There is no cover in the cloudless sky. You can see the blue sky to the end with just one word. The lazy airplane clouds outline the vastness and emptiness of the sky with just a few strokes. The bright golden sun shines down unbridled, covering everything in your sight. Every corner, every inch of exposed skin that falls on the surface of the skin cannot help but open up, and deeply breathe in the dry oxygen mixed with the fragrance of grass.
The training field in front of me was empty, with no one around. Occasionally, a skylark flew over and landed in the grass, trying to find grasshoppers to fill its stomach. But the next second, it was discovered that this was a sports field without any small animals at all. creature, so it flew away again in low spirits.
Adam Klein was sitting alone in the stands, without the protection of an awning, and his whole body was directly exposed to the sun. The black baseball cap must not have done much at all. It seemed that it had not been long since he last wiped his sweat. The sweat on his forehead began to slowly seep out again.
It’s hard to imagine that while many cities in the north are still snowing heavily, April in Los Angeles has already opened its arms and enthusiastically embraced the arrival of summer. In two weeks, the annual NFL draft will kick off; in a few weeks, the selection of college football freshmen will also begin; then there will be team training camps for professional teams, and then there will be preseason games. Then comes the regular season.
It seems like the Super Bowl ended not long ago and the new season is already around the corner. But if you think about it carefully, rookie training camp was already six weeks ago, and time seems to pass faster than imagined.
In the past six weeks, the entire league has been busy. Thirty-two teams and more than 300 rookies are like a huge, sophisticated, complicated and cumbersome machine, operating quickly.
Those high-profile rookie players are gradually coming to the fore. Scouts and teams conducted further inspections and reviews to collect information; major media outlets and major columns began to make predictions: the team needs to supplement player positions, the choices the team may make, and the thirty-two rookies in the first round. candidates, the rounds in which famous rookies may fall...
Among the many figures who are so busy that they never touch the ground, Adam is also one of them: some players need to be reassessed three or four times; some players need to be re-evaluated based on their performance in the rookie training camp; some players appear off the court. Trouble and problems need to be verified again; some players' personal life and moral issues need to be collected, and some players need to be interviewed and reviewed in person by the team's decision-making team again.
From a certain perspective, there is actually only a thin line between scouts and private investigators. After all the busy work was over, Adam revised his scouting report again and then submitted it for reference.
However, every time he returns to Los Angeles, no matter how tired or busy he is, Adam will take a day to come to UCLA again to watch Lu Ke's training. This is the last one. Scouting reports have been submitted for all other players except this last one.
In fact, no one is asking about Lu Ke's scouting report. During the rookie training camp, the New Orleans Saints showed great interest. Compared with the quarterback and offensive team, their defensive team is full of holes. The top priority is to absorb fresh blood for the defensive team.
It seems to be extremely lively and exciting, but in fact, no one is willing to take a step forward.
Firstly, Lu Ke's physical test results are indeed unsatisfactory; secondly, the reference data of Lu Ke's entire playing career is meager. Referring to those two games over and over again, the reference value is really too low; thirdly, the Chinese-American , quarterback, this is almost a taboo combination on the football field. There are no Chinese players in other positions. How can it be possible to give the team's brains to Chinese players?
Therefore, the excitement during the rookie training camp, in real life, was only lively in California for a while, and then gradually settled down and cooled down. No one cares, no one cares, no one cares.
Even the scouts no longer care - not criticizing, not criticizing, nor looking down upon, but indifferent. This is a more terrifying situation than the flood of bad reviews.
The reason why Adam didn't give up was just an intuition that kept him going.
As a scout, he has spent thirty-six years. He has experienced several waves of professional players in the league. He has seen countless geniuses, countless fallen geniuses, and countless people who were not favored but failed. An ordinary player who bursts with amazing energy. He possesses a keen intuition that cannot be explained or understood.
He smelled a special temperament in Lu Ke, which he couldn't describe, but he hoped to dig it out. So, he never gave up. Even Blake Simmons gave up, but he still didn't. Now, he is the only scout paying attention to Lu Ke.
The sound of "papa papa" footsteps came from far away, and Adam knew without looking back that the person coming must be Lu Ke.
