Translator: dapotatursRelease Date: 09/04/2023
After this practice match, the American athletes were assigned to other activities, and the students from the sports school were guided to other training areas for observation and learning. Soon, the training field was left with only the seven athletes competing in the 400m race, Su Bai, and Wang Ting.
Although the competition had ended, there was a palpable heaviness in the atmosphere among the athletes. Even the usually cheerful Qiu Wen felt a bit down after the two practice matches.
Among all the athletes on the field, perhaps only Zhang Ziyi had experienced this discomforting emotion multiple times. However, even he had experienced it alone on the international stage. In such an environment, few people knew him, a Chinese sprinter, and the fact that East Asian sprinters were less talented was generally recognized internationally. Added to that were factors like competing in foreign countries and their impact on performance.
Zhang Ziyi, who always took competitions seriously and responsibly, suddenly realized after this practice match that he had been harboring many self-consoling and self-unaware thoughts.
Qiu Wen's dejection stemmed from his feeling of being too impulsive. He had forgotten the steady progress he had made over the past few months...
As for Li Junhao, Guo Dun, Lin Chuang, Zhou Xu, and Zhang Chang, this recent practice match was like a heavy slap to their faces, leaving them with no place to hide.
Looking at Su Bai, who stood aside with an expression that seemed unsurprised, they felt as if Su Bai's gaze was carving the word - failure - into their foreheads.
Truly... an embarrassing experience.
But it also made them fully realize that not only were they unable to compare to the world's top athletes, even when compared to athletes of world-class caliber, there was a profound gap between them.
In the past, they had comfortably remained on the side of the divide. Although they knew there was a gap, they assumed they lacked the ability to bridge it. Eventually, they even considered that divide as their protective barrier.
Among all of them, Li Junhao was in the worst state. During the practice match, he had run with a burning anger against Su Bai, putting his all into the race. However, this all-out effort, followed by the feedback they received, made this outcome particularly hard to bear.
It was as if every word Su Bai had spoken before was turning into boulders, shattering his strong yet fragile self-esteem once again.
On the training field, amidst this atmosphere, silence settled in. No one spoke for a long time.
Observing the scene, Wang Ting stood nearby, a bit anxious. He wanted to break the heavy atmosphere and lift the spirits of the athletes, but he wasn't the main coach for the 400m event. He couldn't speak casually while Su Bai was present and hadn't yet spoken. Doing so might disrupt Su Bai's original plan.
It wasn't until the oppressive silence had reached its peak that Su Bai, who had been standing with his arms crossed in front of everyone, gently opened his mouth.
"What's this? Feeling defeated already? Then why didn't you feel defeated in past competitions?" Su Bai's light words were like salt being rubbed into the wounds of these athletes.
"You!"
Li Junhao, who had originally been clenching his fist with his head lowered, suddenly raised his head and glared at Su Bai, his eyes filled with fury.
Zhang Ziyi's mood wasn't great either, but he still waved to restrain Li Junhao, attempting to defuse the one-sided tension between Li Junhao and Su Bai.
Su Bai looked at Li Junhao and Zhang Ziyi and didn't say much. Instead, he took a training plan from an assistant coach nearby and began announcing the upcoming training plan to the mostly demoralized athletes.
"Today is July 23rd, and there's approximately one month left until the Jakarta Asian Games. The upcoming training plan will span 25 days." Pausing for a moment, Su Bai looked at the downcast athletes in front of him and continued, "During this training cycle, I hope to achieve the following goals."
"First, everyone's times should be stabilized within 46.50 seconds or faster, with 80% consistency."
"Second, Zhang Ziyi and Qiu Wen should achieve times within 46.15 and 46.25 seconds, respectively."
"Third, the relay team should achieve a time under 3 minutes and 5 seconds."
As Su Bai mentioned the first goal, the athletes on the field immediately looked up at him. Even Wang Ting and the assistant coach present felt that Su Bai's goals were akin to an impossible fantasy.
Among the athletes present, Li Junhao's personal best was 46.89 seconds, Zhou Xu's was 46.54 seconds, and Zhang Chang's was 46.61 seconds. None of their best times were even within 46.50 seconds, let alone achieving an 80% consistency at that level. These were entirely different concepts!
Zhang Ziyi faced the same challenge. His best time of the season was 46.16 seconds, achieved during a previous Asian Games selection race. His 46.23 seconds from today was already his second-best of the season. Given these circumstances, Su Bai wanted him to consistently run within 46.15 seconds?!
Not to mention the relay target of 3 minutes and 5 seconds... The current national record for the 4x400m relay had been untouched for over a decade, standing at 3 minutes and 3.66 seconds.
