Chapter 235: Laugh Impudently
Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio
The door of the meeting room opened, and the coaches who attended the meeting filed out.
"Sha!" Guodong Li called out to Baojun Sha and picked up his pace to catch up with him.
"Sha, did we win this battle?" Guodong Li asked in a low voice.
"Yes, we won," Baojun Sha nodded. "I thought Dai Li would struggle a bit, but I didn't expect he would compromise so quickly."
"Yes. In my opinion, it's a really poor move to ask the athletes to sign up voluntarily. Maybe he won't even be able to scrape together four athletes!"
"It might not be so bad. Dai Li should have no problem finding four athletes to build the relay team. However, the level of the athletes is crucial. If athletes who want to join the relay team can't participate in individual events, I'm guessing no great athletes will sign up," Baojun Sha said.
"You're right. I think that athletes who sign up to join the relay team will be mediocre at best. If they're not qualified to participate in individual events in the National Games, it's better for them to join the relay team so that they can at least get the opportunity to attend the Games." Guodong Li's face lit up with a smile.
Baojun Sha deadpanned, "Now what I'm worried about is if Dai Li can help the relay team to get through the qualification round and enter the official race, then…"
"As you said, that's just an if." Guodong Li's smile widened.
"Don't forget, he was a coach on the national team and also the coach of the relay team that won a gold medal at the Asian Games! No one could gain a foothold in the national team without true skill and experience," Baojun Sha reminded him.
"One can't redistribute what doesn't exist! Without high level athletes, no matter how capable the coach is, a good result is impossible, but anyway, Dai Li is young enough, he could take part in the race himself… Ha…" As Guodong Li spoke, he laughed impudently
...
The notice for registering for the relay team had been posted on the bulletin board.
Athletes on the sprint team had gathered in front of the bulletin board to check the notice.
"We can sign up voluntarily, then the coach will select team members from the applicants. That sounds good, before the members of the relay was going to be decided directly by the coaches!"
"Is it open to everyone? If so, I'd like to have a go at it. This is an opportunity to attend the National Games! In other events, I would never qualify to attend the National Games."
"It's because yesterday some athletes went to Coach Weidong Chu to petition against the plan for the relay race, so they decided to let us sign up voluntarily."
"I've heard that the track and field team stipulated that athletes who signed up for the relay race had to focus on it by giving up their individual events."
"Right, see, that's what they put in the notice."
"If individual events have to be given up, I'll never participate in the relay race. Relays are no competition for individual events."
"It also says in the notice that once the lineup of the relay is determined, it won't be changed until the end of the National Games, which means if the relay team can get through the qualification round, the team will enter the official race at the National Games."
"But the team has to be strong enough to get through the qualification round! It'll be very difficult for our team to achieve a good result in the relay race considering our current position."
The athletes began to buzz with discussion. Everyone had different ideas in mind. Especially for mediocre athletes who otherwise might not be qualified to enter individual events, to attend the National Games by joining the relay team was a unique opportunity for them.
Behind them, Kun Shen was looking at the notice with a deadpan expression. Tingshan Chen, who was standing beside Kun Shen, was smiling disdainfully. However, the expression of Yueyang Zhu was different from the expressions of Kun Shen and Tingshan Chen. Yueyang Zhu seemed to be lost in thought, his brows knitted.
"Interesting. Look! Once the lineup of the relay team is determined, it won't be changed anymore, which means athletes who don't want to give up individual events will have no opportunity to join the relay team. This is pushing us to make a choice between the relay race and our individual events," Tingshan Chen said.
"Well, Tingshan Chen, are you interested in the relay race?" Kun Shen asked coldly.
"Of course not! I'll definitely choose individual events. I'll do my best in the qualification round, so I might enter the official race in August as well. Look, Yueyang Zhu seems hesitant!" Tingshan Chen pointed at Yueyang Zhu.
Yueyang Zhu shook his head, "I was thinking that Dai Li used to be a coach for the national team. I've heard that he was Li Xue's apprentice. He should definitely have some real skill."
"Yueyang Zhu, are you complimenting that newcomer Dai Li? You would probably be scolded if you said that to Coach Hua Liu!" Kun Shen said.
"I mean, in case the relay team can get through the qualification round and enter the official race in August, and we're knocked out in the qualification round, it'll be extremely embarrassing for us. Then, we'll have to watch those who aren't as good as us participate in the official race in August helplessly." As Yueyang Zhu said this, he looked at Tingshan Chen and Kun Shen.
"Are you one hundred percent sure you can enter the official competition in August? I'm not so confident anyway."
"Don't worry! In case what you said really occurs, we can join the relay team then," Tingshan Chen said immediately.
"But it says in this notice that once the lineup of the relay team is determined, it can not be changed." Yueyang Zhu said.
"We're strong, and we're faster! With us, the relay team will achieve better results. Why wouldn't they allow us to join them? Maybe Dai Li will come and beg us to join his relay team then." Saying this, Tingshan Chen laughed impudently.
...
"Li, we get off work in one hour, and the registration of the relay team will be ended at that time. Now, seven athletes have signed up." With a wad of registration forms in hand, Coach Lu walked to Dai Li and handed the forms to him; then Coach Lu continued, "I still have something to handle, so I have to leave now, and I'll tell athletes who want to sign up to come directly to you!"
"Thank you very much for your hard work, Coach Lu," Dai Li said politely as he took the forms from Coach Lu.
Coach Lu was the one who had reported during the meeting held earlier in the week. He was about to retire, so he didn't work very hard. He might have come a little bit late in the morning and left a little bit earlier in the afternoon, but everyone just turned a blind eye to the way he muddled through.
Now that Coach Lu had sent the forms to Dai Li so early, it was apparent that he wanted to leave early again. Dai Li was undemanding of old-timers like coach Lu, who were immune to both soft and hard tactics. He believed he should appreciate their cooperation, for they were accommodating him. If they weren't cooperative, one could do nothing with them.
This was how things worked inside the system. Seniority was a powerful thing in administrative departments, governmental institutions, and long-established state-owned enterprises; but in private enterprises, no matter how old one was, it meant nothing if they didn't work hard, and money could only be earned through effort.
Dai Li's respect towards his elders left Coach Lu with a pretty good impression.He said, "Li, not so many athletes signed up this time, only seven. I'm guessing you need at least six athletes, if you count substitutes. You have very few alternatives."
"If the athletes focus their stamina on the relay training, five athletes will also be enough for me, as in, four members and one substitute. If the athletes aren't distracted by training for individual events, their training intensity will also be lower, so the probability of injuries caused during practice will also be lower. Therefore, downsizing is less likely to happen," Dai Li explained.
"It's good, you know this very well." Coach Lu smiled and said, "In my opinion, you may postpone the registration for half a month. After all, a lot of athletes don't want to give up their individual events right now. At the beginning of next month, we'll have a practice meet, held specifically for the National Games. Many athletes will be knocked out in the test meet. These athletes won't be qualified for individual events at the National Games, so they will definitely sign up for the relay race, and you may have more candidates then."
"Thanks for reminding me, Coach Lu, but the relay team is not a charity. It would be a shame for me to take in those "second-hand" athletes who have been knocked out," Dai Li said with a smile.
"Second-hand athletes? I've been a coach for 30 years; this is the first time I've heard that athletes could be described as first-hand and second-hand. Ha, Li, you really are funny!" Coach Lu was amused by Dai Li and started to laugh impudently.