Translator: dapotaturs
Release Date: 10/02/2023
Chapter 185 :Su Bai's New Talent Selection (Part 5)
Jing Feibai, now 18 years old, had a personality similar to most boys his age—outgoing and cheerful. Meeting his long-lost friend made him even more excited.
"Xiao Bai Ge!" Jing Feibai joyfully exclaimed, then earnestly examined Su Bai. "Xiao Bai Ge, you haven't changed at all."
He then whispered slyly, "Xiao Bai Ge, did you bring me in through the back door this time?"
This question had been on Jing Feibai's mind for several days. He hadn't had the courage to ask Su Bai directly on WeChat, so he waited until today when he finally met Su Bai face to face and couldn't resist asking.
Upon hearing Jing Feibai's question, Su Bai was momentarily surprised, then chuckled, "No, why? Don't you want to run the 400 meters? Do you want to go back to continue the 100 meters?"
Jing Feibai also had a good record in the 100 meters at the moment. He still had untapped potential in absolute speed, and even if Su Bai hadn't brought him to the national team for a tryout, he had a chance to be selected for the national team in the 100 meters in the future.
"Well..." Jing Feibai scratched his head and tentatively asked, "Actually, I'm quite interested in the 400 meters. And if you didn't bring me in through the back door, it means I might have some talent for the 400 meters... But I've been training in the 100 meters for so many years, and I have an attachment to it. Can I try both events?"
In track and field, competing in multiple events was not uncommon. Athletes often participated in events like the 100m and 200m, or the 200m and 400m. Even the combination of the 400m and 800m was not unheard of. However, competing in both the 100m and 400m was relatively rare.
The 100m requires athletes to excel in absolute speed and explosiveness, while the 400m demands not only absolute speed but also speed endurance and sustained energy supply. While these two events weren't necessarily in conflict, it was rare to find athletes with exceptional talent in both.
Moreover, competing in multiple events required significant physical endurance. One small mistake could lead to underperformance in both events.
So typically, athletes choose to specialize in a single event rather than participate in multiple events.
Su Bai reviewed Jing Feibai's overall data. He displayed strong explosiveness, good late-race acceleration during the 100 meters, and although his 400 meters training results within the team were average, his physical fitness report showed excellent endurance potential. He had a good body balance, control, and impressive physical conditioning based on the fitness report.
In summary, Jing Feibai indeed had exceptional talent for both the 100 meters and 400 meters.
Su Bai gave him a serious look and asked, "Training for both the 100 meters and 400 meters simultaneously can be quite challenging. Are you sure you're mentally prepared for the pressure it will bring?"
Upon hearing this question, Jing Feibai stood up straight, no longer smiling foolishly, and said, "I've thought about it! I've also considered how people might criticize me if I don't perform well in one event. But I still want to try... If I find out I can't do it, I can always quit later. I just feel that after all these years of training in the 100 meters, I want to see what level I can reach."
Su Bai, hearing his response, smiled and glanced at him, saying, "Train hard. If you manage to stay, I'll talk to Coach Pei and see if we can include your 100 meters in the training program."
Surprised by Su Bai's promise, Jing Feibai grinned, revealing his bright white teeth, and vigorously nodded, "Alright, Xiao Bai Ge! I won't embarrass you, Xiao Bai Ge!"
After the athletes completed their physical examinations, they quickly returned. On the first day, apart from physical testing and medical check-ups, there weren't many training requirements. They were assigned some relaxation runs tailored to their respective age groups. The rest of the day was focused on familiarizing themselves with the various areas and facilities within the track and field team.
Although this new training facility was adjacent to the original 400-meter training venue, Su Bai and the other coaches divided themselves into two groups, each responsible for different tasks in the two training locations.
Su Bai made sure to tour both sides.
The majority of the trial athletes in this selection were between the ages of 17 and 19. There were fewer athletes aged 15 to 17 and 19 to 22.
The athletes aged 17 to 19 had mostly already chosen their specialized events and had a certain foundation in their respective training. Some of these athletes were surprised by the sudden invitation to the national team trials. Among them, there were those like Jing Feibai with a positive attitude, as well as some who felt uneasy about the situation.
After the athletes dispersed, some of them approached Su Bai with their concerns.
"Suo Bai Coach, do I really have talent for the 400 meters?"
"Coach Su Bai, I was doing quite well in my original event. Can I really perform in the 400 meters?"
"Coach Su Bai... I don't even know if our coach registered me, but I ended up being selected. I'd prefer to stick to my original event. Is that possible?"