After Su Bai listed these three goals, most of the athletes present were dumbfounded. The overall atmosphere shifted from oppressive and gloomy to a bizarre sense of incredulity.
Even Li Junhao remained silent this time, gazing at Su Bai with an expression that seemed to be studying some mysterious creature.
Su Bai scanned the athletes present. Among them, only Qiu Wen, who had built up sufficient trust in Su Bai, stood calmly, brimming with anticipation for the challenge that lay ahead.
"Can't believe it?" Su Bai looked at them, waiting for their responses.
Zhang Ziyi hesitated for a moment, then said, "Coach, perhaps our goals should be more gradual?"
Su Bai smiled slightly. "For example?"
Zhang Ziyi was about to suggest a more reasonable target, but he also remembered the American athletes who had experienced cross-timezone travel, back-to-back matches, and still none of their times were slower than 46.15 seconds. In an instant, his intended words became impossible to utter.
Those athletes were simply a group of runners who hadn't even made the American national team's top 20. And he... was the top runner for China's national 400m track and field team.
Zhang Ziyi clenched his fist, gritted his teeth, and shook his head. "No example. I'm willing to accept all of Coach Su's training arrangements."
Seeing Zhang Ziyi halt mid-sentence, those present, excluding Qiu Wen, were reluctant to go against Su Bai's requirements. Although there was hesitation and concern, they dared not directly challenge him after experiencing his swift measures in arranging practice matches.
Only Li Junhao still resented Su Bai and found his calm demeanor hard to bear. He gritted his teeth and glared at Su Bai. "You think this goal is achievable just because you say so? Why should we believe your training plan can help us achieve these results?!"
In the face of Li Junhao's reaction, Zhang Ziyi, Guo Dun, and Wang Ting were concerned, but Su Bai remained extremely composed. He looked at Li Junhao and said, "I'm currently your head coach, and this performance goal has already been submitted to the national team and the athletics association."
"I'm willing to stake my future on the effectiveness of my training on you. Are you willing to go all out?"
Su Bai calmly let his gaze sweep over the athletes, who were now frozen in surprise due to his words.
"I know that none of you are satisfied with today's practice matches. But this is the current level we're at on the world stage. Those American athletes can easily outperform you, even when they're not giving their all."
"You can choose to escape, but I think you've already witnessed China's 400m track and field results over the past decade."
"In the coming days, in your future athletic careers, do you want to keep achieving these kinds of results?"
The people present felt a bitter taste in their mouths, clenching their fists. Clearly, they were resisting the possible future implications of Su Bai's words.
"If you don't want to fall behind, then give it your all."
"You managed to stand out among all the athletes in the country and make it into the national team. That already proves your talent in this event. I also recognize your talent in the 400m."
"As long as you're willing to believe, I will lead you to achieve the goals I've set within a month."
Su Bai smiled slightly. "This plan is my personal idea and responsibility from start to finish. If we succeed, your performance will take a big leap forward. If we fail, I'll take full responsibility. I'll step down from my soon-to-be-confirmed position as the head coach of the national 400m track and field team."
"This game has only benefits for you, and no downsides, right?"
Only after Su Bai finished speaking did everyone truly realize — those goals he had just set were serious, and he had staked his own future on them.
The group stared at Su Bai with incredulous eyes, as if they thought he was insane. Yet, they couldn't help but want to believe in him due to his unwavering determination. Even Li Junhao opened his mouth, but then fell silent without uttering a word.
Su Bai looked at the people before him and smiled. "I've completely reorganized your training plan. Starting tomorrow, Coach Wang will cooperate with my requirements and implement the new training plan for all of you."
"I hope that a month from now in Jakarta, the national track and field audience will see a completely new Chinese 400m track and field team."
With that, Su Bai calmly dismissed the athletes for a temporary break, informing them that he had prepared dinner for them later in the evening.
Unfortunately, this dinner was the only one Su Bai had cooked that left most of the diners with no appetite.
While the nature of these practice matches was supposed to be confidential, due to the number of participants involved, the news about the Chinese national team inviting five American athletes for a practice match against domestic athletes leaked out and found its way to the Track and Field Kingdom Forum.
Topic: 【National Team Invites American Athletes for Secret Practice Match, National Team Athletes Suffer Complete Defeat!!!]
