The relationship between Kip Kleist and Adam Klein goes back twenty-five years, when Kip was still a college student and Adam was already a well-known scout in the industry. The first confrontation between the two men was related to the draft.
At that time, Kip was studying at Princeton University, taking care of both the football and baseball teams - even in 2011, this is still very common. On the football team, he served as a linebacker on the defensive team, but he was not Top players.
In Adam's scouting report, he pointedly and directly stated, "Kleist is more suitable for baseball than football. Of course, he doesn't look like a good baseball player." This A scouting report directly led to Kip being unsuccessful in the draft. The young and energetic Kip directly found Adam and confronted him face to face, and the two broke up on bad terms.
But as time passed, Kip gradually understood that Adam was right: he was not a good football player, nor was he a good baseball player.
After decisively ending his professional playing career, Kip tried to switch careers and became a coach, and successfully discovered his talent: offensive coach. He can often provide the quarterback or tight end with more different perspectives and tactical arrangements as a defensive player.
At the same time, Kip took the initiative to turn hostility into friendship with Adam, and the two parties became good friends. Three years later, under Adam's guidance, Kip became the offensive coaching assistant of the Chicago Bears, officially entered the league, and started his professional coaching career.
In the past two decades, Kip has coached many teams, with ups and downs, but has never been completely unemployed. Last season, he served as the tight ends coach for the Carolina Panthers, but unfortunately, the team's record hit rock bottom and "won" the No. 1 pick, so Kip was laid off.
After many twists and turns, Kip came to the San Francisco 49ers, who were also trying to make a comeback, and became the quarterback coach.
Last season, the San Francisco 49ers ended with a poor record of six wins and ten losses. They failed to enter the playoffs for eight consecutive years. The team's top management was furious and launched a comprehensive purge from top to bottom. The team manager and The two most powerful figures as the team's head coach were both fired, and then the power was delegated to the new manager Trent Baalke and the new head coach Jim Harbaugh. It was up to them to make the decision. The coaching team owned members and team players.
Kip was Jim's chosen quarterback coach.
The San Francisco 49ers, who are waiting to be revitalized, are now in a state of insecurity and uncertainty, and the entire team is undergoing reorganization. The quarterback position is no different.
The team's current three quarterbacks are Alex Smith, David Carr and Troy Smith. Alex is the main quarterback, and his strength is above average; but the strength of the two backup quarterbacks is unsatisfactory. Trent and Jim are indeed interested in selecting rookie quarterbacks in the draft. Substitute to supplement the team's lineup.
But after the assessment of the rookie training camp, both Trent and Jim believed that Lu Ke was not suitable for the 49ers. They had already locked in four other quarterbacks. In the draft, just picking one of them would be enough to make up for the loss. The team's quarterback bench is deep. Therefore, they did not even send an invitation to Lu Ke for an interview.
In the past six weeks, Adam made more than a dozen calls, "You have to come and see this young man." Time and time again, tirelessly, finally, Kip nodded and agreed, not to inspect Lu Ke, but to It's for the friendship of old friends. Twenty-five years of friendship, it was the least he could do.
After walking into the stadium stands, Kip was already breathing heavily, "I don't like the stands in college stadiums. I never have. They are really unfriendly to fat people." Before he could reach Adam, Kip He had already begun to complain, but with that Maitreya-like smile, you could tell that he was joking.
"Sometimes, for some people, it's worth it." Adam replied nonchalantly, obviously meaning something.
Kip did not refute, and nodded with a smile, "I know. But the best may not necessarily be the most suitable."
Kip admitted that during the training camp, he was personally quite optimistic about Lu Ke. Even though his shortcomings were obvious, his passing ability and defensive reading were still eye-catching; however, Trent and Jim were the only team members There is no place for Lu Ke in the blueprint. To be precise, there is no place for a quarterback of Lu Ke's type. Therefore, Kip could only give up.
"He comes here for training every day?" Kip asked casually as he sat down next to Adam and looked at Lu Ke who was doing basic passing training on the court.
"Yes, after the rookie training camp, every day has been uninterrupted." Adam's understatement made Kip look surprised, which made Adam's eyes reveal a smile, "And every day's training He has never let up, and you will know when you see it for yourself. What is even more incredible is that he has actually improved compared to six weeks ago."
