Rekindling the dream of becoming a star

Chapter 102 Bad News and Answers
Half a month had passed since the first snow, and Chen Fang had also reached the fourth month after his rebirth.

He welcomed the physical trainer he had been waiting for for a long time, Lin Hai, who had a double degree in physical education and clinical medicine from Beijing Sport University.

He had been studying abroad and had just returned to China in the summer. He had planned to open his own studio, but was recommended by an older brother from the Sports Bureau and came to Jinan, Shandong.

The two chatted briefly. Lin Hai had already received all the physical test data about Chen Fang. He was very interested in this high school student who was currently 186cm tall with a wingspan of 195cm.

The standing vertical is 85CM, but the running vertical reaches an astonishing 1.10CM.

For an average athlete, the difference between his standing position and his running start is 10-15 cm, but Chen Fang directly increased it to 25 cm, which is enough to prove that he has a lot of room for improvement and training.

The data will tell you everything clearly. The running start means the elasticity of your legs, and the standing position represents muscle strength.

Why does Lin Hai focus on legs? This is closely related to his training philosophy.

"Chen Fang, today is the first day of our training. I need your understanding and support for some of my ideas about physical exercise, otherwise it will be difficult to maintain our class." This was Lin Hai's opening remarks. He is 180cm tall, with well-proportioned muscles and prominent lines, which means his body fat percentage is very low.

"I understand, Coach Lin." Chen Fang said respectfully.

"Very good. For all movements involving speed and explosiveness, the core is in the lower limbs, and the training principle is also from the bottom up."

"The opening of the lower limbs starts from the ankles, not other parts."

"To give a very simple example, if the foundation is unstable, the more weight is added, the faster it will collapse."

"The force generated by the thigh and calf muscles must be transmitted to the ankle and then borne by the sole of the foot. If the ankle is not strong enough, tears and strains will occur."

"Yao is a typical example. After gaining weight, his ankles were not strong enough to bear weight, which led to permanent bone fractures. He was unable to recover to the lightest level of athletic ability and was forced to retire."

"Can you understand what I mean?" Lin Hai asked.

"I understand." Combining the conclusions from his previous life, Chen Fang knew that Lin Hai was right.

"Very good, let's continue."

"First, we focus on the core training of the ankle."

"The foot and ankle have two functions: stability and flexibility. They are composed of the arch and ankle joint. The arch provides stability, supporting the weight of our body, whether it's active or passive. Insufficient stability can lead to sprains and ligament damage at the very least, or comminuted fractures of the arch at the worst. The healing period is measured in years, and this is an irreversible loss of strength. You must keep this in mind."

"Flexibility comes from the ankle joint, which converts the power generated by the lower limb muscles into explosive power and elasticity. A person's jumping ability is first of all the lower limb muscle strength, and whether it can be fully released is related to it."

"After introducing the functions of the foot and ankle, we will directly start basic training."

"Currently, training in this area is slow to produce results and produces minimal improvement, so I'll be using some training that's difficult for the average person to understand and requires a certain level of intensity. I hope you can stick with it."

"No problem, Coach Lin."

"OK, let's get started."

"Compared to flexibility, we first train stability, which is the most important thing."

"Three key words: arch, gluteal muscles, and single leg. To understand this in combination, it's single-leg arch training, stimulating the gluteal muscles to improve stability."

"Now we need to borrow some equipment. This is a training method I personally designed." Lin Hai took Chen Fang to a place with a huge mat on the floor.

"Take off your shoes."

"Then bend one knee and hook it over the railing. Stand on one foot and maintain stability, using your big toe, little toe, and heel as support points. Imagine your foot is a tripod, and try not to deviate or shake your body. Stay still for 3 seconds."

Ten minutes later, Chen Fang did a set of single-leg support exercises for each leg.

"Great. Are your hips starting to feel sore now?"

"Yes, it's very sore." Chen Fang touched his butt and grinned.

"It's still early. Believe me, your buttocks will be extra perky in the future." Lin Hai used a joke to ease Chen Fang's nervousness.

"That's our first training, learning to use your hips to move or jump."

Seeing that the rest time was enough, Lin Hai asked Chen Fang to keep standing on one leg, and then said: "Look carefully at the pattern on the mat. I like to eat fruits, so the names of fruits are all on it."

