Almighty Coach

Director Liu’s had shocked coach Ma. He immediately knew that Liu had an idea.

Director Liu lowered his voice and said, "Ma, we have known each other for years, I don’t wanna hide any secrets. I do have an idea."

"What is it?" asked Ma intently.

Liu showed a meaningful smile. "From what I’ve been told, the Youth Team is looking for an athletics coach."

"Is it the Youth Athletics Team? What position?" asked Ma immediately.

"Chief coach of the shot put team," said Liu. "The chief coach is the only coach on the team, he takes charge of everything. As you know, it’s a youth team, so people come and go quite often. They don’t have formal training like your team has. Therefore, one coach should be enough. Besides, we don’t have enough positions for more coaches."

"Haha, Director Liu, thank you for your advice, but my nephew is not capable of leading a shot put team. His major is weightlifting, which means he knows nothing about shot put. Maybe the youth team doesn’t need a coach with advanced skills like the adult team does, but the athletes still need a coach who is capable of taking good care of them. My nephew is not that good."

"I didn’t say that your nephew should be the one to take the job. He has never been a coach before. How could he lead a team all by himself? I’m talking about the newcomer to your team. You can put him with the youth team, then your weightlifting team will have an empty position. Your nephew can apply for that position then," said Director Liu.

Dai Li as chief coach of the Youth Shot Put Team? He will take charge of an entire team! Isn’t that a promotion? How could he be promoted so quick? Coach Ma continued thinking to himself in silence. He didn’t reply right away.

Currently Dai Li was the fitness coach of the Provincial Weightlifting Team. If he became the chief coach of the Youth Shot Team, it would seem as if he had downgraded, but in fact he would be promoted. Li would be in charge of the whole program; he would lead the entire team rather than take care of athletes’ health.

On sport teams, sending coaches to youth teams could be regarded as a type of toughening, or part of cultivation process. Usually if a new coach wanted to have such an opportunity, he must have three to five years of working experience first, and achieve outstanding performances to prove himself. Because Li had only worked for one year, it was an unconventional promotion for him.

Coach Ma had not wanted Li to be promoted, let alone in this way. But if Li did not leave the weightlifting team, his nephew would not have the chance to apply for the job. He was stuck in a dilemma.

After a while, Ma asked, "Li has only coached for a year, he is not proficient enough. Besides, he is a fitness coach. How can he lead a shot team? Would the leaders approve of that?"

"Dai Li was on loan to the Beikou Training Center, wasn’t he? I heard that the coaches of the national team were quite satisfied with Li’s performance. They requested to keep him for another month. You know, those coaches of the national team all have unerring eyes, they never make any wrong judgements. Someone who was able to satisfy the best coaches in the country should be able to coach a provincial youth team, shouldn’t he?"

Hearing those words, Ma felt even worse. Even coaches from the national team approved of Li’s ability. This indicated that Li must be different.

Director Liu continued, "Also, about the position—there will be several people applying for it. The department will discuss it and make think about the decision thoroughly. Your job is to persuade coach Song that Li is the best person for the position. Say some good words praising Li, things like ‘Li has outstanding performance,’‘he gets along so well with colleagues,’ etc. This way Li has a better shot at getting the job."

"Understood," coach Ma nodded an agreement. Even though he did not want to see Li succeed, if it meant creating an opportunity for his nephew he had no choice.

...

It was easy for Li to buy a ticket from Qingcheng to Yuzhou before the Spring Festival because Qingcheng was the main station. But once the holiday had passed, it was very difficult for him to buy a ticket back to Qingcheng. Everyone else was eager to get a ticket heading toward the same destination, too. Li had been waiting by the computer for days hoping to get a ticket, but unfortunately tickets always sold out in seconds. In the end, Li had no choice but to go back by bus.

Li didn’t enjoy traveling by bus. Even though highway systems were well-developed these days, and the bus ran steady and fast, it was still not as comfortable as taking a high-speed rail. A trip by bus and by high-speed rail took a similar amount of time, but a bus ticket was more expensive than a train ticket.

Li always thought that it was exhausting to travel by bus. When he finally arrived in Qingcheng, he felt exhausted. He went to his dorm and threw himself onto the bed. He was so tired that he almost fell asleep. But all of a sudden his phone rang, waking him up instantly.

Why is coach Xu calling? Li answered the phone.

"Hey Li, I saw you posted pictures on your WeChat album. You come back today, don’t you? Have you arrived yet?" asked coach Xu.

Li recalled that before he departed, he posted a picture of his bus ticket and complained about the upcoming trip.

"I just arrived at the dorm," answered Li.

"Here is some news. The department wants to have you to take charge of the Youth Shot Put team," said coach Xu.

"The Youth Team? Why?" Li jumped to his feet. It was absolutely not good news for him to hear about his job relocation on the first day back from the Spring Festival.

Coach Xu explained slowly, "The Youth Shot Put Team lacks a chief coach. Coach Guangming Song recommended you, and I did as well. Considering your working experience for the national team, it didn’t take long to get things all set. Soon somebody from the Provincial Sport Department will talk to you, I guess."

Li was worried about this job relocation and his future, but hearing that Coach Xu had also recommended him to the new job meant that it must be a good thing. He did not believe that Coach Xu would hurt him.

Li then asked, "Is this a good thing?"

"Absolutely! There are only a few coaches on the Youth Team, about one coach for every program. Sometimes a coach may even take care of two teams at a time. Therefore, if you go to the youth team, you will lead a team all by yourself. You are in charge of everything, and you will have a big possibility of being promoted in the future. This is way better than being a fitness coach," explained Coach Xu.

"Roger that. So it’s like working on the junior level and gaining some experience before being promoted to higher levels," Li brainstormed.

"Yes, same thing. But this is also a test. If you perform well here, you will have a better future," said Coach Xu. "I trust you. You can do well."