When he arrived at his destination in Walnut Creek, Gan Guoyang got out of the car and still vomited all over the floor.
This body was obviously not used to riding in a car. The slight bumps and the smell of gasoline made his stomach churn.
Gan Guohui patted Gan Guoyang's back and handed him water, saying, "Cousin, why are you still motion sick?"
Gan Guoyang said: "Nonsense, I have never ridden in a car in China. I can't stand the smell of gasoline... vomit..."
Coming to a country like the United States that relies on cars, Gan Guoyang had to adapt to riding in a car as soon as possible.
Cap LaVine sent Buddha to the West and took the two of them to the gymnasium registration office, where they met Frank Alok, the founder of the summer camp.
Being engaged in basketball teaching activities in the San Francisco area, it is impossible not to know Kaap LaVine. Alok was a little surprised that LaVine arrived in person.
Knowing that Garp sent two Chinese teenagers to the training camp, Alok asked: "Chinese? Are they the children of your...friends?"
Garp shook his head and said: "No, they have made some tricks on the streets of San Francisco recently, especially the tall man, which is worth observing."
Karp was referring to Gan Guoyang. Alok glanced at him and said, "The body shape is great, but if he wants to take a professional path, we may not be the best choice here."
What Alok means is not that their summer camp is unprofessional, but that those who choose to participate in this type of summer camp are mainly basketball enthusiasts.
Satellite towns around big cities like Walnut Creek are middle-class areas, and most of the people who come to this summer camp are white, middle-class children aged 12 or 13.
Basketball is more of an after-school hobby for these children, and no one thinks about playing professional basketball in the future.
The truly talented ones all stay in famous basketball schools. In the summer, they either participate in improvement training camps organized by retired professional players, or play in some amateur leagues for money. Who would join this kind of white basketball youth class?
Karp said: "This kid's situation is quite special. He comes from China and he doesn't seem to have been exposed to basketball for a long time, but he is very talented. In short, please pay more attention to him. If you need anything, you can do it. Talk to me."
Faced with the favor offered by Karp, Alok said hurriedly: "No problem, we will cherish basketball talents. There is a coach in our summer camp, and his level is quite good. I will ask him to give special guidance to this young guy. .However...he has some difficulties in his personal life and he needs a coaching job to get him back on his feet..."
Karp understood what Alok meant and said: "I understand. I will try to get him an interview for a coaching job. If he is good enough, I think it shouldn't be a problem."
"Thank you so much. He was my assistant basketball coach at Notre Dame University. He is very talented...but, you know, talented people are always a little careless in their life planning."
"Life is like this, it won't be perfect." When Karp spoke, he looked at Gan Guoyang, who was concentrating on dribbling training not far away, "I leave this guy to you. I believe in your professionalism, Professor Alok."
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Excel in basketball summer camp provides food and accommodation, and the training time is ten days in total. From this perspective, the price of US$150 is still reasonable.
Gan Guoyang was arranged to live in the student dormitory of Concord High School, eat in the school cafeteria, and train at the COPA Sports Center two blocks away.
On the 3rd, they got familiar with the environment, settled into their accommodation, called the restaurant to report that everything was safe, and the two went to bed early with excitement.
On the morning of the 4th, the two got up at seven o'clock and arrived at the sports center at eight o'clock. The first training session was at 8:30 and everyone arrived on time.
Gan Guoyang and Gan Guohui are not the only Asians in their twenties, and they have five yellow faces.
But there wasn't a single black face there, and there were absolutely no black children attending such a summer camp.
Gan Guoyang's height stood out among them. Most of the children were under 6 feet tall, and some looked just growing, as thin as a bean sprout.
When the coach didn't come to warm up, Gan Guoyang used a few gliding dunks, making those little kids open their mouths, thinking, is this the person training with us?
Frank Alok and Bobby Behrman came to the gym wearing white sports polo shirts and shorts, and happened to see Gan Guoyang performing his one-arm gliding dunk.
Alok said to Behrman: "Bobby, that's the boy. The person Garp wants to take care of, he will be left to you."
"Sunny-Gump, yes, he has some background, no wonder he is so arrogant."
"Arrogant? Have you known each other before?"
"Oh no, it's nothing, I just felt it."
Bellman took out his whistle and blew it hard. The whistle resounded throughout the stadium, and everyone turned their heads and looked this way.
"Good morning, dear ladies and gentlemen, your basketball summer camp has begun. I'll give you 10 fucking seconds to line up in this line, otherwise be prepared to turn back and run 20 times!"
Bellman's shout was even harsher than his whistle, and then he began to count down "10, 9, 8..." and everyone immediately swarmed over to line up.
Alok said: "Bobby, this is a summer camp for teenagers. It doesn't need to be so... so harsh..."
