Almighty Coach

Philip is not a top sports star, and no one will spend tens of millions or even hundreds of millions to find him as an endorsement. For him, a charity organization that can provide sponsorship fees of two to three thousand dollars is already a very good income.

In terms of advertising endorsements, it is impossible for Philip to have a high social status. Advertising endorsement fees are linked to the popularity of athletes. Disabled athletes are inherently disadvantaged in this regard. Those big media with a relatively wide coverage rarely pay attention to disabilities. Athletes' things. If it wasn't for the insurance company's accidental disability insurance, perhaps it wouldn't be Philip's turn to be the endorser of this advertisement.

Although the sponsorship and endorsement are not many, it has already greatly improved Philip's life. Before that, he had to do odd jobs for four or five hours a day in order to receive government relief, but now he doesn't have to continue to do odd jobs. Charity The organization's sponsorship fee plus his disabled soldier's subsidy are enough for his daily living expenses, and he can stay in Dai Li's training hall for training around the clock.

Philip's success is more like a role model, inspiring the other 11 free-training disabled athletes, but they don't have Philip's talent. Even if they work hard, it is difficult to reach Philip's height.

...

In the locker room of the training hall, Philip took off his prosthesis with a relieved expression on his face.

He even rubbed his calf where the prosthetic was worn with his hands, and the originally somewhat ferocious eyes gradually became calmer.

"Let me do it!" Dai Li walked over and began to massage Philip.

The contact area between the calf and the prosthesis became red and swollen again, and some healed scars could be vaguely seen on the skin, all of which were caused by wearing the prosthesis.

No matter how good the prosthesis is, it is not the original real leg. It is impossible to say that walking with the prosthesis is the same as walking with the real leg. Walking with a pair of prosthetics is bound to be more tiring and harder. Even though the leopard blade prosthesis is the most advanced sports prosthesis in the world, it uses the most advanced carbon fiber, and its shape is as ergonomic as possible, and its weight is lighter. It's only 8 pounds, but it's actually not comfortable to wear.

In order to keep the prosthesis from falling off during running, Philip must fix the prosthesis very tightly. However, the carbon fiber material is very hard. The leopard blade prosthesis made of 80 layers of carbon fiber is much harder than steel, although there is no need to worry. The artificial limb will be broken, and this thing can be used to fix it on the flesh and blood body, which will naturally cause harm to the body.

The muscles clamped by the prosthesis will be red, swollen, and bruised, as if someone has punched you; the place where the skin and the value touch will be rubbed, bleed, scab, and scar, and then repeat the process again.

Philip has to endure this process every day. In comparison, people with able-bodied training only need to pay hard sweat, while Philip has to pay physical pain.

"Barron, I really admire you. Track and field training is inherently a very boring thing. That kind of non-stop repetition will bring great mental pressure to the athletes. For you, you not only have to bear With mental pressure and physical pain, it would be difficult for ordinary people to persevere," Dai Li said.

"Compared to losing both feet, this little pain is nothing." Philip sighed, and continued: "But I still didn't get what I wanted."

Dai Li paused for a moment, and said, "At your level, you are already the fastest runner in the world. You have broken the world record in the 100m, 200m, and 400m. And your 'Blade' nickname sounds really cool, and it fits your leopard blade prosthetic."

"That only means that I have achieved results." Philip shook his head: "Although I keep winning games, I don't feel happy."

"Why? Why are you unhappy after winning the game? Are you too tired? If so, we can reduce the training intensity." Dai Li thought for a while, and then said: "Your level is far beyond your current level. In the 100-meter event, you will be half a second faster than your opponent, and in the 200-meter event, you will be nearly 1 second faster than your opponent."

"It's not because of fatigue." Philip shook his head, sighed, and continued: "When I went to Houston for a game a few days ago, many people gathered around me for a group photo. My people are encouraging me, but that's not what I want."

"I don't quite understand what you mean. I think it's good to have someone to encourage you." Dai Li said.

"I also know that this is a good thing. They are the ones who care about me, but I can feel that the way they look at me and the way they talk to me are full of sympathy and pity!" Philip's expression became serious: "But I don't need sympathy and pity from others, what I want more is respect! I want to live with dignity!"

