Almighty Coach

Dai Li, whose morale soared after filling himself with a big bowl of chicken soup for the soul, grabbed a towel and began cleaning the equipment inside his training center. No one was around anyway, so for Dai Li, working temporarily as a cleaner was the only thing he could do.

The sound of a phone ringing could be heard. As Dai Li set aside the mop that was in his hand, he wiped away the sweat from his forehead and reached into his pocket to pull out his phone.

A message appeared on the screen of his phone, "Li, send me the address of your training center. Our next game is against the Los Angeles Clippers. I’ll arrive earlier in Los Angeles."

"It’s Allen Hampton! It’s been years since I last saw him," Dai Li thought, as he sent the address of the training center to Hampton.

Hampton got into Georgetown University with the help of Dai Li back in the day, and as a person who focused all his efforts in basketball, it did not take long for him to make a name for himself in the NCAA, attracting the attention of national scouts across the U.S. In his second year, he was chosen by the Philadelphia 76ers as the first overall pick in the NBA draft.

Being the first overall pick naturally meant that he had a promising future ahead of him, and he did not disappoint, as he scored 30 points in his NBA debut match. He even managed to score 50 points in a single game in his first season.

After the entire season, although the Philadelphia 76ers recorded another miserable season, Hampton managed the feat of averaging 23.5 points per game, 7.5 assists per game, and 2.1 interceptions per game, acquiring statistics that could be considered All-star level.

After his rookie season, Hampton’s stats continued rising, and up till then, Hampton had already become a starter in the All-star team. He was also a strong contender for the NBA Scoring Leader, with his average points per game reaching 28 points.

Looking at his growth and performances, it was only a matter of time before he became a superstar. In fact, even the NBA Most Valuable Player Award and the NBA Championship title were practically waving their hands at him.

It wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say that Hampton was one of the most wanted sports stars in the U.S. Large businesses were more than willing to spend hundreds of millions of dollars on him via sponsorship and endorsement deals, so his entire family was already living richly.

Dai Li’s heart filled with excitement as he learned that Hampton was coming to visit. He didn’t know that many people in the U.S. in the first place, so when someone he knew was finally coming to visit, Dai Li felt as though he was going to meet his family and loved ones.

More importantly, Hampton was a superstar.

"I better get Hampton to cooperate and take more photos, so that I can develop them and hang them on the walls. That way, this visit is also a type of advertisement opportunity!" Dai Li thought, as he scanned through the interior of his training center, attempting to identify the best place to hang the photographs.

...

The training of American athletes depends mainly on private organizations. As such, a great variety of sports clubs are scattered throughout the cities, streets, and towns of the the nation, forming the most basic sports training system in the U.S.

For example, the gym that Dai Li rented was initially a gymnasium. The operator of the gymnasium also established a gymnastics club, so that children interested in gymnastics could learn by paying a small membership fee to join the club.

After joining, they could then learn from the gymnastics coaches stationed at the club, or simply purchase an individual gymnastics course. Hence, collecting membership fees and selling courses are the main ways basic training sports clubs in the U.S. generate income.

The same model may not work as well in China, as parents in China prioritized their children’s studies over all else, even when it came to cultivating a hobby. Thus, they would be more inclined to have their children learn painting, music, and other specialties, whereas for sports, it was always ranked last.

Parents in the U.S. were different, as they were much more willing to spend money for their children to learn sports, whether it was a popular sport like basketball or baseball, or something less popular, like gymnastics or archery.

Also, in the U.S., even regular athletes had to depend on private organizations, such as sports clubs, for their training, so when it came to disabled people, there were even less professional training institutions available. In China, the China Disabled Persons’ Federation handled disabled sports. The country would allocate funds to the federation to support para-athletes, which made it possible for different levels of the organization to establish dedicated sports teams, to hire professional coaches, and to have specialized training equipment and training locations.

These things were nowhere to be found in the U.S., so for a para-athlete, even finding a newly opened and unknown training center, like Dai Li’s, was a rare opportunity. Several para-athletes paid a visit directly on the second day of opening, and there were even some who called and made appointments with Dai Li.

Although Dai Li had no experience in disabled sports training, even if a person had never eaten pork, he would have at least have seen a pig run [1]. Plus, Dai Li had the motion detectors, so he would be able to instantaneously pinpoint an athlete’s weaknesses, leaving only the simple task of arranging targeted training programs, which made things much more manageable.

...

He glanced at his watch, the time was already a quarter past four in the afternoon.

Dai Li furrowed his brow slightly, as he had an appointment with a para-athlete named Barron Phillip at four o’clock in the afternoon. Fifteen minutes had passed, and this Barron Phillip was still nowhere to be seen.

Americans have a good sense of time. It could even be said that they value time as much as gold. In the U.S., excluding human lives, the most valuable thing is time. In fact, when human resources cost a lot, this is often caused by, or relating to, time.

Americans, out of everyone in the world, are probably the best in understanding the concept of charging by the hour. That is why Americans are used to making exact appointments for just about anything.

Americans are also exceptionally punctual, and the punctuality mentioned is not the kind where a person arrives in advance. Instead, it is the kind where a person arrives at the exact time of an appointment, generally no more than five minutes before or after the appointed time. Of course, if one was attending a dinner party, it would be acceptable to be ten to fifteen minutes late, as arriving early would actually be seen as impolite, since the guest might then be seen as pressuring the host.

However, when it comes to an appointment with a doctor, lawyer, or even a business meeting, arriving 15 minutes late would result in people canceling the appointment directly, no longer wishing to continue with the meeting. Obviously, making an appointment with a fitness coach was not the same as attending a dinner party, so this Barron Phillip, who was fifteen minutes late, was already being very rude.

Dai Li hesitated, wondering if he should call to check and see if Phillip was coming. However, as Dai Li lifted his head, he saw a man striding towards him at an incredible pace.

The man was most likely of mixed-race, as his appearance had the features of a white Caucasian, while his complexion was dark, but not dark like a black person, as his skin was slightly darker than a Mexican, but fairer than a typical black person. The U.S. was originally a nation of immigrants, so interracial marriage was common, and the number of people who were biracial was high. As such, Dai Li had grown used to seeing people similar to this man in appearance.

"The information from the social worker said that Barron Phillip had no legs, and that everything below his ankle joint had been amputated. Hence, this person, who is walking with such dexterity, that ordinary people might not even be faster than him, definitely cannot be Barron Phillip. Looks like there’s new business for me!" Dai Li thought gleefully, as he moved forward to welcome the incoming guest with a big smile on his face.

The person trotted towards him, and finally stopped in front of Dai Li.

"Hello sir, how may I help you today?" Dai Li said, as he brandished his brightest "receptionist" smile at the incoming gentleman.

"I’m so sorry I’m late! There was an accident at work, and I was delayed," the person said apologetically. Immediately after his apology, he introduced himself, "Hi, I’m Barron Phillip, I made an appointment earlier."

"You’re Barron Phillip?" Dai Li exclaimed, as his face filled with surprise. He was careful to look the man in the eye, as he knew that looking at the part of a disabled person that was his disability was considered to be extremely rude. However, he could not help but to take a quick glance at the person’s feet. What he saw was a pair of Nike sports shoes, the check mark logo appearing particularly distinct.

"What’s going on? Didn’t they say that Barron Phillip had no feet? Not only does this person in front of me have both of his feet, but he also walks ridiculously well. Could this Barron Phillip be faking his disability, so that he can receive relief funds?" Dai Li thought in silence.

Notes

[1] The main idea of the phrase is to express that there are some things, while a person may not have experienced it directly or personally, that he or she might have at least heard or know about it, thus understanding it.