Topic Content: 【 Just found out that on the first day Su Bai took over the national 400m project, he insisted on inviting American 400m runners to China for a practice match against our athletes. Hundreds of students from B City's sports schools were also invited to watch the match. The result? Our athletes ranked last in consecutive matches... The students present were so embarrassed that they couldn't even cheer, and the cheers died down completely...】
2: 【...I've heard about this too. I can't figure out why Su Bai did this. Was he trying to boost the athletes' confidence by competing against international opponents? But by doing this, it seems like we're in a hopeless situation now.】
5: 【What do you mean? Consecutive matches? Did we lose to those American athletes in both matches?】
8: 【Exactly... I suspect the intention was really to boost the athletes' confidence, but they chose the wrong opponents and couldn't find ones of similar level to our 400m athletes. It ended up in a mess.】
13: 【Regardless, seeing that our athletes ranked last in both matches is really disheartening... Su Bai might have some skills, but he made such a rookie mistake on his first day in the national team. Now I'm a bit worried about the Jakarta Asian Games...】
They all didn't want Su Bai to actually leave the national team because of the things he said.
Hearing what Pei Jin'an said, Su Bai chuckled again. "Don't worry, Coach Pei. I wasn't joking about staking my future."
Pei Jin'an was taken aback. "So what do you mean?"
"Building a foundation, for most of the athletes in the team, except for Qiu Wen, the remaining six, they have already built a solid foundation in the 400m event. They only need some adjustments."
"More precisely, with the solid foundation they've built over the years and their natural talents, running steadily under 46.50 seconds should not be a problem."
Upon hearing Su Bai's confident response, Pei Jin'an was momentarily speechless.
"Are you saying... they should have been able to run under 46.50 seconds all along?"
"Yes." Su Bai nodded affirmatively. "But due to certain technical habits and insufficient training in certain specific physical qualities, their performances haven't reached the level they should have."
"It's the so-called 'barrel effect'."
During these days, Su Bai hadn't relaxed in studying the abilities and characteristics of the athletes. Only after detailed and repeated confirmation did Su Bai clarify the final training goal.
Most of these athletes had similar problems to Zhang Wei and Hu Li, along with mindset limitations that had persisted. These were the reasons preventing them from fully and consistently showcasing their abilities.
Pei Jin'an found it a bit hard to believe. "So, Coach Su, you mean that they should have been able to run under 46.50 seconds with just a short-term training and adjustments?"
"Yes." Su Bai affirmed, "So, at this stage, there's no need for gradual development. I'm just planning to bring them back to their original level and state within this training cycle."
"As for after this stage, we'll definitely have appropriate advancement goals for different athletes."
Seeing Su Bai put it this way, Pei Jin'an wanted to believe, although he was a bit incredulous. After all, these athletes were mostly regular members of the national team. Pei Jin'an had some impressions of their performances and training states, and he had discussed their issues and situations with Wang Ting, as well as the team's researchers. Although there had been progress, it wasn't as definitive as Su Bai was saying.
Regardless, Pei Jin'an decided to trust Su Bai's words and actions. After all, the training data would be synchronized, and he would receive updates. He would have a general idea of the actual effects later.
Hopefully... everything would turn out as Su Bai said.
After leaving Pei Jin'an's office, Su Bai headed to the office of Lu Shengbin, the hurdles coach, to briefly discuss Cui Luoheng's training situation.
Lu Shengbin mentioned that Cui Luoheng's training was progressing normally according to Su Bai's training plan. However, Cui Luoheng's temper was not great. He had a perpetually gloomy expression, which made the assistant coach a bit wary.
Hearing Lu Shengbin's words, Su Bai suddenly remembered that Cui Luoheng was probably caught in a cycle of forcing himself to eat every day again. His overly sensitive sense of taste made it difficult for him to enjoy the pure pleasure of eating even when he did eat.
However, for the past few days, he had been completely focused on the 400m athletes. He momentarily forgot about Cui Luoheng's dietary issue.
Thinking about it, Su Bai rubbed his forehead and decided to find time to prepare a late-night snack. Not just for Cui Luoheng, but those athletes in the 400m event as well. If they could receive some additional training boost, it would be beneficial for their training in the coming days.
Fortunately, the S Province track and field team had been in the spotlight recently. This included sweeping the top three positions in the 400m and Cui Luoheng's breakthrough during the selection trials. This boosted his reputation in a short period. He didn't have to worry about his reputation being depleted in the near future.
Moreover...
Just now, Su Bai had declined Pei Jin'an's offer for clarification because he unexpectedly found out that these online discussions were increasing his reputation. In that case, being criticized a bit by netizens didn't matter at all.
Thinking of this, Su Bai took out his phone and saw that he was being mentioned on Weibo, asking him not to be arrogant, but to consider the athletes' mental states and prevent them from breaking down.
After a moment of thought, Su Bai forwarded that message to his own page and replied, "Thank you all for your concern. No pain, no gain. ^^ The results will be revealed in Jakarta."
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