Philip began to get emotional when he said this, and he continued: "I don't want to be a great person, and I don't think what I do can inspire others. I am an athlete, I just hope that I can live It makes more sense. I don’t want to be seen as an underdog who needs to be pampered, or I don’t want to be treated as special, even if it’s a privilege, but it makes me feel very uncomfortable.”

"I understand." Dai Li frowned and thought for a while, and then said enlighteningly: "But you can't avoid it. Others will treat you specially because you are not a person with a healthy body. People will regard the disabled as weak , and it is normal for everyone to sympathize with the weak, but this does not mean that others will not respect you."

"What I want is equal respect!" Philip said sonorously.

Dai Li stopped the massage action, and looked at Philip with some surprise.

Philip calmed down and continued: "When I first came back from Iraq, I didn't get my prosthetics installed immediately. Instead, I sat in a wheelchair for a while. During that time, I used all kinds of barrier-free facilities. , I have also enjoyed a lot of special treatment. When I cross the road, someone will take the initiative to push my wheelchair for me. When I take the bus, there will be a special wheelchair seat... I am very grateful to those who help me, but their help , It also made me feel a kind of anxiety, they made me feel that I am not a normal person, and I can't live like a normal person without the help of others."

"So you started to practice using artificial limbs?" Dai Li asked.

Philip nodded: "Yes, I want to live a normal life, and I hope that I will not be treated as a normal person instead of treating me with the attitude of a disabled person. So I practiced hard, and the first thing was to say goodbye Wheelchair, relying on crutches can move forward; later I can throw away the crutches to walk by myself; later, I can walk like a normal person, even run. Since that day, I have never used those barrier-free facilities , I didn't even use the parking space for the disabled!"

"I probably understand what you mean a little bit." Dai Li nodded with emotion, and a very bold idea suddenly appeared in his heart.

"You want everyone to regard you as a person with healthy limbs, so have you ever thought about participating in track and field competitions for ordinary people and competing with those athletes with healthy limbs?" Dai Li asked suddenly.

"How is this possible? I can't outrun them!" Philip shook his head. He felt that Dai Li's idea was too whimsical.

"Why do you think you can't outrun them?" Dai Li immediately asked.

"Needless to say, I don't have feet!" Philip stared at Dai Li with a special look.

"Do you care about this?" Dai Li smiled, and then he asked himself: "You really care about this. You just said that you want to live a normal life, and you hope that others will live a normal life." You are a normal person, and you have worked hard for it, and now you can really walk and run like a normal person. But in your own heart, do you regard yourself as a normal person?"

Dai Li shook his head as he spoke, and continued to ask and answer: "No, when I asked you to participate in the normal people's competition, your first thought was that you don't have feet, so you can't compete with normal people. Why? Isn't your thinking "I should try"? Because in your heart, you don't regard yourself as a normal person with all limbs! Then how can you ask others to treat you as a normal person? If If you want to be recognized by others, the first thing you need to do is to recognize yourself!"

Dai Li's words seemed to be a needle piercing Philip's heart. At this moment, Philip's expression suddenly became dull, and then a reflective expression appeared.

After a long time, Philip finally let out a long sigh: "Coach Li, you are right. I haven't recognized myself, so how can I ask others to recognize me! It's because I haven't recognized myself all the time, or I've deliberately deceived myself." My own eyes, how stupid I am!"

"Then are you going to try it?" Dai Li started to massage his hands while talking.

"Try? What is it?" Philip asked in a daze.

"Try what I just said, go to the competition of normal people, and compete with those normal people with healthy limbs!" Dai Li still lowered his head while speaking, but continued to focus on the massage movements on his hands.

Philip's eyes seemed to be struggling, as if he didn't know how to make a decision.

Dai Li raised his head, stared at Philip, and said with a deep expression: "You said goodbye to the wheelchair and the stretcher, and you walked and ran like a normal person. You just want to be like a normal person with healthy limbs and free movement. People, or you are learning how to be a normal person. Now, you should say goodbye to the learning process, you should try, try to be a real normal person!"