"3, 2, 1...you see they are lined up. The younger the children, the more they need strict discipline, just like cattle."
"But that will lead to complaints from parents, so be gentler Bobby."
"This is already the gentlest me...Okay, come and explain the training content to them."
Alok gave an introduction to the children at the summer camp, including the time, training courses, extracurricular activities, food and accommodation, etc.
The ten-day summer camp course includes shooting, dribbling, rebounding, running, defense, passing, offensive movements, 3v3, speed and agility, and full-court 5v5 confrontation.
"Today is the first lesson of the training camp, which is about shooting. We first have a 15-minute theoretical lesson and then start practicing."
The first lesson was the most basic shooting lesson. Gan Guoyang was not complacent because of his accurate shooting and refused to listen to the coach's explanation.
On the contrary, he was very humble. He listened very carefully to the 15-minute theoretical class, and then started to kill in the practical class...
Halfway through the practical class, Alok looked at Gan Guoyang with his hands on his hips and asked Bellman: "Has this kid ever missed a shot?"
"two."
"Only missed two shots?"
"Two balls hit the rim."
"...This guy is really not suitable for our summer camp, but he listens and practices very seriously. We really should give him some more professional training."
"Leave it to me. He's a very interesting guy. I hope he's not just a hollow person."
The training lasts from 8:30 to 2:30 in the afternoon, with a half-hour lunch and rest period at noon.
After the training ends at 2:30, the members are free to move around. They can stay in the training hall to continue training, or participate in other interesting projects in the summer camp.
Gan Guoyang was not interested in anything else. He was full of energy and continued to stay in the gym for shooting practice. He still learned a lot from today's class.
Although he has extremely high shooting talent, his shooting skills are constantly improving and never-ending. No one can shoot perfectly and can only keep getting closer to perfection.
He was gradually the only one left in the training hall. Gan Guohui left and went to play video games with his new friends. There was a Pac-Man arcade machine in the summer camp activity center.
The half was filled with Gan Guoyang's sweat. He kept taking shots again and again in order to form the most profound muscle memory.
Bellman appeared like a ghost under the basket, startling Gan Guoyang. He stopped and looked at Bellman and said, "Are you here to help me pick up the ball? If so, I will be more efficient."
"No, I'm here to create some obstacles for you. Shoot the ball in the air. Is your future dream to play with a shooting machine?"
Bellman is about 185cm tall. It is difficult for Gan Guoyang to have any impact on one-on-one defense at this height.
But when Behrman took out a one-meter-long foam board from his back, Gan Guoyang knew that things were not that simple.
In the next few days, after each training session, Behrman would stay in the training hall to practice with Gan Guoyang and start a small game.
The two people who had previously exchanged insults on the phone had a different view of each other.
Bellman originally thought that Gan Guoyang was a middle school boy who knew nothing about the world. After a few days of training, he felt Gan Guoyang's overflowing talent and passion for basketball.
And Gan Guoyang also received quite professional guidance from Bellman. This guy is simply a basketball encyclopedia. He knows the details of every technique and the content of every tactic, and he can always come up with something. New tricks come to help Gan Guoyang practice.
Of course, he always had a bad mouth and was always making personal attacks on trainers.
Gan Guoyang spent the equivalent of 150 US dollars, which came with a basketball personal trainer worth 1,000 US dollars, plus a crash course in swearing.
What makes him wonder is why such an excellent and versatile coach is working as an assistant coach at a summer camp in a small town in California?
On the ninth and penultimate day of the training course, after the speed and agility course, Bellman did not appear in the training hall.
Gan Guoyang completed the extra training alone, but he didn't practice for too long. He felt a little uncomfortable without Behrman yelling about the strange things.
On the way back to the dormitory, he saw Behrman lying in the stairwell smelling of alcohol, talking nonsense, and asked Gan Guoyang if he wanted a drink.
It turned out that he had gone drinking and was very drunk.
Without saying a word, Gan Guoyang carried Behrman on his shoulders and sent him back to the dormitory.
Along the way, Bellman kept yelling and cursing: "Put me down! You little fart!"
"Are you crazy? You idiot... I'm going to rip off your head and use it as a shit basin!"
"You little beast, you birdman!"
Gan Guoyang gave him a slap in the face and fell silent.
Early the next morning, Behrman knocked on the door of Gan Guoyang's dormitory. He said to Gan Guoyang: "Sorry, I lost my temper yesterday."
"It's okay. I felt so good about that slap. I've wanted to slap you for a long time."
"...I can't practice with you today. I have to interview for a high school coaching position."
"Wow, congratulations Mr. Behrman, your basketball career has made significant progress."
"Hey Gan, you haven't joined the high school team yet, have you? If I succeed in the interview, would you like to join my team?"
"I don't want to."
"Why?"
"I want to keep my talent in Chinatown."