While the 400-meter event was rapidly rising in popularity in China and Su Bai had gained nationwide recognition in the track and field community, the athletes who had never considered competing in the 400 meters couldn't help but feel uneasy when faced with the prospect of changing events.
Before coming to the national team trials, some athletes had expressed their reluctance to switch events to their coaches, but they were typically encouraged to "give it a try" or told that it was "for their own good."
Su Bai's reputation as an authority in the 400-meter event had spread throughout the country, and many coaches believed that following his guidance was the right choice. For these athletes, transitioning to a new event was a daunting prospect, even if a respected coach like Su Bai saw potential in them.
Su Bai wasn't surprised by this situation. After all, for these athletes, they had trained in their original events for many years. Suddenly being asked to switch to a different event, even with the endorsement of an authoritative coach, made them understandably uncertain.
Athletes like Qiu Wen, who followed Su Bai into the 400 meters without hesitation, were indeed a minority. Athletes like Jing Feibai, who were determined to excel in both their original event and the new one, were even rarer.
Su Bai was prepared for this and informed all the athletes that if they had any doubts or concerns about the 400-meter event, they could approach him for a one-on-one discussion. This was also an opportunity to observe the athletes' personalities.
After a day had passed, most of the athletes who were initially anxious about switching events had spoken with Su Bai and decided to give the national team trial a serious try for one month. After that month, they would evaluate their performance and their acceptance of the 400-meter event before deciding whether to continue with the national team trial.
However, there were two or three athletes who firmly believed that they had no talent for the 400 meters and preferred their original events. Su Bai didn't insist on keeping them and arranged for them to return to their original track and field teams immediately to continue training in their chosen events.
After seeing off these three athletes and selecting three new ones from the initial list, Su Bai instructed the staff to confirm with the athletes' respective teams that they had voluntarily come for the trial. With this, the first day of athlete trials came to an end.
Of course, after the athlete interactions were done, the communication with the coaches continued.
After dinner, Su Bai led the 400-meter coaching team to the designated meeting room in the new building. Here, he began discussing and explaining the thought process behind the forms he had created.
In addition to the athlete trials, Su Bai couldn't neglect the training of the official team members. It was already June, and Li Junhao would soon be going to the Netherlands to participate in the World Athletics Continental Tour in the Netherlands. After considering the options, Su Bai scheduled Zhang Ziyi and Qiu Wen in different competition venues and didn't arrange for them to participate in the same leg of the event.
Besides the World Athletics Continental Tour, the Diamond League would be held in China's S City in five days. Fang Yu, Wang Shen, and Ye Wenhao were set to participate in this competition. However, in the 110-meter hurdles and 400-meter events, there were no Chinese athletes who qualified based on last year's season results. Still, as hosts, Cui Luoheng, Zhang Ziyi, and Qiu Wen received special invitations to compete.
As athletes preparing for the Diamond League in China, from Fang Yu to Cui Luoheng, Zhang Ziyi, and others, they needed to give their all and not embarrass their national team on home soil.
The training atmosphere within the national team became increasingly intense, and everyone was fully committed to their training schedules, not daring to slack off in the slightest.
The main squad members already had Su Bai's annual training plan in place, but for the trial athletes from provincial teams, although they also began comprehensive training, some of them still maintained a nervous state of mind regarding training with the national team. Others had never attempted 400-meter specialized training before, and no matter how they trained, they felt a bit awkward.
On this day, after completing the designated part of their training, Wu Tian found himself sitting on the ground, leaning back with his hands behind him, exhausted and on the verge of passing out.
Wu Tian was originally a long jump specialist, and his training primarily focused on explosive power. After completing endurance training, he felt like he was about to collapse.
Just as Wu Tian was taking a brief rest, he suddenly heard a loud commotion coming from the training field.
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Chapter 186: Su Bai's New Talent Selection (6)
The noise of a heated argument emanated from the training ground, catching Wu Tian off guard.
"Are you training or here for a romantic rendezvous?! You better train properly! You've been obstructing me every day. How much progress have you made on your training today? How many sets have you completed for strength training? How many days have passed, and have you achieved the adjustments in your curve technique? Is it usable yet? And here you are, harassing female team members?!"
The one delivering this scolding was an assistant coach from the national team, also a former athlete in the 400 meters discipline named Gu Cheng.
Throughout his career in the 400 meters, Gu Cheng practiced diligently but didn't achieve remarkable results. His personal best was 45.91 seconds, barely breaking the 46-second barrier. He was also a member of the previous generation's 400 meters relay team.