"Haha, Adam, shake off." Kip laughed loudly.
A breakthrough and improvement in strength within six weeks? If they were in high school or early college, this would be possible; but for players who graduate from college and participate in the draft, their skills and talents have been basically finalized, and there is bound to be room for growth, but it is not the case. limited.
Adam's comment, in Kip's opinion, should be a joke. But then Kip discovered that Adam did not speak or defend, but looked at the court with stern eyes. His determined posture made Kip stunned. Without saying anything more, he turned to look at the court.
The excitement and excitement in competition always make people excited; but training in real life is extremely boring. Especially those basic skills, just repeat, repeat, repeat again, there are no shortcuts, and you can't be lazy at all. Only by experiencing these tedium can you polish the brilliance on the court.
Gradually, gradually, Kip's eyes lit up.
At this time, Lu Ke was conducting fixed-point passing training, but the whole training was a little special.
Under Lu Ke's feet was a rope ladder. He had to constantly move left and right to correct his movements. At the same time, he also needed to go around the small orange cones back and forth to cultivate his awareness of movement in the pocket. This requires absolute concentration, and if your mind wanders just a little bit, you may stumble directly.
The target of the pass is about twenty-five yards away. It is a six-foot-long net, just like a basketball net, only much longer. The entire net opening is even narrower than a basketball net. It will be enough for a football. Just throw it in; then adjust it to a 45-degree angle to the sky, simulating the position and angle of the player receiving the ball with both hands.
Anthony stood next to the net bag, observing and recording the parabola, angle and force of each pass, and then loudly gave feedback to Lu Ke, asking for adjustments for the next pass. After passing the ball thirty times in one position, Anthony will change positions, maybe closer, maybe farther, to cover different corners of the court as much as possible.
For an hour, for a whole hour, Lu Ke lost count of his passes. Kip counted the first one hundred seriously, but gradually he couldn't keep up. But what is certain is that Lu Ke’s passing success rate is really amazing:
The success rate in the short pass area is 90%, just a little more; the success rate in the mid-pass area is 80%, which is a little unstable; the success rate in the long pass area... Kip I don’t even remember that Lu Ke missed the ball in the long pass area, so it’s 100%?
Just thinking about it in his mind, Kip was already in shock. He had seen all kinds of fancy passes. Charile Frye could even kneel down on one knee in the middle of the court and pass the football directly across the goal - sixty yards away. The goal is not just about arm strength, but also takes into account factors such as wind speed, angle, and control.
Today, Kip saw an even more magical performance. It's an exaggeration, but the first player that comes to mind is Aaron Rodgers. Of course, there is no comparison between Lu Ke and Aaron. There is many levels of difference between the two. However, the character that comes to Kip's mind at this moment is Aaron Rogers.
This hard work and perseverance are really amazing!
More importantly, Adam didn't lie: in just six weeks, Lu Ke's strength has been significantly improved again, not only his passing accuracy, but also his movement, control and handling of the entire person in the pocket. Getting more and more comfortable has nothing to do with whether there are defensive players participating in the training, but the stability, accuracy, and control of Lu Ke's footsteps have all been improved, all of which make Lu Ke's passing more and more calm.
"God, how did he do it?" Kip couldn't help but exclaimed, turned his head, and then saw the proud smile on Adam's face. There is no need to explain or explain, the facts are clearly laid out in front of you: training, arduous training.
Kip couldn't help but chuckle, thought about it seriously, and then said, "Adam, I really want to choose him, and I like him very much. But, you know, the team has its own plans, and I can't make the decision." Even though he was suffocating, Kip still had to endure the pain and said.
Adam nodded to express his understanding. After working in the industry for so many years, how could he not know? "I know, it's not just the 49ers, it's the same for other teams. Every team has its own considerations, I just think..." Adam breathed out softly, "Someone should take a look, not just me. .”
The sorrow and sadness in his words made Kip silent. In just six weeks, the world has gone through great changes, and it seems that all fate has been decided. "I was just thinking that if I didn't force you to come here, I would definitely regret it. But now that you are here, I tried my best. Professional competitive sports are so cruel, so be it."
After a moment of silence, Adam raised his head and looked at Lu Ke in the field, "Tell me, are we missing history, or are we witnessing history?"
Kip opened his mouth, a little stunned.
