Almighty Coach

After returning to the United States, Halls seemed to be a different person. Instead of going out to play football at night, he rested very early every day, and then devoted all his energy to the next day's training.

This trip to Spain had a great impact on Halles. He witnessed Real Madrid and Barcelona, ​​​​the two giant football clubs, and even experienced a training match there. He finally saw that the world's top football youth academy What is it like.

All of this gave Halls a desire. He longed to go to Real Madrid or Barcelona to train, to enter their echelon and become a member of them, to get those better teammates and to face those better players. opponent.

But because of dwarfism and closed epiphyseal line, Real Madrid and Barcelona clearly rejected him, which hit Halls' self-esteem, and this blow quickly became his motivation for training .

As Li Dai said, only when a person has a clear goal will he work hard and strive for it.

Howers is like this. Although he wanted to play in Europe before, he has never really seen the top clubs in Europe, so his desire to play in Europe is very illusory. Today, Halls has been to Spain, Real Madrid and Barcelona, ​​two giant clubs, and playing in Europe is no longer an illusory dream, but a goal to pursue.

Halls knew that his height was the main reason why he was rejected by the two giants. He suffered from dwarfism and his epiphyseal line was closed, which he could not change. At this time, Howers realized more deeply that Dai Li's training here has become the last straw for him to grow taller.

Compared with others, dwarfism makes Halls inherently deficient, and those teenagers who have entered the echelon of Real Madrid and Barcelona have already had a higher starting point than Halles. He is inherently deficient, while his opponent has a higher starting point. Under the circumstances of this double disadvantage, Halls must put in more effort and sweat than others.

Howers already understands this, he knows that his road will be more difficult than others, but he will not give up, he will charge towards the goal in his heart.

...

At 10:00 in the morning, Dai Li was still working out a training plan for a client in his office when his cell phone rang suddenly.

Dai Li picked up his phone and looked at it. He was surprised by the caller ID.

"It's Xu Zhongyi. Why did he call? It should be early in the morning in China." Dai Li calculated in his mind that the time difference between the western United States and domestic time is 16 hours. Now that the United States is in daylight saving time, there is also a difference between western time and domestic time. There is a gap of 15 hours. Dai Li is here in the morning, but in China it is really early morning, when he is in deep sleep.

"Old Xu, call me at this time, I'm afraid it's something important." Dai Li didn't hesitate, and immediately picked up the phone.

"Hey, Old Xu, you stayed up most of the night and called me, what's the matter?" Dai Li asked straightforwardly.

"Isn't this afraid of affecting your rest?" Xu Zhongyi chuckled, and then said, "There is really something I want to ask you for."

"What's the matter, tell me." Dai Li said angrily.

"Our provincial sports team has a coach who teaches Chen Jianguo. He is a tennis coach. Have you heard of him before?" Xu Zhongyi asked.

"There is such a person in my impression." Dai Li paused, and then continued: "But tennis has always been weak in our provincial sports team. There are not many athletes, and even less coaches."

"Indeed, apart from those few first-tier cities, other places don't develop tennis at all, and the policy and financial support given are also very limited." Xu Zhongyi didn't get too entangled in this issue, he continued: "Chen Jianguo and I are We have known each other for a long time. He has a son named Chen Zhen. He has practiced tennis with him since he was a child. This young man is very talented. He won the third place in the National Games when he was 18 years old. He has also participated in some international competitions in recent years. , in the latest world rankings, Chen Zhen has entered the top 200."

"Our country's male players can be sent to the top 200 in the world, which is a very good result." Dai Li praised.

"And his ranking in the top 200 in the world this time means that he can participate in the qualifying round of the US Open. It has been a long time since any male player in our country has been able to participate in the four Grand Slams." Xu Zhongyi said .

In the four major tennis tournaments, there are 128 entries in the main match, 104 of which are based on the world ranking. The top 104 players in the world are eligible to directly enter the main match of the four major tennis tournaments. Some players retire due to unexpected factors such as injuries, and the following players will have the opportunity to substitute. Therefore, under normal circumstances, as long as the world ranking is before 110, they have the opportunity to directly advance to the main match of the four major tennis tournaments.