In the past six weeks, Lu Ke did not give up or waste time. He has been training tirelessly and improving himself step by step. It seems that the rookie training camp has not disrupted his life, and it seems that the six weeks of silence have not made him give up. Even during spring break, when all college students were enjoying their holidays, including players participating in this year's draft, he still did not interrupt training.
At the same time, he was still working hard to complete his university studies and insisted on completing his graduation thesis in the library every day. For those players who were committed to participating in the draft, after their grades reached the NCAA requirements, their studies and academic qualifications had long been abandoned. In the back of my mind.
Sure enough, Lu Ke's figure jogged into the stadium. After running on the track, he suddenly began to accelerate with all his strength, sprinting to a hundred meters, increasing his speed to the extreme; after sprinting over a hundred meters, he slowed down slightly, Use the curve section to make adjustments, then enter the straight, and enter the 100-meter sprint mode again.
This type of variable-speed running puts forward strict requirements on basic physical qualities such as physical strength, endurance, and explosive power. Even the players who achieved the best results in the 60-yard round trip run in the rookie training camp may not be able to complete such demanding training. What's more, Adam knows that Lu Ke is now in the state after completing more than nine thousand meters.
I don't know if it was Adam's illusion, but he felt that Lu Ke's speed had improved, and his recovery ability after sprinting was also increasing. Of course, he didn't hold a stopwatch and didn't know the exact data. It was probably just because of the intolerance and expectation deep in his heart that he vaguely hoped that Lu Ke's hard training would pay off.
After finishing the 10,000-meter run, Lu Ke gradually slowed down and began to do some simple relaxation exercises to adjust his breathing and relax his muscles in preparation for the following basic skills training.
"How's it going? How did you get out of this business trip?" A question came from his ears. Adam turned his head and saw Anthony Jefferson with a smile on his face. It could be seen that he I'm in a good mood.
Adam shrugged, "Same old, same old. If those so-called genius players work as hard as Lu Ke, maybe this year's draft will be exciting."
"But, this is life." Anthony took a long breath, as if letting out the turbid air in his chest, "Are you alone today? Or are you waiting for someone?" For example, a certain team A quarterback coach or offensive coach; for example, a team manager of a certain team, or a senior scout.
Adam didn't speak, just twitched the corner of his mouth.
Anthony knocked on the railing with his palm and showed a bitter smile. He wanted to say something, but in the end he said nothing. "We'll talk about it later. I'm going down to help Lu Ke train."
The entire school has been in the offseason for the past six weeks, with players and coaches on vacation. However, Anthony has been helping Lu Ke train, quietly working hard and persevering in their own way.
Watching Anthony walk off the court, Adam's smile was also a little bitter.
He didn't want to disappoint them, because they had been disappointed too many times. Adam had been trying to make connections, hoping that a quarterback coach could come over to see Lu Ke's training, not the physical test in the training camp, nor the three days. It is a simple test within the scope, but a real and solid basic training.
However, it failed nine times in total, and five of them were actually nodded in agreement on the phone. But in fact, he didn't show up. When I called later, I got either a voicemail or a bunch of excuses. Time and time again, rising high and falling heavily, this feeling is uncomfortable. Adam knew this too.
In fact, he made an appointment with an old friend today, made more than a dozen phone calls, and finally convinced him to come to UCLA to see it in person. However, now he is not 100% sure. What if he is disappointed again after saying it?
In his sight, Lu Ke welcomed Anthony's arrival with a smile on his face. He was not at all discouraged by the downturn in his current situation, nor did he give up on himself because of the gradually quiet future. The raised corners of his mouth sparkled and bloomed in the sun. The vitality, the enthusiasm that comes from the depths of the soul, is so beautiful and so moving.
However, in real life, the living space of dreams is really too small.
"Buzz, buzz." The phone in his pocket began to vibrate. Adam took out his phone and picked it up, "This is Adam Klein."
"Hey, man, where are you? I'm in the tunnel right now." That familiar voice made Adam stand up suddenly. Because he was so excited, all the notebooks and pens on his knees fell to the ground. But Adam didn't care at all, "Old guy, come out. I'm in the stands on the right side of the players' tunnel. You can see me when you come out."
The footsteps got closer and closer, and then the fat man who was as short as a winter melon appeared in sight.