"Now when I shout a fruit, you immediately jump onto the fruit pattern. Remember, stay stable, don't let your knees go weak, don't use your hands too much to try to find balance, and focus all your attention on your hips."

"The posterior gluteus posterior is the balance bar of the lower limbs. It is a key muscle group that helps us keep our force line straight."

Half an hour later, Lin Hai let Chen Fang off the hook: "Lie down and relax your whole body."

Chen Fang fell asleep on the floor with his back facing up. Then he let out a scream and rolled over like he had been electrocuted, then lay there.

"Sorry, I forgot to remind you that you should lie prone, not lying down." But there was no apology in Lin Hai's tone.

Chen Fang gritted his teeth and touched his buttocks, which felt completely numb. But when he touched it lightly, it felt like being pricked by needles.

"Lie down, this is the end of our training today."

"So short?" Chen Fang raised his head, surprised and astonished.

“Take it step by step. The fact that you can reach this intensity on your first day already shows that you have a high level of patience.” Lin Hai smiled. He liked this young man a little bit because he was so hardworking and serious.

Who wouldn't like someone who is talented and works so hard?

Because it means that they are much closer to success than ordinary people.

At noon, Lu Yun came in with the key. He now had the key to Chen Fang's room, but the price was that he had to bring him meals.

Chen Fang was completely unable to walk, and every step was extremely painful. Now he could only lie on the bed and wait for his muscles to recover.

"It's so tragic. I almost cried." Lu Yun shook his head after listening to Chen Fang's crying complaints about the training content.

"Damn it, then drop it!" Chen Fang cursed.

"I'm sorry for making you make a mistake. I'm a fish and I don't have tear glands."

"You are quite self-aware." Chen Fang snorted coldly.

"I won't endure this kind of hardship." Lu Yun shook his head, and he remembered something: "Oh, by the way, I asked a relative who went to the United States, and he said it's best to choose a private school. The public schools in the United States are ridiculously bad."

"How outrageous." Chen Fang turned his body, facing the chair beside the bed, and asked casually while picking up a chicken leg from the lunch box with a fork.

"Public schools are rated on a 10-point scale, and schools that score 10 points are, from an overall perspective, just ordinary key high schools in China."

"So outrageous?" Chen Fang didn't dare to believe it.

"He said that in terms of safety, teaching quality, management system, hardware and software support, they all have everything and are very responsible."

"He made the comparison himself. Of course, whether it is true or not may be a matter of opinion."

"American public schools all offer fun education. They end at 2:30 p.m., even for high schools."

"Fuck, it's so comfortable." Chen Fang believed most of it.

"He said, if you want to study, choose a private school, and try to choose the East Coast. The West Coast is not interesting."

"Also, if you don't have money, you'll need to provide proof of scholarship to apply for a visa. I've done some research, and given your current situation, there's no chance."

"Why?" "Do you think what you offer doesn't need a guarantee? Guarantee is what the United States values most. It's the foundation of truth. Only with a guarantee will your words be accepted and trusted."

"Then what can serve as collateral?"

"Deposits? Tax certificates? I'm not sure either. You might want to consult a professional about your basketball scholarship."

"Okay, let's not think about it for now." Chen Fang felt that he was too busy and had no energy to think about this.

※※※

If you have a feeling that something is wrong, nine times out of ten it will happen in the future.

Chen Fang put down the phone, his face was ashen, even distorted.

Dongsheng rejected the application for the invitational tournament on the grounds that it had not received any notification document from the Education and Sports Bureau.

So the team faced two insurmountable problems: first, they could not go to Jinan as a group; second, they had no financial support to go to the competition, and the school would not reimburse all expenses.

And behind this, it involves parental support.

If the school does not support something, parents will be even less supportive.

The call was from Yue Gang, who comforted Chen Fang, saying that he was already satisfied with winning the Nanyang championship once, and that no one was too disappointed.

He also conveyed the school's commitment, including that investment in sports will increase next year, and there is even the possibility of renovating the Dongsheng Stadium.

But Chen Fang didn't listen to all of this. A huge feeling of helplessness filled his body, causing Chen Fang to be full of negative energy that day.

