understood Su Yu best, saw Su Yu’s abnormality with one glance.

Su Yu pursed his mouth a bit, saying: “Nothing.”

Jiang Yuan: “…”

Speechless, Jiang Yuan rubbed Su Yu’s head: “Alright, just with this appearance of yours, you say nothing and you just see whether I believe it!”

Not too happily, Su Yu slapped away his hand.

Jiang Yuan still chased up to touch his forehead: “Didn’t develop a fever or get heatstroke, right?”

Under Jiang Yuan’s movements, Su Yu had no choice but to stop his footsteps, and only after letting him finish checking did he say in a muffled voice: “Really nothing, just feel that this coach is very annoying.”

The future national team sprint head coach, in ten years could emit cold air toward the CCTV reporters; now of course he could also order him to observe various clauses and regulations toward him.

Uh.

Knowing that what Su Yu was annoyed at was the coach, Jiang Yuan also had no way out, and could only soothe the little ancestor, saying: “Xiao Yu, if you don’t like this coach, how about we don’t train anymore?”

This tone was particularly like a spendthrift parent.

Just the kind that is number one in spoiling kids.

Su Yu looked at Jiang Yuan silently and wordlessly for two seconds, and then said in a muffled voice: “I won’t.”

“Good, good, good, won’t is won’t.”

Seeing that he had coaxed the little ancestor to about enough, only then did Jiang Yuan breathe a sigh of relief, turning his head to look toward the other fellow who had been absent-minded and distracted ever since meeting up today.

“Hey, Ang-zi, what is it with you?”

Jiang Yuan called two or three times in a row, before slapping a palm onto Zhou Yu’ang’s shoulder, calling the person awake.

Only when being slapped awake by Jiang Yuan did Zhou Yu’ang grab Jiang Yuan’s shoulder all at once, howling and wailing out loud: “Wooo, Yuan-zi, I am so miserable!”

Being grabbed by such a silly big fellow whose height was equal to his own, in the great hot weather and right after finishing training, that sticky hot air simply made him give a burst of speechlessness, but seeing Zhou Yu’ang looking this miserable and sad, he had no choice but to wrinkle his brows and reluctantly pat his back.

“Alright, alright, move away, if there is anything uncomfortable you just say it, don’t fiddle around with hands and feet, don’t you find it hot?”

Only now did Zhou Yu’ang back away his steps melancholically, saying miserably: “The coach wants me to change the active power-exertion leg; you say what difference does this have compared to forcing a right-handed person to change into a left-handed person?”

“But he said a lot, saying something about limbs being controlled by the contralateral brain; in short the meaning is that after I change an active power-exertion leg, it will have help toward the starting reaction and also the subsequent movement speed.”

“He said the decision right is on me, but it really is so hard to decide…”

From the day Zhou Yu’ang began training in sprinting, he had all along used the right leg as the active power-exertion leg. His starting posture was right leg in front and left leg in back. From the moment of the starting command, after the right leg stamped and burst out, his left leg took the first step first.

This was a habit of muscle memory and running that had already formed for him.

“I asked the coach whether results will definitely become better after changing the active leg—the coach said it’s also not necessarily so.”

Zhou Yu’ang had a face full of a mask of pain: “How does this let me choose!”

After finishing speaking, he began to sigh and groan a bit again.

After Jiang Yuan finished listening, he also roughly knew where Zhou Yu’ang’s pain lay. Right when he wanted to soothe a couple of sentences, as a result out of expectations, Su Yu on the side suddenly opened his mouth.

“Why not agree?”

Zhou Yu’ang gave a start, putting away the various exaggerated postures feigned on his face, and became serious: “Xiao Yu, you also heard my discussion with the coach just now. Actually it’s not that I don’t want to agree either, mainly I haven’t considered well yet…”

Su Yu still looked fixedly toward him: “Why do you not agree?”

Zhou Yu’ang didn’t quite understand why their little ancestor was suddenly asking this question so persistently, but this time Su Yu had no intention to wait for him to answer, but instead looked straightforwardly toward him: “The reason you came to the summer camp, isn’t it precisely because your own results could not be enhanced, your own results encountered a bottleneck, and you believed that there needed to be a better coach to help you?”

Zhou Yu’ang was asked into a daze by Su Yu’s straightforward question.

He didn’t even recall that this was the first time Su Yu spoke such a long sentence to him.

He looked blankly at Su Yu, and then was stabbed solidly by the content spoken within Su Yu’s words.

That’s right, he originally was precisely because of his own performance dilemma so that was why he would want to find a good coach to help him obtain better results.

The best coach he could find was without a doubt precisely Pei Dingshan.

“Your foundations are neither good enough, all have to be altered,” as early as the first day Pei Dingshan was willing to accept him, he had already told him very straightforwardly that all his foundations needed to be modified.

