Super Bowl Domination

Chapter 524 Off-season Training
First of all, not everyone trains during the offseason. To be more precise, most people don’t. Most people don’t start to regain their physical condition little by little until before the team’s small training camp, and this is especially true for veterans in the league.

Secondly, there are two types of off-season training, one is physical training and the other is technical training, but no matter which one, avoiding injury is the first prerequisite.

The so-called physical training is simple and direct. It basically involves lifting weights in the gym, gaining weight and muscle, increasing speed and endurance, and so on. You can often just hire a personal trainer.

The so-called technical training is to hone skills without designing tactics, including the quarterback's passing, the wide receiver's catching, the defensive end's tackling, the running back's footsteps, etc. Football is a sport that involves physical confrontation and includes a lot of technical content.

When Burns pulled Levi into the team, he once said that the entry threshold to rugby was not high, and the technical differences between different positions were not that huge; but this was just the beginning. If you want to go further, then the importance of polishing your skills is no less than enhancing your physical confrontation ability.

Cam Newton, the quarterback of the Carolina Panthers, has a very rough passing technique. He has not made any progress in the several seasons since entering the league. He still relies more on his body. Since he can run with the ball and break through on the ground, why bother spending time and effort to hone his passing technique?

If it is technical training, you can't do it by yourself, so during the off-season, a group of friends often get together to train.

Moreover, it is not limited to one’s own team.

After all, this is a professional league, and there is always fluidity. Players come and go, and apart from the team, there are many friends made privately.

Apparently, Watt's call was to invite Levi to participate in his small training camp.

The focus is on technical training, but physical training will definitely not be neglected. The man on the other end of the phone is a well-known gym fanatic in the entire league.

A little bit of surprise, a little bit of surprise.

but.

The first thing that came to Levi's mind was, "How is your recovery?"

The second reaction was, "Do Houston fans know that you invited the culprit who caused your season to be reimbursed to join you for mini-training camp?"

The atmosphere was a little heavy with the first sentence, but the atmosphere was relaxed with the second sentence, and Watt couldn't help but chuckle.

“They were able to hold up through it.”

The joke in the words made Levi laugh, but the curve of his mouth soon calmed down, and he asked sincerely, "JJ, I'm serious, are you okay?"

On the other hand, when Berry was finally able to return to the court after a long rehabilitation, he discovered worse problems again. All his ambitions had to be temporarily put on hold and he returned to a long treatment with no future in sight.

On the one hand, Watt stumbled through three long, terrible seasons.

In the 2015 season, Watt played in a cast and scored an incredible 17.5 sacks that season, but this is only a visible injury. There are countless injuries that fans cannot see.

At the beginning of the season, he had partial tears in the left and right abdominal muscles, partial tears in the long adductor muscles of the right leg, complete tears in the long adductor muscles of the left leg, and complete tears in the adductor magnus of the left leg; in the middle of the season, he had a herniated disc in his back; at the end of the season, he had a groin strain.

Despite the injury, he still completed an excellent season, which also won Watt the reputation of a "real man" outside the court, but the price was extremely heavy.

During the offseason that year, Watt underwent two back surgeries within three months, but still did not fully recover. He played only three games in the 2016 season before being ruled out for the season.

After a long period of rest and rehabilitation, he finally entered the 2017 season in good health, but he never expected that he would be out for the season again after five games.

Even if Levi was just a bystander, he could feel the frustration, torment, and even anger, let alone Watt who experienced it all personally?
In fact, Levi and Watt had never met and were not friends at all, but Levi always admired Watt because of Watt's tenacity and perseverance.

After the AFC Finals, a reporter asked Levi whether he thought forward superstars like JJ Watt or Aaron Donald were outdated, and whether a defensive front line like the Jacksonville Jaguars that relied on team strength could pose a greater threat?

At that time, Levi did not answer the technical questions. His understanding of football was still superficial, not enough to give advice and look forward to the future; but Levi believed in Watt. "If anyone thinks that the era of Watt and Donald is over, it is undoubtedly ridiculous."

As a player and a fighter, Levi admires the temperament that Watt displays on and off the court, which is also an interpretation of the spirit of competitive sports.

Watt was slightly stunned. He could tell that the concern in Levi's words was not just a polite remark, but a real concern from the heart.

Subconsciously, Watt wanted to say "I'm fine". This has become a habit. Whether it is his mother and brothers, fans, teammates, team staff, including hospital nurses and physical therapists, everyone is asking about his condition. The concern in their words is more or less accompanied by a little pity, which is inadvertently revealed, and he has also formed a conditioned reflex -

He doesn't need mercy.

But Levi didn't.

A kind of comradely intimacy and warmth made the words light and soft.

Perhaps because of this, or perhaps because Levi was a relative stranger, some things became simpler.

"I'm not good."

Watt said.

After saying it, I felt relieved instead, as the heavy burden on my shoulders was thrown down.

"I've been trying to come to terms with myself, my anger, my disappointment, my pain, and it's been bad, and I look like a mess."

"I understand the truth. Believe me, Levi, I understand it all."

"I need to fight with my body. I keep rehabilitating and training every day, making progress every day. I am moving in the right direction."

"I know I can't get frustrated about the slow progress or angry about the inconvenience caused by the injury. If I let anger and frustration delay my recovery and miss the game in September, that would be a real disaster."

"I know that people tend to have two most common attitudes towards this kind of problem, either complaining or getting angry, but this doesn't help. Even if you're angry or complaining, you must remain optimistic and not delay your steps."

"I've been scarred physically and mentally over the past two years, but I shouldn't let injuries define me. I don't want to be known as the 'tough guy', and I don't want to be known as the 'what if' either."

"If there were no injuries, this would be this and that."

"If I change my game, this and that."

"Look, I understand the logic, but..."

Watt took a deep breath and suddenly became quiet. Although he didn't say anything, he could feel the loss and confusion from the other end of the phone.

Levi understands.

Even if you understand all the reasons, life still doesn't seem to become simple; because life is not a math problem where you can find the answer by applying the correct formula.

Or in other words, there is no correct answer in life.

(End of this chapter)