I was a top student in America.

Chapter 121 Training Session (Please Subscribe)

The next morning, the team members left home early, bought sandwiches and sports drinks at the convenience store on the street corner, and headed straight to the stadium.

They would naturally seize any opportunity to skip class openly and legitimately.

Considering that several people needed to practice shooting and scrimmage at the same time, the outdoor community court was obviously not enough. Li Ao contacted the school in advance and borrowed half of the gymnasium as the captain.

In the past, he had often fed his teammates ball and practiced with them, but this was the first time he had organized an entire training session as captain.

He picked up the basketball and stood at the top of the arc, feeling somewhat curious.

However, he quickly adjusted his mindset and assigned positions to his teammates.

He started by demonstrating footwork for catching the ball, leading everyone in practicing shooting rhythm, while also sharing practical details he had summarized about starting and stopping quickly.

At this time of day, the gymnasium is always full of students engaged in various training sessions.

As time went on, students from other nearby venues were gradually drawn over.

Originally, only Jamal and a few others were practicing, but later, the area outside the white line on the sidelines was almost completely filled with people.

Basketball is the most popular sport in Chicago's South Side, and most students can play a few games.

The school team usually trains at night, so there aren't many people watching. But this time it happened to be daytime, so everyone came over to watch the excitement.

At first, everyone thought it was a new assistant coach leading the team, but when they recognized that the person in charge of guidance in the center of the field was actually Li Ao, the crowd became a little restless.

This school star, who not only helped the Eagles achieve a historic breakthrough last season but also won a gold medal in the International Mathematics Competition during the summer, personally leading the team's training is quite a novel thing.

Many people took out their phones to call their friends and invite others, afraid of missing out on the excitement.

Someone even posted on Facebook: "Come to the gym, Leo is leading the team in extra practice! If you want to see how they play Simon Academy on Wednesday, hurry up and come over."

Thanks to the extensive coverage on the school's official website and newspaper recently, almost every student at Wyndham High School who regularly uses the internet knows the name Li Ao.

Within minutes of the post being published, numerous replies appeared below: "Leo is actually personally leading the training? I definitely have to go check it out."

"The Wyndham sharpshooter is personally giving the lessons, so there must be something special about it."

"While you guys are still replying, I've already arrived at the gym. I don't need to practice; just getting a high-five with him might be enough to guarantee I pass my next test."

"Rumor has it that Leo is now the captain of the Eagles and will be playing point guard this time."

"Using a math gold medalist as a point guard makes sense. I just wonder how the Simon Academy players will feel when they find their defensive target has changed."

"Don't speak too soon. When the high-intensity competition of the main game arrives, I'm not sure I can still shoot that accurately."

While the stadium was bustling with activity, Ty Shore and Daryl, who had already graduated, were getting out of their car in the parking lot outside Wyndham Stadium.

The two took advantage of the homecoming holiday to visit their high school and were planning to greet Coach Durant first.

Before they even reached the side door, they bumped into Malik, who had returned to school earlier, running out of the corridor.

Malik stopped in his tracks and shouted excitedly at them, "Tysean! Daryl!"

"I heard Leo's become the Eagles' captain now, and he's doing extra practice for everyone at the gym right now!" He took a breath and continued, "Want to come with me and check it out?"

"Lead the team in extra training?" Tyshaun was taken aback.

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He hadn't seen Li Ao much since the end of last season, only hearing that Li Ao had participated in a math competition during the summer and won a highly prestigious international gold medal.

He was actually very grateful to Li Ao.

He was able to get into university thanks to Li Ao's help in preparing his application materials, which enabled him to receive a basketball scholarship.

Being able to pursue a professional career in college basketball meant that he had completely escaped the quagmire of the South Division, said goodbye to street gangs, and his life was finally on the right track.

He has now secured a rotation spot in the NCAA Division II league, and there is hope for the future.

Taking advantage of the homecoming holiday, Tai Shorn originally planned to find an opportunity to meet Li Ao and thank him in person.