Today’s requirement of changing the active power-exertion leg was merely a bit more specific, that’s all.

Clearly it was a request he himself had put forward long ago, yet as a result the first to be timid was actually also him.

It really was too improper!

After figuring out this point, Zhou Yu’ang as a whole person regenerated mental vigor.

He pounced toward Su Yu all at once to hold him, smiling to reveal a mouthful of big white teeth, saying: “You truly can be my little ancestor! Sure enough, the common saying says it well, listening to the ancestor’s words yields meat to eat!”

Su Yu originally was already uncomfortable from the sweat breaking out on his body, and his heart was still feeling annoyed due to Pei Dingshan’s restrictions. As a result he was grabbed into the embrace all at once by Zhou Yu’ang again, his entire face muffled between Zhou Yu’ang’s neck and shoulder, breathing the steaming heat breaking out of Zhou Yu’ang’s skin, and immediately his whole person’s fur stood on end.

“Get away from me!”

Su Yu was so angry that he wanted to break open his hands, but his strength was not as large as this big fellow’s. In the end it was still Jiang Yuan who helped break open the overly excited Zhou Yu’ang. Thus after finally being broken open, Zhou Yu’ang happily received Su Yu’s white eyes for a whole entire day.

When Jiang Yuan broke Zhou Yu’ang open and Su Yu gave him a fierce glare before turning around to stride toward the dormitory at a fast pace, Zhou Yu’ang, whose hand was pinned down by Jiang Yuan, used his other hand to scratch his head, giggling: “Aiya, Yuan-zi, you look at our little ancestor’s walking speed and momentum!”

Jiang Yuan rolled a huge white eye at him wordlessly: “That was from being angered by you!”

Zhou Yu’ang instantly became serious all over: “Ahem, I am praising that our little ancestor’s physical state is quite not bad! Look, just when training finished in the morning, our little ancestor was still so tired that he was completely wilting. At this moment he can walk toward the dormitory this fast again!”

Jiang Yuan: “…”

Jiang Yuan looked at that appearance of Zhou Yu’ang, just like saying: spin it, you give me to continue spinning it!

“Ahem.”

Zhou Yu’ang felt embarrassed from being looked at by Jiang Yuan, and after coughing dryly and smiling foolishly for a while, he also put away his improper appearance, grinning as he smiled: “To be honest, I really have to thank our little ancestor for waking me up.”

“He said it correctly, my original purpose in coming to the summer camp was precisely wanting to throw myself under the gate of the coach. Before coming I clearly had already made a decision that no matter what requirements the coach has I would agree—how did it turn out that when it truly reached the coach opening his mouth to put forward a requirement, I instead shrunk back on the contrary?”

“Isn’t it just altering the active power-exertion leg?”

“Hard as it is, but back then Hurdler Liu also altered it, ah! Not only the active power-exertion leg, there was also the eight-to-seven paces before the hurdles. Every single one of these was a very difficult decision for ordinary athletes, and for a famous general of established fame like him, it was even more a decision where it was unknown whether harvests could be obtained.”

“But he persisted, and only then would there be greater harvests later.”

“I haven’t even begun technical modification now, yet inside my own heart I am looking forward and backward. I don’t even have the conviction to risk everything and put forth all efforts, so what future achievements am I talking about then?”

Zhou Yu’ang said with a smile: “Thanks to a single sentence from our little ancestor, pointing straight to the human heart.”

“He said it very correctly—why not?”

“This originally was what I sought!”

Figuring out all this made Zhou Yu’ang as a whole person appear to have reached a thorough understanding of his thoughts.

“Do it as soon as said! Isn’t it just altering the active power-exertion leg? Decided! Starting from today, for every single matter I do, I will take the left leg first!”

Right when the words fell, Zhou Yu’ang, who had just prepared to take out a leg, suddenly froze right on the spot.

Jiang Yuan silently watched him not moving for a long while, and wordlessly gave him a pat forward from behind.

Under this gentle pat, Zhou Yu’ang instinctively stepped out his left leg first, and only then did the steps of walking become smooth.

And by the time the two individuals caught up with Su Yu ahead with great difficulty, they unexpectedly saw that there seemed to be someone from the youth team blocking Su Yu.

“You are Su Yu?”

This young general of the youth team swept an eye up and down Su Yu slightly critically, saying: “On what grounds did Coach Pei take a fancy to you? The body is this weak, so there’s no need to continue training, right?”

“Be more tactful, take the initiative to withdraw yourself, you know?”

Su Yu, who was blocked, knit his brows and cast a glance at the young general before him. His originally unhappy mood became even more annoyed, and he turned away his head impatiently: “So noisy.”