The one receiving this reprimand was one of the trial athletes this time, surnamed Ding, named Ding Ruihan.
This is a 19-year-old young athlete and one of the rare trial athletes in this group who specializes in the 400 meters, which has always been his original event. Because of his natural talent and continuous training in the 400 meters discipline, Ding Ruihan has always appeared very relaxed during training. He often runs around female trial athletes, especially the ones who are good-looking, and constantly says, "Let me teach you."
Within the national team, training is usually the most rigorous, and there are few athletes like Ding Ruihan. Gu Cheng has been monitoring him for three days. Ding Ruihan's training progress is slow, he doesn't pay attention to the coach's instructions, and he constantly ignores the training tips provided repeatedly during the three days.
Coaches can get frustrated with athletes like Ding Ruihan, no matter how good their temper is. Finally, today, Ding Ruihan not only failed to complete the assigned training content but also harassed female team members during training. Gu Cheng couldn't stand it anymore and walked up to him, directly pulling him out and giving him a severe scolding.
Ding Ruihan has natural talent, and in his provincial team, he was a favorite of the coaches. Moreover, the coaches in his provincial team had particularly lenient attitudes, even if he acted carefree with the coaches in the team. For his training, they would pamper him like a mother, encouraging him to train every day.
Perhaps it was the relaxed training environment that shaped Ding Ruihan's somewhat unruly personality.
Before coming to the national team, Ding Ruihan's coach had repeatedly advised him to behave differently in the national team trials compared to his provincial team, but Ding Ruihan didn't think there was anything wrong with his personality.
After Gu Cheng scolded him, Ding Ruihan, just like he did in the provincial team, didn't see himself at fault. He stared at Gu Cheng and directly challenged him, "Isn't it just strength training? Can't I do it later? Besides, can you guarantee that the curve technique adjustment will be effective? I've been using my previous curve technique for two or three years, and my performance improved every year. If it doesn't improve after the adjustment, what will you say?"
"Besides, didn't Coach Su Bai invite us for the national team trials? Why are you guys the ones guiding us? Coach Gu, right? What's your 400 meters record? Have you ever coached any outstanding 400-meter athletes? Can you really guide us to achieve something?" A string of accusations burst out of Ding Ruihan's mouth. He even thought he was quite clever. He turned his head and threw a seductive glance toward the female trial athletes, thinking he looked handsome enough to make everyone around him tremble with awe and fall at his feet.
Gu Cheng was usually an easy-going person, but he was left speechless and had a thunderous expression on his face due to Ding Ruihan's incessant chatter.
As Ding Ruihan looked around, he couldn't help but wear a smug expression. Over the past few days, he had observed the other athletes around him and had already noticed that most of them primarily trained in different events. Even if they were originally 400-meter runners, their records were not as impressive as his. He had competed against them at the National Youth Games, and his performance had been far superior to theirs.
Back in early 2018, when the 400-meter event in China was not as strong, he had already achieved a time of just over 46 seconds. His provincial team coach had always referred to him as the rising star of the 400-meter event. Later, when the 400-meter event gained prominence in China, his coach had continued to say that as long as he trained under Su Bai, he would undoubtedly break the 45-second barrier and that the national team would definitely need him.
In his eyes, with his talent and performance, even without this trial, as long as that national team coach Su Bai had an eye for talent, there was no reason not to choose him.
As for training... he did train, right? It was just a matter of not training promptly. Moreover, that so-called curve technique adjustment, which required tweaking the arm swing and the force of the left and right foot contacts, what good was it? With only three months for the trial, would his performance really improve significantly with this curve technique adjustment?
In any case, in Ding Ruihan's eyes, he had done nothing wrong, and any mistakes were on the part of the coach who had developed the training plan.
A player like him should be taught by Su Bai, right?
Who is this Gu Cheng anyway?
He was just giving face to that Gu Cheng, not mentioning that his career results were so bad. Yet, this guy is raging like this!
If Ding Ruihan's provincial team coach knew what he was thinking and doing, he would probably regret being so lenient with him initially. The coach had unwittingly fostered Ding Ruihan's personality.
But there's no use in saying "what if."
After talking in circles, Ding Ruihan appeared frivolous and smug. The athletes who were originally training around him were stunned in their tracks. Even someone like Wu Tian, who had been resting on the ground, was almost shocked off it.
"This guy... he's so audacious!"
