Bruins head coach Billy Martin appeared on the court. He was wearing simple sports shorts and the Bruins' iconic dark blue tennis cap. His cheeks were slightly red and his eyebrows were almost invisible, but he looked amiable.
, the slightly fat figure is still well maintained compared to his age.
When he was young, Martin was not an outstanding player. He was more active in the doubles field, but even his performance in doubles could not be said to be outstanding. As a coach, Martin had his own understanding and strategies, and was very good at discovering the shining points of players.
Considered one of the best coaches in Bruins history.
"How's it going? Are you going well with your exam preparations? If there are still assignments that haven't been completed, I suggest you finish them immediately after the training is over. I don't want to receive a call from your college professor complaining that our practice time has been disrupted.
Check out your final exam plans.”
Martin joked with a smile, and all the players standing neatly in front burst into low laughter.
"Honestly, I want to complain that the winter training time is too short. I don't have a place to appeal yet, but the NCAA stipulates that practice time is not allowed to exceed two hours a day, so just two hours. I'm used to it."
As he spoke, he deliberately spread his hands to make a helpless expression, and even rolled his eyes, which immediately made everyone laugh even more cheerfully.
Assistant coach Grant Chen, who was standing nearby, had to cough twice to remind Martin not to make a "gaffe". If the NCAA observers found out, he would inevitably have to be reprimanded verbally again - the problem is, when the time comes, he will be reprimanded.
It's not Martin, but him as the assistant coach.
Martin secretly glanced at Grant's eyes, quickly pursed his lips, and straightened his back in an exaggerated way.
"This year, our goal is still to win the championship. We have always been a strong contender for the championship. I am tired of saying this, 'I have confidence in you.'"
"However, our strong competitiveness does not mean that our opponents will hand over the victory to us. Someone in the south is watching eagerly, not to mention Virginia, Oklahoma, etc. are all powerful and worthy of admiration.
opponents, so we don’t have the capital to take it lightly.”
Old enemies, there are old enemies in any competitive sport, and because of the existence of old enemies, competitive sports showdowns become full of sparks——
For example, "Real Madrid VS Barcelona", such as "Manchester United VS Manchester City", such as "Peyton-Manning (Peyton-Manning) VS Tom-Brady (Tom-Brady)", and others such as "Raphael Nadal VS Ronaldo".
Jay Federer" and so on.
In fact, even comics are no exception. "Batman VS Joker" and "Superman VS Luthor", the more powerful the opponent, the more exciting the showdown will be.
The same is true in the NCAA arena.
"UCLA VS University of Southern California", these two schools also located in Los Angeles are rivals. It's not just tennis, or even just competitive sports. It should be said that it is a comprehensive hostility in all aspects. In any game or duel, every match
Every encounter is a fight to the death.
The "someone in the South" Martin refers to is the USC Trojans.
Before this year, from 2009 to 2012, the University of Southern California completed four consecutive NCAA National Championship team championships. This was the first four consecutive championships since 1969 - and it was also the University of Southern California that created the feat that year.
After 40 years, they won four consecutive championships, which also brought the number of national team championship trophies of the Trojans to 21, far exceeding the Bruins' 16. For this reason, students from the two schools are living in daily life.
There was no shortage of fights.
However, in the first half of May this year, the University of Southern California unexpectedly lost to Ohio State University in the quarterfinals of the National Championship with a score of "3:4" and missed the chance to meet UCLA in the semifinals; however,
, the Bruins also unfortunately lost to the University of Virginia in the finals and missed the championship.
Entering the new season, whether it is the Trojans or the Bruins, everyone is sharpening their swords and preparing for the 300th round.
"We are not the defending champions, but the championship heart is always beating in our chests!"
As he spoke, Martin hit his chest with his right fist, making a banging sound.
"Up! Brown Bear!"
In an instant, the players also became extremely passionate, beating their chests together and shouting at the top of their lungs.
"Up! Brown Bear!"
A slogan and a roar made Gawain's blood boil.
It’s been a long time, it’s really been a long time! Different from the happiness brought by the warm-up and practice, at this time, you can feel the cohesion of the team firmly united, the wanton passion and publicity of youth, which makes people’s hearts surge -
—
Once, they believed that a victory could change their lives; once, they believed that a championship could change their destiny.
It wasn't until they grew up that they realized that life is not that simple, and that life and destiny are far more than just a game and a championship.
However, Gawain missed that belief very much, and with a silly courage, he sprinted towards a goal passionately, as if even the sun and the wind were cheering him on, life was still so simple,
Destiny is still in your own hands.
"Up! Brown Bear!"
Gawain raised his fist high and roared with all his strength, but at this time everyone had already dispersed and was getting ready to warm up. Looking at Gawain who was beating chicken blood alone, they looked at each other, and their movements couldn't help but pause, with those burning eyes.
Gawain also became a little cautious.
But after all, he was a soul that had been tempered by society and had just experienced an incredible event. Gawain still remained calm and continued to speak loudly:
"I'm the first to prepare footwork exercises, who else is with me?"
Footwork practice is one of the most tedious and laborious but also the most important items in basic tennis training. In normal times, it takes some courage for anyone to practice footwork. Although I know that this is a necessary training, I still can't help but want to postpone it a little.
Postpone it a little longer.
At this time, when they saw Gawain being the first to call for footwork training, everyone had a ghostly expression on their faces. Even Macdonald was full of question marks——
Gawain was indeed very strange this morning. Could it be that... he had a fever?
"I'll do it, let's go together."
Among the crowd, Jilong said loudly and took the initiative to walk towards Gawain, "Start with lateral movement first? Or start with basic steps?"
"Ho ho ho, little prince! Little prince! Little prince!"
The players all started to cheer and call out Giron's nickname, it was so lively.
After all, Gao Wen is only a freshman and has been in the team for less than four months. Although the atmosphere in the team is harmonious, they are not too familiar with each other. Even if they want to make fun of each other, there is no reason; but Jilong is different.
From the perspective of strength and status, the sparring between Jilong and Gawain was like a prince condescending to show his approachable temperament.