Almighty Coach

Dai Li looked at the man in front of him who called himself Barron Phillips, with a puzzled look on his face.

The social worker had introduced to Dai Li the assistance for the disabled in the United States before. For example, the SSI mentioned by the social worker was set up for the elderly over 65 years old, the blind and the disabled, and they could receive hundreds of dollars from the government every month.

For many "lazy thinking" people, the hundreds of dollars given for free should not be for nothing. If someone said that someone deliberately cheated this part of the relief fund, Li Dai also believed it.

Thinking of this, Dai Li pretended to be puzzled and said, "Mr. Philip, according to the information I got here, all the ankle joints of your legs were amputated at once."

Dai Li said, looking at Philip's feet again.

"This is my prosthetic." Philip smiled nonchalantly, then lifted his trouser legs, revealing the prosthetic inside.

"Real prosthesis!" Dai Li recalled Philip's vigorous steps when he walked in just now, and couldn't help sighing: "Sorry, I really didn't see it. The way you walked just now is completely like a normal person!"

"I'm not a wheelchair athlete. According to the level of the Paralympic Games, I should be at the T43 level." Philip answered.

In the classification of disabled athletes, English letters represent competitions, such as S for swimming, AR for archery, WB for wheelchair basketball, TT for table tennis, SH for shooting and so on.

As for the following numbers, the double-digit ten digits represent the athlete's disability level, and the word "1" represents the category of visual impairment. "2" stands for mental retardation, "3" stands for cerebral palsy, cerebral palsy or acquired brain injury, "4" stands for amputation and short stature, "5" stands for spinal cord injury and some wheelchair groups .

The double-digit single digit represents the level of the athlete in the disability category. The lower the number, the more serious the disability. For example, in the category of visual impairment, level 11 is completely blind or nearly completely blind, and can't see anything; With the minimum standard of visual impairment, you can still see something more or less.

The level of Barron Phillips is T43, T stands for Track, the ten digit 4 stands for amputation and short stature, and the single digit 3 stands for bilateral below the knee, above the ankle or through Amputation of the ankle; amputation above the knee on one side and below the ankle on the opposite knee.

For ordinary people, nine out of ten people who have lost their feet will have to sit in a wheelchair. Many people have to rely on crutches even if they wear prosthetic limbs. It is impossible for them to walk like normal people.

However, for disabled athletes at the T43 level, they are professional track athletes. To put it simply, they practice running. How can a running athlete not even walk normally? Maybe they walk more neatly than normal people.

So, Dai Li looked at Philip's prosthetic limb with a look of sudden realization: "So it's like this, no wonder! You walk exactly like a normal person."

"If I have limited mobility, I won't be able to go to work." Philip said with a smile.

"Part-time job? In your situation, working part-time will be very hard. Why don't you apply for the disability allowance?" Dai Li asked afterwards.

"It's not hard. I wear prosthetics and I'll get used to it. And I haven't applied for SSI's living allowance. I don't meet the application requirements." Philip continued.

"I heard from the social worker that the disabled, the blind and the elderly over 65 years old can all apply," Dai Li said.

"He may not be very clear about what he said. This is only the target group that can apply for SSI assistance. In addition, there are economic restrictions, that is, the personal property source limit is 2,000 US dollars. I do not meet this condition." Philip said suddenly After a pause, he went on to say, "I can work for myself, I don't need that. But I'm still a poor person. For the other subsidies I applied for, I need to work at least 20 hours a week to get the subsidy, so I have to work at least 20 hours a day. It takes four hours to work."

"Oh, I don't know much about this. I just came to America not long ago." Dai Li smiled awkwardly.

"It can be seen that if you are a Chinese who grew up in the United States, it is impossible to ask me this question." Philip said without looking outside: "In the United States, receiving subsidies for many projects requires submitting three to six months of tax returns. The tax bill can prove that you are really low-income, and at the same time it can prove that you are working, not just hanging around and mixing up bailouts."

"I understand that the US government doesn't support lazy people." Dai Li chuckled.

Philip shrugged his shoulders and said in a very talkative manner: "You have just come to the United States, and many new immigrants like you think that the United States is a paradise, with sufficient welfare protection, free medical care, free food, free housing... But in fact That’s not the case. The US welfare system is designed to protect the poor, not the lazy. As far as I know, some European countries seem to be like this. After I lost my legs, I once read a book called "Second Breath" tells the story of a paralyzed French rich man and a black domestic servant, who came to work as a domestic servant in order to find a job so that he can receive the dole."

"I'll look for this book when I have a chance." Dai Li replied politely. He knew that Philip regarded himself as a new immigrant.