After getting up, Wu Tian carefully moved over to stand next to Zhuo Yutang and Qiu Mingjie. The three of them were close in age, and since Wu Tian didn't know much about the 400 meters, he would occasionally ask Zhuo Yutang and Qiu Mingjie for advice during these days. Therefore, their relationship had developed quite nicely over the past few days.
Now, he leaned against Qiu Mingjie, lowered his voice, and began whispering.
Qiu Mingjie, with a look of utter disbelief, glanced at Ding Ruihan, who was a bit farther away. He also lowered his voice to respond to Wu Tian, "This isn't just being audacious; it's downright insane, isn't it?"
Among this group of athletes, Qiu Mingjie was already one of the more playful personalities. On the first day, he even dared to shout "Su Big Brother" at Su Bai during the meeting. However, he also knew what to say and what not to say.
At least when it came to his attitude towards coaches, he had always been respectful and obedient.
Because of Ding Ruihan's antics, when he spoke, the entire training facility fell silent. But Ding Ruihan himself didn't seem to realize anything was wrong.
When Su Bai arrived from the adjacent training facility, he witnessed this scene. He immediately lowered his voice and called over the physical coach. After a brief inquiry into the situation, the more he listened, the deeper his brows furrowed. After hearing the explanation, Su Bai's gaze shifted towards Ding Ruihan, and a hint of anger flickered in his eyes.
When Su Bai stood in front of Ding Ruihan and Gu Cheng, Gu Cheng was pointing at Ding Ruihan angrily, wanting him to leave the national team, but he hesitated because he didn't have the authority to do so.
Ding Ruihan's attitude finally became somewhat more restrained upon seeing Su Bai, but he still had a disdainful look and didn't show much respect.
In Ding Ruihan's eyes, Su Bai was just a few years older than him, too young, and inexperienced to manage the national team properly. Moreover, he didn't seem very responsible—why else would he have summoned the tryout athletes, only for other coaches to be guiding the training?
Of course, Su Bai noticed Ding Ruihan's expression. He didn't speak immediately but continued to stare at Ding Ruihan. In the face of Ding Ruihan's growing displeasure, Su Bai finally spoke coldly, "The national team doesn't need athletes who don't respect their own event and don't appreciate hard work."
It took Ding Ruihan a moment to understand the meaning. Su Bai was asking him to leave.
As this realization dawned on him, Ding Ruihan's anger flared up instantly. "Who the hell are you to tell me to leave?"
"On what basis?" Su Bai's tone remained calm, but Gu Cheng, standing beside him, could clearly sense the anger boiling inside Su Bai.
Su Bai had always been friendly in the national team before, and his voice had never sounded as cold and icy as it did today.
"No basis? I'm the head coach of the 400 meters event. I don't need athletes like you!" Su Bai's words were sharp and decisive.
Ding Ruihan's eyes widened, and he exclaimed, "What?! You don't want athletes like me? Then who do you want? Those who switched from other events and can't even run the bend properly?"
He continued with a mocking laugh, "Everyone says you're amazing, but the athletes you've selected, there are hardly any specializing in the 400 meters! Are you suggesting that there are so many undiscovered 400-meter talents still stuck in other events? You don't value athletes in the 400 meters specialization, and now you want to drive me away?"
Ding Ruihan didn't believe for a moment that Su Bai would really ask him to leave. His coach had told him that even with athletes like Zhang Ziyi, Guo Dun, Qiu Wen, and Li Junhao in the national team, there was still a shortage, especially in the 4x400-meter relay, where Guo Dun's individual abilities could significantly affect the team's performance.
In Ding Ruihan's view, among athletes under 20 years old in China, he was undoubtedly the best in the 400 meters. Compared to the athletes in the adult category, there were very few who could beat him.
"Do you really think these guys can outperform me?" Ding Ruihan was just short of pointing at Su Bai and saying, "You have no vision."
The other athletes around were bewildered. While there were some troublemakers and rebellious players in the sports school or provincial teams, they had never seen someone like Ding Ruihan, who was bold enough to come in front of the national team with such an attitude.
"...This courage, he's as bold as they come!" whispered Qiu Mingjie to his teammate Zhuo Yutang beside him, looking deeply impressed.
After hearing Ding Ruihan's words, Su Bai seemed to be amused. He smiled at Ding Ruihan and then calmly said, "Your talent is indeed not the best among these tryout athletes."
Upon hearing Su Bai's words, Ding Ruihan instantly widened his eyes and stared at Su Bai fiercely. "That's impossible!"
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