Almighty Coach

Sijie Yang had A-level ability in sprinting. He had the potential to win several national championships easily as long as he tried a bit harder. If he did, he would have the chance to compete against the top sprinters in the world; and, if he was lucky enough, he could probably become a world champion. It surprised Dai Li that such a talented star was saying that he hated sprinting, and that he did not want to be an athlete.

People always said that your interests were your best teacher. If Da Vinci had not been interested in drawing, he could not have become a great painter; Had Shakespeare hated writing, he could not have been a master in literature.

Of course, not everyone liked their job, but most would not say they hated it either.

If a person hated what they were doing, they would never achieve anything, no matter how long they stayed in their field. Take a businessman; if he hated making money, he would definitely be poor his entire life. If someone in the personnel system did not want to be a leader, then chances are they would be stuck in the office doing chores for the rest of their life.

This applied to athletes as well. Many athletes began training at a very young age, and really loved what they were doing. They practiced with the dream of becoming a champion. If an athlete had no desire to get medals and felt comfortable just going with the flow, they would never achieve anything.

Sijie Yang said he hated sprinting and did not want to be an athlete, and that he practiced with that in mind every day. Even if he finished the training from today, he would not achieve much. This way of thinking would also prevent him from communicating with his teammates, since no one wants to talk about things they hate.

It was like reading a book. Suppose a guy liked the book he was reading; he would feel something after he finished reading it, and would talk about the details of the book, remembering the content vividly. However, if he was not interested in the book, he would criticize it as he read, and even once he finished reading it, he would hate recalling the details, and would even forget the main characters’ names.

Sijie Yang truly hated sprinting, which was why he always acted passively, and was never motivated to train. The effects of being active and passive were totally different. Had he been an average athlete, he would definitely have been dismissed and kicked off the field by now.

Sijie Yang, however, was really talented. Having A-level ability meant you were good enough to be a world class athlete. Even on the national sprinting team there were not any other A-level athletes. Sijie Yang didn’t even like his gift, yet he could still beat a bunch of people with just his raw talent.

He could be worldwide phenomenon with such great talents, but he said he hates sprinting and doesn’t want to be a athlete. What a waste!

Dai Li knew that he could not force people to do things. If Sijie Yang really had no interest in sprinting, nothing would change, even if he kept practicing.

From Sijie Yang’s CV we can tell that he began training professionally at 14-years-old, which means he has had five years of sprint training! Since he doesn’t want to be an athlete, why doesn’t he just give up? Thinking of this, Dai Li changed the topic to keep the conversation going.

"If you don’t want to be an athlete, what do you want to do then? I’ve seen your CV; you studied economics and management, and want to get another MBA degree later. Do you want become a company manager?" Dai Li asked.

"I want to be a photographer," said Sijie Yang as he lowered his head. He looked embarrassed.

"That is nothing to be embarrassed about. When I graduated I didn’t want to be a coach. I wanted to become a middle school PE teacher. Summer and winter vacation, who doesn’t want that? But I failed the entrance exam, and ended up as a coach." Dai Li smiled, then continued, "Tell me, how did you become an athlete?"

"When I was fourteen, all the students were asked to stay an extra hour to study after school. I didn’t want to study because I already knew everything the teacher had taught us, so I joined the track and field team in our school so I wouldn’t have to study," Sijie Yang answered.

"You joined the track and field team so that you wouldn’t have to study?" Dai Li thought this was really dramatic.

Sijie Yang nodded. "After a few months, I joined a city-level track and field competition, and became a champion with a 11.72 second record, which impressed the coach in the sports school. At that point, my dad told me to do sports, and said I had the potential to become a top athlete. So I went to school to study in the morning and practice in the afternoon."

Dai Li was impressed. An 11.72-second record at fourteen. That is really something. A B-level athlete can only run an 11.74! Many sprinters are still trying to meet the standard of 11.74 seconds to get onto the national team, but he did it with a better record at just fourteen.

Sijie Yang continued, "Later, I went to college. I was going to give up on being an athlete, but my dad got me onto the sports team, and asked me to keep practicing as a sprinter."

Sijie Yang was mentioning his father a lot. This reminded Dai Li of what Xiaotian Xin had said; Sijie Yang’s father was an influential man, who even had connections in Tsinghua University.

Dai Li asked, "It sounds like your father wants you to become an athlete, not you. Why don’t you tell him that you don’t want to be an athlete?"

"Because he has a point. He says I am gifted in sprinting and can be an excellent athlete. I should do what he asked me to do and become an athlete," Sijie Yang said as he lowered his head.

"Your father is right, you are really gifted." Dai Li suddenly remembered Sijie Yang was an A-level athlete, so he asked, "Is your dad a retired athlete?"

Sijie Yang shook his head.

"Then he must be a coach!" Dai Li said.

Sijie Yang shook his head again and responded, "He is a scientist."

"Scientist? Like sports science?" Dai Li was a bit shocked.

"Biology. My dad studies biology," Sijie Yang said.

"Oh!" Dai Li nodded. Biology was something he knew nothing about. He did not want to attempt to discuss it and embarrass himself.

"So you’re saying that you didn’t choose to be an athlete, your dad did?" Dai Li looked at Sijie Yang. Sijie Yang didn’t reply, but nodded his head in silence.

"You don’t like the idea of sprinting or being an athlete. Did you tell your dad about this?" Dai Li asked.

Sijie Yang shook his head. "No."

"Why not?" Dai Li asked anxiously.

"It is not necessary. He is always right. He makes decisions for me all the time. I just need to do what he tells me." Sijie Yang sounded calm, but also a bit sad.

"No one is always right," Dai Li argued.

Sijie Yang lowered his head. He seemed like he didn’t want to argue with Dai Li about this.

Dai Li could tell Sijie Yang’s dad was an aggressive guy who got pleasure out of controlling others. His father had arranged everything for him, and Sijie Yang was used to arrangements being made by his father.

Suddenly Dai Li felt sympathetic for Sijie Yang. Maybe his father was right, and Sijie Yang could become a successful athlete by just doing what he was told. But he had lost himself. You could say he was a good son who did as he was tod, but you could also say he was a toy controlled by his father!

Dai Li inhaled deeply, then changed his tone and told Sijie Yang, "Sijie Yang, look at me. Listen carefully."

Sijie Yang raised his head and looked at him in the eyes.

"Sijie Yang, you are nineteen now. You are an adult. You have to make your own decisions. You can’t depend on your father all the time; you have to think and act independently. Maybe your father is was right, but that doesn’t mean you are wrong."

"If you have your own dream, you need to fight for it! Dreams should not be buried deep inside you; they should be put in front of you to remind yourself to chase it with your actions!

"This is your dream, and your life. Your dad might be able to help you find a shortcut in your life, but he cannot determine your fate! You have to understand, you are a person, not a toy. You have to make things happen on your own. You have to walk by yourself and control your own life."

Sijie Yang opened his mouth. There was an excitement in his eyes for a second, but it disappeared quickly. He said sadly, "I completely understand what you’re saying. But if I listen to you and do what I want—become a photographer—the first thing I need to do is stop practicing sprinting and quit the track and field team, right?"

"Well..." Dai Li suddenly hesitated. He realized he had made a huge mistake and shot himself in the foot.

He had been talking about dreams, but it had sounded like he was trying to persuade Sijie Yang to quit the track and field team.

What have I done? I wanted to ask him to give it his all in practice. How did it end up like this?