Due to the addition of new training, Chen Fang's current training has been reduced in all aspects, including swimming training, personal skills training, and team training. According to Zhang Shaohong's explanation, he will first focus on improving his physical fitness.

Lin Hai was curious about Chen Fang's training status today. It was not bad, but very crazy, with a taste of self-mutilation.

After training, Chen Fang lay on the floor like a dead fish.

Lin Hai began to give him muscle relaxation therapy, but Chen Fang didn't say a word no matter how he did it.

"You're in a bad mood." Lin Hai said.

"Yes."

"So you want to release your emotions through training today?"

"Correct."

"That's good. I used to do the same. But later I found that it didn't work very well." Sure enough, Lin Hai's words aroused Chen Fang's desire to speak.

"Coach, how do you adjust your mood?"

“Not adjustment, watch my wording, release.”

“Emotions can be released. Choose something you like and put your energy into it, and you can release your emotions along with the energy.”

“But in recent years I’ve been finding another way to release myself.”

"It means you first need to understand where this emotion comes from, why it occurs, how to avoid it, and whether it can be eliminated."

“Think clearly, find the root of the problem, and solve it or avoid it.”

"Of course, if this confuses you, you can talk to me about why your emotions fluctuate this time if you don't mind."

Chen Fang remained silent. Lin Hai did not urge him and continued his physical therapy in an orderly manner.

"I led the team to the Nike qualifiers, but the school refused to participate because they did not have the relevant documents from the Education and Sports Bureau."

"So I feel like the team's expectations are gone, I feel helpless, and I feel like our efforts are not respected."

Lin Hai waited for a while, and only spoke after he confirmed that Chen Fang had finished speaking: "This can be seen as the outside influencing the inside. If it were me, I would look for a place that respects my efforts. This is the simplest. Even if you don't do it right away, when you make this judgment, you have actually achieved release."

"Competitive sports can help people become more resolute in facing problems and difficulties, and they usually won't compromise. This may not be a good result, but it is the most effective way to adjust yourself."

"Thank you, coach, for your guidance."

"Very good, see you tomorrow then."

After returning to the dormitory, Chen Fang made a phone call, and Xue Yi was surprised when he answered the phone. Then Chen Fang asked about the previous years' Nanyang champions' performance.

"Probably not many. In the past few years, it seems that only No. 1 Middle School has been there, and I think I haven't attended the others."

"Nanyang is a small circle. Everyone's eyes are on it. Outsiders don't pay much attention."

After hanging up, Chen Fang calmed down a lot.

Everyone only looks at the problem from their own perspective. Different angles will lead to different results.

Chen Fang thought more and began to think calmly.

What is his future? After spending a long time in contact with Jet, they became friends. As a person who has traveled to many countries and played in different leagues, Jet's views have always influenced Chen Fang.

The biggest impression is about wandering.

Jeter always felt that he was a tragic figure. He tried to find a sense of belonging, but unfortunately, because of his career and survival, he kept changing places. He expressed his desire to continue playing in China, but obviously this was impossible.

The attitude of CBA clubs towards most foreign players is to use them if they are good and replace them if they are not.

Jet once laughed that maybe the CBA is unprofessional in everything, but it is very professional when it comes to foreign players.

He said to Chen Fang emotionally: "Maybe I may leave China tomorrow, and it will be difficult for us to meet again. So, man, cherish every confrontation."

"Being strong is always the most important thing. Don't be fooled by emotions. Remember, they act this way because of your skills, not your character."

Enzo's words were the most straightforward advice. He saw Chen Fang's potential and seriously advised him to consider selfishness first and then strive for greatness before making any decision.

"Before your talent is fully realized, don't be bound by a contract and choose to maximize your benefits."

"Anyone who dares to bet on you is only doing so because the situation is one of risking a lot with a small investment."

This is Jeter's advice.

As the sky gradually darkened, Chen Fang's outlook on the future gradually became clearer.

When I am ready, that's when I will leave here and pursue my dream.

When will this day be?
Chen Fang asked himself, he turned on his computer and searched for the answer.

A line of large characters told him clearly.

The U19 World Youth Basketball Championship will be held in Crete, Greece in June 2015.

Then let the World Youth Championship prove it for me.

(End of this chapter)