When Anthony Jefferson arrived at the training ground, it was a quarter past eight o'clock.
As usual, this is the day after the game. There is no formal training task. It is just some relaxation and recovery training, checking for injuries, relaxing muscle conditions, and then disbanding on the spot. So, it's a rare moment of levity during the week, assuming of course that the previous day's game was won, and no one likes losing.
However, yesterday was the last game of the season. After the game ended, it also meant that the 2011 NCAA season was officially over, which made today even more special.
For the past eleven years, this day has been the day of farewell—not a graduation day on a college campus, but a moment when players say goodbye to their football careers.
The professional league is a meat grinding ground that eats people without spitting out bones. More than 90% of the players on the college field are not qualified to enter the profession and are not enough to start a career as a professional athlete; among them, only a mere 100% One of the players can reach the pinnacle of the professional league and go down in history.
Generally speaking, players can choose freely. They can sign up for the draft in their junior year and challenge the professional league; they can continue to study for one year, and after graduating from their senior year, they can accumulate more fame and experience before entering the draft. However, if you still fail to enter the league after graduating as a senior, this will mean the end of your "career".
This makes the day after the last game of the NCAA tournament every year a day of farewell. The most special and touching day.
In Anthony's view, the current overall level of the Bruins is still mediocre. Among juniors and seniors, there are no more than five, and maybe even less than three, who can enter the league through the draft. This also means that at least twenty players will end their rugby careers today.
Every player holds the dream of becoming a professional player and persists all the way to college. If not a professional football player, at least a professional athlete. However, today is the moment when the dream comes to an end and returns to the cruel reality. The long journey of ten or even fifteen years has now reached the end. Whether it is voluntary or passive, it is destined to be difficult to calm down.
So, this day was difficult and sad for Anthony. This has been the case for the past eleven years.
This year's situation is slightly different. At the end of the season, the Bruins are ranked fourth and may be invited to play in the Rose Bowl, but this is only a possibility. Today is still the day of farewell.
With a heavy heart, his steps could not help but slow down a little. From a distance, there was a noisy sound from the training ground, mixed with cheerful laughter and playful curses, breaking the tranquility and peace of the early morning. The training ground was filled with vitality, which seemed to dilute the bitterness and reluctance of parting.
Anthony smiled in spite of himself. This was his favorite training ground and the one he was most familiar with. His pace quickened, and gradually, the two people playing in the center of the field, Lu Ke and John, came into view. These two people are doing a return run at a fixed point, and the focus of the return run is that Logan and Marcus are getting ready to go, shouting, "Hurry up! Don't be outdone by that guy!"
Anthony appeared at the right time. Lu Ke and John entered the sprint stage, but this was not the end. John rushed towards Marcus with a slight advantage, patted Marcus's palm hard, and then the competition continued to Marcus. As for Logan - Lu Ke was only half a step behind, with Logan following closely behind.
First, it was a small horizontal jump with a small distance, two back and forth; then it was Lu Ke and John's sequence, changing direction quickly; and then it was Logan and Marcus's turn, obstacle collision...
This is a continuous relay race. Lu Ke and Logan are on a team, and John and Marcus are on a team. One after another, all of them are basic training.
In fact, these trainings are not specific trainings for quarterbacks. They are more basic trainings such as footwork, explosiveness, and turning. They are more suitable for running backs and tight ends. However, as a basic training, quarterbacks will also be used to train their feet and reflexes. So, strictly speaking, it's fair.
The entire race ended with a 40-yard sprint. Lu Ke and John crossed the finish line almost neck-and-neck. John and Marcus were victorious - on top of speed and turn drills, quarterbacks still couldn't compete with wide receivers, running backs, and tight ends. But what is shocking is that Lu Ke is only a palm's length behind, just like a 100-meter race, and it is almost impossible to tell the final winner with the naked eye.
This is really eye-catching.
Seeing the four young guys gasping for air and then laughing and joking, Anthony did not disturb them, but turned and left. He knows that Lu Ke is a hard-working guy. He was like this when he was a sparring partner, and he is still like this when he is a substitute. However, after winning the team's most important victory in the past ten years last night, Lu Ke is still neither arrogant nor impetuous. , down-to-earth and devoted to training, which really impressed Anthony again.
He likes players like this. He has always favored players who have put in sweat and hard work over players with extraordinary talents.