He even thought that if Li Ao encountered any trouble in the South Division, he could use his connections to lend a hand, or say a few good words to Coach Durant and ask the coach to take care of this junior.

Who would have thought that as soon as he arrived at the stadium entrance, he would hear that Li Ao had already become the team captain.

If he hadn't known beforehand that the other person's progress was extraordinary, he might have even suspected that Malik had given the wrong name.

Thinking of this, TySean waved to Malik: "We have an appointment with Coach Durant, so we can't be late. Since Leo is leading the team in training, let's not go over there and steal the spotlight."

"Yes, if we go there now, it will definitely affect their training," Daryl nodded in agreement.

Malik, however, was unconvinced: "What impact could it have? There's already a huge crowd gathered in the arena watching, and Coach Durant might be heading over soon too. If you guys aren't going, fine, I'll go check it out first."

After saying that, he didn't linger and turned to run into the stadium.

TySean stood there, pondering Malik's words.

A large crowd had gathered.

He then thought that if that were the case, and the new captain was leading the training, it would seem like he was resentful if he deliberately avoided meeting him, which would be bad for team unity if word got out.

Moreover, he was genuinely curious about how much Li Ao's basketball skills had improved over the summer, and how well he could lead the team as the new captain.

"Alright, since there are people watching, let's go take a look. The coach should understand."

TySean changed his mind and started walking toward the stadium.

Daryl shrugged and quickly followed.

Li Ao's original intention was simply to give a few teammates some extra training so that they wouldn't falter at home against Simon Academy, but he never expected it would attract so many onlookers.

Looking at the halfway line, which was almost completely packed with people, he felt rather helpless.

In contrast, Jaylen, Jamal, and several rotation players were all in high spirits and extremely excited throughout, as if they felt it was a great honor to be personally trained by their captain in front of so many people.

With things having come to this point, Li Ao had no choice but to calm himself down and continue explaining his control experience.

"Get your feet in position before you catch the ball, don't wait until the ball is in your hands before you aim at the basket."

As Li Ao spoke, he quickly demonstrated the movements, "Pay attention to the defender's center of gravity. If the opponent rushes in too quickly, use a step to the side to create space."

During the coaching process, he quietly used his model analysis skills to break down complex offensive options into the most basic footwork and shooting rhythm.

At the same time, with the help of the "clear expression" entry, the technical points were broken down and explained to the team members in detail.

With such explanations, even younger players with weaker fundamentals and less tactical awareness can quickly grasp the correct positioning strategy.

The two tactical drills didn't end until lunchtime, and the students who had been watching reluctantly dispersed.

During this time, Coach Durant also came to the sidelines after hearing the news, silently watched the second half of the training session, and gave Li Ao's tactical explanation ability a very high rating.

However, Li Ao himself didn't care about outside opinions.

Before we knew it, it was time for the home game.

After school, he changed into his jersey and went to the gymnasium alone to prepare for the game.

As soon as he arrived at the warm-up area, Li Ao was quite surprised to find several familiar faces in the stands. They were TyShon, Daryl, and Malik, who had come back specifically to watch the game during the back-to-school festival.

Across most of the stadium, their eyes met.

Daryl and Malik waved and cheered him on excitedly, and TySean smiled and gave him a thumbs up.

Looking back on last year's basketball team tryouts, Li Ao was still an inconspicuous newcomer at the time.

Who would have thought that in just one season, he would go from being a substitute at the end of the bench to becoming the team captain and point guard at Wyndham High School?

Tai Shawn and the others witnessed Li Ao leading the team in extra training yesterday, and they could clearly feel that his athletic ability had reached a new level.

That's why these three veteran players are full of anticipation for tonight's game.

Under Li Ao's leadership, what level of performance can this brand-new Wyndham Eagles achieve?

The atmosphere was completely ignited after the home cheerleaders finished their energetic dance performance.

Subsequently, the visiting team, Simon Academy, entered the field.

The Wyndham Eagles' first official scrimmage of the new season has finally begun.