In addition, there are 8 places for wild card players. Some big-name players who have not played for a long time due to injuries will drop to 104th in the world ranking. At this time, they will often get the wild card qualifications given by the game. There are also certain discounts. So at the Australian Open, there will be a few players from Australia who get wild cards. At Wimbledon, players from the UK will get wild cards. At the French Open, it will be French players who get wild cards. Players can get the right to participate in this wild card.

The final 16 places for the race are determined by the qualifying round. Before the main match of the four major tennis tournaments, the qualifying round will be held in advance. A total of 128 people will participate in the qualifying round.

From the perspective of the rules, if no one retires due to injury, players ranked 104 to 232 in the world can participate in the qualifying rounds of the four Grand Slams. However, considering that some people withdraw due to various reasons every year, basically Those ranked within 250 in the world have the opportunity to participate in the qualifying round.

Chen Zhen's world ranking has already entered the top 200, so he can safely enter the qualifying round.

"You came to me because of Chen Zhen's matter?" Dai Li asked.

"Yes, Chen Jianguo wants to take Chen Zhen to the United States in advance to adapt to the American environment. It is best to find an American tennis coach and give Chen Zhen some guidance. You are more familiar with the United States, so I would like to invite you Help me." Xu Zhongyi said.

"No problem, you can ask Coach Chen Jianguo to contact me directly," Dai Li said.

"By the way, Chen Jian's country is not very rich. The average working class relies on dead wages. It costs a lot to train Chen Zhen to play tennis, so don't find him an expensive coach." Xu Zhongyi continued asked.

"That's right..." Dai Li hesitated for a moment, and then said: "Old Xu, you are also a coach, and you must know that in the field of sports training, the price of a coach with some ability is not low, the higher the level Coaches, the higher the salary requirement."

"I know, I know, that's why I called you in the middle of the night, and I wanted you to think of a way. You are doing well in the United States, and you must have a lot of contacts. Maybe you can help Chen Zhen." Xu Zhongyi said.

"Why don't you let him come to my training center? Among my clients are some well-known tennis players, all of whom are in the top 50 in the world. Let Chen Zhen train with them first. Training, but after getting acquainted with those players, maybe I can learn something. If possible, I will try to recommend Chen Zhen to be their training partner." Dai Li said.

"As for the fee, you can get a discount. I know that your fee is not usually high." Xu Zhongyi said deliberately.

Li Dai understood what Xu Zhongyi meant. He chuckled and said, "If you don't give face to others, how can I not give face to your old Xu! Anyway, it's only a few days away from the US Open, so I won't accept it either." They have money."

...

Three days later, Chen Jianguo, Chen Zhen and his son arrived in Los Angeles.

Chen Jianguo used to be the coach of the Hanbei Provincial Sports Team, but Li Dai didn't have a deep impression on him. Firstly, they had different scores in the events, and secondly, tennis was in the Provincial Sports Team. Public competitions are not taken seriously.

Chen Zhen is a young tennis prodigy of the new generation in China. Li Dai also scouted him. His B+ talent is enough to dominate the country. It is also possible to participate in some low-level international tournaments, but he will compete in the four Grand Slams Level competitions, that is, barely reaching the threshold for participating in the main competition.

Tennis is a sport with a relatively high popularity rate in the United States. There are many professional tennis schools in the United States, which train a large number of tennis players every year. Among Dai Li's clients, there are several well-known tennis players ranked in the top 50 in the world. Due to the proximity to the US Open, they also train more frequently, especially in terms of physical training, which is the most important part of the training content.

Under normal circumstances, the duration of the U.S. Open is about half a month. Most of its unseeded players will not only participate in individual singles, they will also participate in doubles or mixed doubles, and some players even have to deal with individual singles and doubles at the same time The physical consumption of the competition is actually very high, so they are willing to focus on physical fitness for a period of time before the competition.

For Chen Zhen, these top 50 tennis players in the world are already "idols" that he rarely meets.

Chen Zhen's world ranking has just entered the top 200. It is said that there is only a gap of 150 between him and the top 50 in the world. It is the gap between one heaven and one earth. Many 200 athletes will not meet an opponent who is less than 50 in the competition throughout the year.

Tennis competitions basically rely on world rankings to determine eligibility. For example, in the classification of ATP events, the highest level is the four Grand Slams, followed by ATP1000, ATP500, and ATP250. For example, the top 10 players in the world will basically not participate in ATP250 competitions, because for the For them, the ATP250 level of competition is too low.

