Almighty Coach Chapter 550

It seemed as though Halls had transformed into another person . He no longer went to play football at night . Instead, he went to bed early every day and put all his energy into his training the next day .

The trip to Spain significantly affected Halls . He had personally witnessed the way two giants of football, Real Madrid and Barcelona, trained their youths . He even had the chance to play in a couple of practice matches . He finally saw what world-class youth training was like .

All of that generated a drive within Halls . He desired to train in Real Madrid or Barcelona . He wanted to enter one of their teams and become a part of them . He aspired to play with awesome teammates and against amazing opponents .

However, because of his dwarfism and his Wagner's line closing, Real Madrid and Barcelona rejected him . It wounded his pride, and this sort of wound quickly inspired his motivation to train .

Just as Dai Li said, only a person with a vivid goal would strive and fight to achieve it .

Halls was doing exactly that . Although he had wished to play in Europe when he was younger, he never really witnessed what a top football club was like in Europe . The dream of playing football in Europe had been based in fantasy . The current Halls had visited Spain and two of the biggest clubs in football, Real Madrid and Barcelona . Playing football in Europe was no longer just a fictitious dream, it had become a target he strived for in reality .

Halls knew that his height was the reason he got rejected by the clubs . He had dwarfism and his Wagner's line had closed . Those were things he could not change . Halls realized deep down that training at Dai Li's place was his last hope of growing any taller .

Having dwarfism meant that Halls had a congenital deficiency, so the teenagers who had already entered the Real Madrid and Barcelona youth academy had a huge advantage over him . In such a dire situation, Halls had to work much harder and put it more effort than the others if he wanted to succeed .

Halls understood that . He knew that his path was much harder than everyone else's . However, he would never give up . He would sprint towards his goal .

. . .

It was ten in the morning and Dai Li was in his office developing a training plan for a client . His phone suddenly rang .

Dai Li grabbed his phone and glanced at it . The caller ID surprised him a little .

"It's Zhongyi Xu . Why is he calling? It should be midnight in China . " Dai Li calculated in his mind . The West Coast of the U . S . had a 16 hours time difference from China . Taking into account daylight savings time, there was at least a 15-hour time difference between the West Coast and China . It was morning for Dai Li, so it was definitely early in the morning in China . Xu should be sleeping .

Old Xu, calling me at this hour? I just hope it's not something too serious . Dai Li did not hesitate and picked up the phone immediately .

"Hello, Old Xu . Why aren't you sleeping right now? Is something wrong?" Dai Li asked directly .

"It's because I don't want to affect your rest . " Zhongyi Xu laughed and said, "But I really do have something that I need to ask you . "

"What's up? Let me hear it," Dai Li said generously .

"Our provincial sports team . The coach's name is Jianguo Chen . He's a tennis coach . You've heard of him, right?" Zhongyi Xu asked .

"That sounds vaguely familiar . " Dai Li paused briefly and said, "But isn't our provincial tennis team pretty weak? There's not a lot of players and even fewer coaches . "

"That's right . Apart from some first-tier cities, the other places have never really developed tennis as a sport . Policy and financial support are also pretty limited . " Zhongyi Xu did not stay on that issue for long . He said, "Jianguo Chen and I have known each other for a long time . He has a son named Zhen Chen who he trained in tennis . The fella is pretty talented . He won the bronze medal in the national games when he was only 18 years old . He also participated in several international competitions this year . In the most recent world rankings, Zhen Chen made it into the top 200 . "

"A male player from our country making it into the top 200 in the world ranking is pretty impressive," Dai Li praised .

"And making it into the top 200 in the world ranking means that he can participate in the qualifiers for the U . S . Open . It's been a long time since a male player from our country participated in one of the four grand slams," Zhongyi Xu said .

There were four grand slam tournaments . The main competitions had 128 spots, among them, 104 were based on the world rankings . The top 104 ranked players were eligible to participate directly in the main competition of the four tennis grand slam tournaments . However, it was inevitable that some of the players would drop out due to injury or other sudden factors or incidents . The lower-ranked players were the substitutes . So, under normal circumstances, as long as someone was among the top 110 in the world there was a chance to participate in the four grand slam tennis tournaments .