It's a pity that Lu Ke's talent is still too bad. Even if he doesn't want to admit it, black people seem to have an innate advantage in physical confrontation and can completely suppress white people, let alone Asians. Players like Yao Ming are the only one that has appeared in the NBA for so many years. And in rugby, which is tougher and more ferocious, there is no Asian player. Apart from racial discrimination, there is still objectivity. reason.
If he remembered correctly, Lu Ke is also a senior this year. I wonder what Lu Ke thinks about the professional league.
One after another, other Bruins players arrived at the stadium and began today's recovery training. The atmosphere in the entire training ground was extremely relaxed and lively. Even the sparring partners were talking, laughing and rejoicing. Last night's victory was so sweet that it will not fade away for a long time to come.
For a moment, everyone forgot about the upcoming parting. Later, several senior students gathered together and discussed. John expressed his choice without hesitation. The atmosphere of the training inevitably dropped. In the end, Logan reminded everyone with a loud voice that there would be another year this year. Potential Rose Bowl, until the Rose Bowl announces the participating teams, not only can they not disband, but they must continue to train.
The smiles returned to everyone's faces again.
"Bambi, today's training is over. You don't want to go through the entire basic training again, right?" The relaxation training ended quickly. Amidst the laughter and curses, the passage of time became cheerful. Everyone They were all ready to go back and take a shower, but found that Lu Ke was still completing the quarterback training meticulously, and someone raised his voice and asked.
The movements in Lu Ke's hands still did not pause, and he replied with a smile on his face, "It's just simple basic training. I am now trying to compete for the starting quarterback of the Rose Bowl. I have already fallen behind at the start, so naturally I have to work harder now. .”
Such a straightforward and candid answer immediately made everyone burst into laughter, "Relax, relax! Bambi, I think your performance last night was enough for you to lock in a seat in the starting lineup."
"But, he is a wide receiver!" Someone next to him joked, making a joke about Lu Ke, and everyone laughed.
Lu Ke didn't join in the fun anymore. Because I was distracted for a moment during the conversation, my movements were not very standard, and three consecutive actions were not counted by the system. I concentrated again, devoted myself to training, and completed all the training in an orderly manner. The sound of task completion sounded in my mind again.
Gain another base point. Lu Ke casually added it to the observation field of view, from fifty-three points to fifty-four points, one step closer to the passing line.
After one daily training task is completed, another daily training task appears as scheduled.
Lu Ke browsed around casually, but then his eyes stopped and he couldn't help but browse the mission again. The mission cycle is still fourteen days, and five mission items have been added again. Now the daily training items have reached thirty. Not only have the projects been added, but the original projects have also undergone some changes.
The first thing that changed was "endurance long-distance running, 10,000 meters", which is now "variable speed long-distance running, 10,000 meters; task requirements: During the completion of the task, you must change speed at least five times, sprinting 100 meters each time". In long-distance running, maintaining rhythm is undoubtedly the most important. The ability to suddenly change speeds exponentially increases the demands on physical energy consumption, breathing control, and endurance.
The second change is the quantity requirement for sub-tasks. For example, for weight-bearing squats, there were three groups before, but now there are five groups, and the weight has been increased accordingly - which happens to be the maximum index that Lu Ke can now bear. ; Another example is moving footsteps. There used to be three groups, but now there are ten groups. It seems that the system is very dissatisfied with Lu Ke's footsteps.
The third change is the addition of five new exercises.
"...
Obstacle avoidance training, five groups, three back and forth in each group;
Three-cone barrel training, five groups, three back and forth in each group;
Rope ladder horizontal running, three groups, three back and forth in each group;
Sit-ups with ball, five groups, 20 times each;
Yoga, thirty minutes;
Mission time limit: fourteen consecutive days mission reward: base point +1. "
Lu Ke was no stranger to the previous new trainings. These were upgraded technical trainings for footwork training. Each training was very boring, but very important. But what about that last item? Lu Ke thought he had read it wrong, so he browsed it carefully again, but the result was still the same, "Yoga, thirty minutes."
"Xiaoqi? Xiaoqi?" Lu Ke began to call in his mind, "What's going on with this yoga? Is it set to increase my charm? Why can't I see any connection between yoga and rugby? Or is it? Say, what I practice is alien yoga? The kind that can transform me into a Super Saiyan?"