Then there is the Challenge 125K+H level, the Challenge 125K level, the Challenge 100K level, the Challenge 75K level, the Challenge 50K level, and the Challenge 40K level. It is difficult to see the world ranking in the competition below the 100K level. Figures of the top 100 players. Under the challenge competition, there is also the hope competition, and the lower levels in the hope competition are all players without world rankings.

Therefore, for a player ranked 200 in the world, at most he can participate in some challenge level competitions. Unless he relies on wild cards, it is difficult to participate in competitions above ATP 250. Naturally, he will not meet the top 50 players in the world player.

Even in the Grand Slam competition, the top 232 players in the world can participate in the qualifying rounds, but for the players ranked 200 in the three rounds, each game is a death trip. To advance to the main match, one must defeat opponents who are ranked higher than oneself in the world for three consecutive games, which is equivalent to needing an upset every game. The possibility of one upset is easy to say, but the possibility of three consecutive upsets is really slim.

Therefore, in the qualifying rounds of the four Grand Slams, those who can finally advance to the main match are those players ranked before 150 in the world. After 150, basically they cannot advance to the main match.

...

On the training ground, Chen Jianguo looked at Chen Zhen who was training, with a loving smile on his face, and he said: "When Chen Zhen took the racket for the first time, he was not as tall as the racket. At that time, I had just retired. , was assigned to the team as a tennis coach. At that time, he was like my little tail. I trained players on the court, and he picked up the ball next to him. Later, I saw him imitate those players swinging rackets, so I started Try teaching him tennis."

"Chen Zhen's talent is very good. At least among the athletes I train, his talent is the best. He only needs to learn a lot of things that I have taught him. Since then, I have I decided that even if I lost my fortune, I must train him well. I am really looking forward to the day when he will be able to stand on the stage of the tennis Grand Slam and fulfill my dream that I did not achieve back then."

When Chen Jianguo said this, he let out a long sigh: "When I was an athlete, I also hoped to play in the four Grand Slams. Even if I only played one game, I would be satisfied, but in our age, that is Impossible, tennis players of our era basically had no chance to play abroad. Especially after the defection incident of tennis players in the 1980s, it was even more impossible for us to have the opportunity to play abroad. I never went abroad to play until I retired.”

Dai Li next to him nodded. He had read some relevant information about this matter. At that time, a tennis player took advantage of the opportunity to play in the United States, left the team and stayed in the United States without authorization, and applied for so-called political asylum in order to stay in the United States. But think about it carefully, only those who have been raped are eligible to apply for political asylum, and athletes are not some influential political figures. Who would rape an athlete when they have nothing to do? So what the athlete did at the time was nothing more than wanting to stay in the United States, and under the circumstances at the time, the U.S. government was happy to use it as a political tool. If it is today, maybe the US Immigration Service will directly deport the person.

I only heard Chen Jianguo continue to say; "At that time, I saw the latest world ranking and saw that Chen Zhen's ranking entered the top 200. I was really happy because he had the opportunity to participate in the four Grand Slam competitions. This is my lifelong dream, although I have not realized it, but my son can help me realize this dream!"

When Chen Jianguo said this, his tone became excited, and his expression became a little excited.

Dai Li looked at Chen Jianguo's appearance, but he couldn't bear it. With Chen Zhen's current level, let alone the main match of the four Grand Slams, even in the qualifying round, it is quite difficult to survive the first round. .

"It's not easy to play tennis in China." Dai Li knew what the tennis environment in China was like. He looked at Chen Zhen who was training. Chen Zhen looked very serious, but Dai Li could feel it. Chen Zhen seemed a little nervous.

This is not a competition, it's just ordinary physical training, but Chen Zhen will be nervous. It's not that Chen Zhen's mental state is bad, but that he feels the importance of this kind of training. He cherishes the current training and the opportunity to train with the world's top 50 tennis players, even if it's just physical training.

"It seems that Chen Zhen also knows that he carries the dreams of two generations. His participation in the US Open this time not only represents himself, but also fulfills his father's dream!"

Dai Li finally made a decision, he planned to help the father and son who were chasing their dreams.