Another eight spots were left to wild cards . Sometimes big shot players drop out of the top 104 rankings if they stop participating in competitions for long periods of time . In such situations, these players are provided the chance to enter the grand slams as a wild card . Players from the host country have an advantage in the wild card selection . So, for the Australian Open, there are always a few Australian players selected; for the Wimbledon Open, British players are selected; for the French Open, French players are selected; for the U . S . Open, Americans are selected .

The last 16 spots in the main competition were determined by the qualifiers . Before the four grand slam tennis tournaments, a qualifier would first be organized . A total of 128 athletes would participate in the qualifiers . Participation in the qualifiers was based on the players' world rankings . Three rounds of elimination matches were played, and players who won all three matches were allowed to advance to the main competition .

From the rules, if nobody retired early due to injuries, the top 104 and 232 ranking players would be able to participate in the qualifiers . However, because many usually retired early, the top 250 ranked players are usually able to participate in the qualifier .

Zhen Chen was already in the top 200 in world rankings, so his place in the qualifiers was guaranteed .

"You want my help, right?" Dai Li asked .

"Yes, Jianguo Chen hoped to bring Zhen Chen to the U . S . early to help get him acclimatized to the environment . It would be ideal to find a U . S . tennis coach in advance so that he could guide Zhen Chen in advance . You are more familiar with the U . S . so I would like to ask for your help," Zhongyi Xu stated .

"No problem, you can let Jianguo Chen know that he can contact me directly," Dai Li said .

"Jianguo Chen isn't very wealthy . His is an average, working-class household . They rely on their fixed salary . Grooming Zhen Chen to be a tennis player cost them a lot of money, so I hope you don't get him someone too expensive," Zhongyi Xu reminded .

"Is that so…" Dai Li hesitated for a moment and continued, "Old Xu, you are a coach . You must know that, in the sports training industry, any skilled coach will not be cheap . The better they are, the higher their wages . "

"I know, I know . That's the reason I'm calling you in the middle of the night . I need you to help me think of something . You're doing very well in the U . S . , so you must know many people . Perhaps you could help Zhen Chen," Zhongyi Xu said .

"How about this? Let him train at my training center . Some of my clients are reputable tennis players, they're among the top 50 in the world rankings . Zhen Chen can train with them . Although it's just fitness training, perhaps he will learn a thing or two . If it's possible, I'll try recommending some of the players here practice with Zhen Chen," Dai Li said .

"Then, in terms of the fees, you better give them a discount . I know the fees at your place is amazingly expensive," Zhongyi Xu said intentionally .

Dai Li understood what Zhongyi Xu meant . He chuckled and said, "If it were anyone else, I wouldn't bother but it's you, Old Xu . How can I say no to you! By the time they get here, it'll only be a few days before the U . S . Open . I won't charge them anything . "

. . .

Three days later, Jianguo Chen and Zhen Chen arrived in Los Angeles .

Jianguo Chen used to be the coach of the Hanbei Provincial Sports team, but Dai Li didn't have much of an impression of him . First of all, they were in different sports . Second of all, provincial tennis had always been a niche sport, it wasn't important .

Zhen Chen was a genius youth tennis player, part of the new generation in China . Dai Li used the detector on him and discovered that his talent potential grade was B+ . It was enough to dominate in China and possibly participate in some of the lower-level international tours . However, when it came to competitions like the four grand slams, he would barely manage to meet the minimum requirement for the main competition .

In the U . S . , tennis was fairly popular . The U . S . has a lot of specialized schools in tennis, and a large number of tennis players are produced annually . Among Dai Li's clients, there were a few reputable tennis players in the top 50 of the world rankings . As the U . S . Open neared, they trained more frequently . Their fitness training was the most important part of their training schedule .

Under normal circumstances, the U . S . Open would last for around half a month . Most of the non-seeded players would be in both the individual singles competition and the doubles or mixed doubles competition . Some participants would even have to deal with both matches in singles and doubles . They needed a lot of stamina, so they were willing to place more emphasis on their fitness training before the competition .

For Zhen Chen, these tennis players were "idols" that he didn't think he'd ever have a chance to meet .

Zhen Chen's ranking was just inside the top 200 . In theory, his ranking was just 150 spots away from the top 50, which doesn't seem like too big a deal . However, when it came to tennis, the jump from 200 to 50 was like heaven and earth . A lot of the players ranked around 200 would not ever be pitted against a top 50-ranked player .