Dai Li was not surprised by this, and he didn't bother to defend himself. The United States has always been an immigrant country, and it is the world's largest country that accepts immigrants. Several cities on the west coast of the United States are also popular cities for Chinese immigrants. A Chinese like Li Dai who has little knowledge of the American system can easily be regarded as a new immigrant.

Philip looked at his watch, and then asked, "Although I was late, I really encountered an accident. Now, can you take me to see Coach Li, and I will explain to him in person."

"Are you looking for Coach Li? That's me!" Dai Li said innocently.

"You are Coach Li? Are you the person in charge here?" Philip showed a distrustful expression.

Americans often have the impression of Chinese Americans as nerds, short, not good at sports, not social, etc. There are very few Chinese people involved in sports, so Philip did not regard Li Dai as the physical coach here at all, and he even I thought Dai Li was here to do odd jobs.

"Hello, my name is Li Dai. I am the manager of this training center and also the coach here." Li Dai formally introduced.

"Sorry, you're using L-E-E, so I didn't think of that," Philip began.

Lee is also a surname of Europeans and Americans, and there are quite a few Americans with this surname. So Philip's first impression was that the so-called "Coach Lee" was a tall and burly white man.

But from the bottom of his heart, Philip still didn't trust Dai Li. Sports was originally a deduction item for Chinese Americans, and Li Dai was a "new immigrant" in his eyes. Philip didn't think that Li Dai would be a qualified physical coach at all. He even thought that Li Dai was better than those in charity organizations. Volunteers are worse.

"I should have guessed a long time ago that the one who is willing to provide free training is definitely not an excellent physical coach. A Chinese or a new immigrant may not be competent to teach elementary school students. I cannot accept his training."

Philip made up his mind to change coaches, so he asked, "Coach Li, how many coaches do you have here, and what kind of courses can they provide?"

"So far, I'm the only coach here. I just opened here, and I can't afford to hire other coaches. As for the courses, I will formulate different training plans according to each person's characteristics." Dai Li replied without hesitation .

Other disabled athletes asked Li Dai similar questions before. At the beginning, Li Dai felt a little embarrassed, but as more people asked, Li Dai also had too many lice and didn't itch, so he generously admitted that he couldn't afford it. coach.

After hearing Dai Li's answer, Philip was very dissatisfied. Although Dai Li provided free training, Philip still had the urge to say goodbye.

Consumers in the United States are used to paying for services, just like medical insurance. The bottom of society have no choice but to choose free medical insurance. Anyone who has the ability must spend money to buy commercial insurance from insurance companies to enjoy better medical services. .

Therefore, even though Dai Li's training was free, Philip was unwilling to stay any longer. He felt that it would be a waste of time if the desired training effect could not be achieved.

"Coach Li, I don't think your training center is suitable for me..." Philip had just finished speaking when he saw a black man walking outside.

"Hey, Li, I went around a lot before I found your place!" The black man's voice was so loud that he could hear it from a long distance away.

"This guy looks a bit like Aaron Hampton!" Philip stared wide-eyed, watching the black man walk over.

"Aaron! I thought you wouldn't arrive in Los Angeles until tomorrow!" Dai Li said with a smile.

Hampton gave Dai Li a hug directly.

"Li, if you don't come to the United States, if I have the opportunity to go to Asia, I will go to you!" Hampton said a little excitedly.

Next to him, Philip stared at the two people in front of him dumbfounded. At this moment, he was sure that this black boy was Aaron Hampton.

"Aaron Hampton, it's really Alan Hampton! I actually met Alan Hampton. Is he here to play in Los Angeles?" Philip couldn't help but took out his phone and planned to talk to Han Take a photo with Puton.

I saw Philip said with an apologetic face: "Excuse me, are you Aaron Hampton? Can I take a photo with you?"

"No problem." Hampton has long been used to taking photos with fans. He posed for a pose, and then asked, "Are you here to train with Coach Li? You really found the right person. I met Li. The best fitness trainer ever!"

"The best physical coach?" Philip didn't expect to hear such an evaluation from Hampton.

"Of course it's the best!" Hampton nodded. "If it weren't for Li's training, I might not even be able to go to college! It is Li who made me who I am today."

Philip subconsciously looked at Li Dai. He had no idea that the new Asian immigrant in front of him had trained the famous Aaron Hampton!

At this time, Dai Li said, "Mr. Philip, what you just said is inappropriate, I didn't hear clearly."

"Not suitable? No, I didn't say it's not suitable. I was just asking when we can start training!" Philip changed his words instantly. He has clearly realized that a coach who can train Aaron Hampton must not be very bad.