In tennis, the qualifier was determined by the world rankings . For example, the most important ATP tournaments were the four grand slam tournaments . Following that was the ATP 1000, then the ATP 500, and then the ATP 250 . A player ranked in the top 10 of the world would not participate in the ATP250 tournament because, to them, the talent level in an ATP 250 tournament was too low .

After that, it was the Challengers tournament 125K +H level, the Challengers 125K, Challengers 100K, 75K, 50K, and 40K . For Challengers tournaments below 100K, it would be difficult to see any players ranked in the top 100 . After the Challengers tournaments, there was the Hope tournament . Only players who were not in the world rankings would participate in the lower levels of the Hope tournament .

So for any players ranked within the world's top 200, at most, they would take part in a few of the Challengers tournaments . It was difficult to participate in tournaments above the ATP 250 so, it wasn't often possible to play against players in the top 50 world rankings .

Even when players ranked within the top 232 in the world were allowed to take part in the qualifiers of a grand slam tournament, the three rounds of games were all death matches for the players ranked in the 200 regions . If they wanted to advance through to the main tournament, they had to get three consecutive victories against opponents higher rankings . There would have to be an upset every match . One upset was still possible, but to have three consecutive upsets was extremely unlikely .

So, in the qualifiers of the four grand slams, the ones who ultimately made it to the main tournament were usually the top 150 players . Those ranked outside of the top 150 could barely ever make it to the main tournament .

. . .

On the training ground, Jianguo Chen watched Zhen Chen as he trained . With a benevolent smile, he said, "When Zhen Chen first picked up a tennis racquet, he wasn't even taller than the racquet . Back then, I had just retired and was supposed to become the coach of the team . He was like my tail . I trained while he picked up the balls . Later, I saw that he imitated the athletes swinging the racquets . It was then that I began teaching him tennis .

"Zhen Chen had talent . Among the athletes I trained, he was the most talented . He only needed to learn the things I taught him once . From then on, I decided that even if I went broke, I would properly groom him . I hoped that one day he could play in the grand slam tournaments, and achieve everything I couldn't . "

Jianguo Chen sighed . "When I was an athlete, I hoped to play in one of the four grand slam tournaments . I would have been satisfied with one match . However, back in our day, it was impossible . Tennis players didn't even have the chance to take part in tournaments outside China . Especially after the tennis player defection during the 1980s, our chances of leaving the country for competitions got even slimmer . I've never left the country to participate in any competition . "

Dai Li, who was at this side, nodded . Back then, a tennis player competing in a tournament in the U . S . left the team and stayed in the U . S . He even applied for government protection to stay in the United States . However, if one thought carefully, only people who were being politically persecuted were eligible to apply for government protection . An athlete was not a politician with influence . Who would politically persecute an athlete? So, the athlete wanted to stay in the U . S . and the American government was more than willing to use him as a political tool . Today, the athlete would have been deported by the U . S . immigration service .

Jianguo Chen then continued, "When I saw that Zhen Chen made it into the top 200, I was really happy . He has the chance to take part in a grand slam tournament . It was my lifelong dream and, although I never realized it, there is a chance my son will realize this dream for me!"

As Jianguo Chen said this, he became more and more excited .

Dai Li looked at Jianguo Chen's face and felt a tinge of pity . With Zhen Chen's current standard, not to mention the main tournament of the grand slam,it would be difficult for him to make it through the first round .

It was always difficult working in tennis back in China . Dai Li knew what the tennis environment in China was like . He glanced at Zhen Chen, who was in the middle of his training . Zhen Chen looked serious, but Dai Li could feel that Zhen Chen was a little nervous .

It wasn't a tournament or a match, only a normal training session . Yet, Zhen Chen was actually nervous . It wasn't because Zhen Chen was mentally weak, it was because he knew how important this training was . He valued training and he treasured the chance to train with tennis players in the top 50, even if it were only fitness training .

"Looks like even Zhen Chen knows that he is living the dream of two generations . His participation in the U . S . Open isn't just for him, it is also for his father!"

Dai Li finally made the decision . He decided to help this father and son pursue their dreams .

Chapter end