There is no need to even wait for Gawain to fail, just a slight drop in performance but still staying at the top is like the end of the world.
No wonder Murray has been complained about and attacked over the years. Outside of his "giant halo", invisible pressure follows him everywhere.
Even Gawain, who has lived in two lifetimes, needs some time and space adjustments in the face of such pressure and impact. At the same time, he needs some buffer zones to clear his mind and regain his concentration and focus. A short ten-day vacation is just that.
For a start, he needs a vacation.
Even Gawain is like this, let alone MacDonald and his group of college students?
After all, they are all ordinary people of flesh and blood.
In fact, it is more than just competitive sports?
The same is true in real life——
Everyone is burdened with their own expectations for life, future and happiness, and then time and time again they are involved in the vortex of stress and anxiety, at a loss as to what to do.
"call."
Martin let out a heavy breath.
Martin is no exception.
In fact, Martin has been mentally prepared. This year may be very, very difficult, very difficult!
However, when things really happen, he needs to face painful losses again and again, and then turn around to cheer for the young players, relieve the pressure for the young players, regroup, and lead the team to move forward despite the dark clouds.
The storm struggled in the boundless darkness.
Disaster.
It's really too difficult.
"In this year's team competition, we stopped in the top 16 and lost to Oklahoma. Do you remember Oklahoma?"
Martin asked casually.
As a result, Gawain deliberately showed a thinking expression, as if he had lost his memory, which made Martin laugh, and then Gawain answered.
"Coach, I'm just arrogant, not stupid."
Last year, Gao Wen appeared as a surprise player in the game against Oklahoma and became famous in one fell swoop. Later, in the semifinals of the team competition, the Bruins once again defeated Oklahoma and entered the finals. In just one year,
Time, how could he forget these precious memories?
Gao Wen was also somewhat interested, "It seems like they are in good shape this year?"
A smile appeared in Martin's eyes, "Well, it's really good."
"They were the top seeds. We barely got on the last train this year and were ranked the 16th seed. In the end, we met them early in the third round of the team competition."
"We lost, '3:4'."
In the understatement, you can taste the bitterness carefully.
Gao Wen raised his eyebrows slightly, "Coach, it seems that our Bruins have a good fighting spirit this year."
Martin was slightly startled, where did he see this?
Gao Wen turned to look at the court, "With the loss of three main players, our season performance was indeed average and we were not able to improve our seed ranking. But entering the national competition, the team cohesion was reflected. Even in difficult times, we still fought.
Until the last moment, I never gave up."
"'3:4', such a defeat is bitter, but behind the score you can see that every player has burned all their energy."
"Coach, it seems Mike is a good captain."
Martin:……
Opening his mouth slightly, the same thing happened from a completely different perspective. Gawain grasped the key point in the midst of gloom and gloom.
Martin once again felt the leadership temperament in Gawain. He faced failure calmly and learned from failure. This is an ability and a courage.
Martin misses last year's Bruins team a little bit, not because they were able to win, but because they were always firmly united together——
Of course, the same is true for the team in front of them.
Following Gawain's gaze, Martin also looked at the court again. MacDonald was concentrating on training, even more devoted than before he discovered Gawain.
I can't help but feel it.
"Yes, Mike is a good captain."
Thinking of this, Martin felt a little more relaxed and relieved.
"Actually, Mike performed very, very well this year. Although he can't compare with you, he is on par with Marcos. He didn't lose a few singles games this year, and finally ranked third seed in the United States Championship."
"but."
"After our team lost early, the atmosphere of the entire team was not normal. Mike was carrying too heavy a burden. The more he wanted to perform well, the more constrained he was. His performance in the singles match was obviously abnormal, and he was upset in the second round."
Gawain was a little surprised——
With Macdonald's strength, we don't have to say whether he can win the championship, but there should be no problem in the quarterfinals or the semifinals.
From team to singles, UCLA, as the defending champion, stopped in the first few rounds and was eliminated early, which was a heavy blow to the Bruins.
Although I had foreseen this scene before the start of the season, it was still difficult to accept.
When I thought about it again, I wasn't surprised.
For young players, there are often obvious ups and downs. On the one hand, it is because of difficulty in controlling emotions, and on the other hand, because the skills and tactics are not mature enough. Therefore, in the Challenge Tournament, Hope Tournament, NCAA and the four major youth tournaments, you can often see the former players.
The eighth seed was upset early.
Looking at it from another perspective, this is the price of growth.
If Gao Wen hadn't been born twice, he might have had to go through the same process, especially the turmoil and bumps in the period after winning the US Open.
After thinking for a while, Gawain asked, "Who is the number one single in Oklahoma?"
Martin was stunned, "Lamas. He is not only the top singles player of the Sooners, but also the top seed in the United States. He has only lost two games this year."
"Lamas?" Gao Wen nodded slightly. If I remember correctly, he was Oklahoma's No. 3 singles player last year and he was also a young player. "So how is his performance in the singles arena?"
Martin finally reacted, the corners of his mouth slightly raised, "Stop the third round."
Although the University of Oklahoma performed well in the team competition and made it all the way to the finals, they performed abnormally in the finals and lost to the third-seeded University of Virginia; this also seriously affected the players' mentality, so much so that the singles competition also suffered.
After a series of poor performances, they were all blocked from the quarterfinals.
Martin chuckled, "Are you gloating now?"
"Yes." Gawain nodded seriously.
Martin couldn't hold it back, "Haha!"
Looking at Gawain beside him, Martin hesitated to speak——
He wanted to see if Gao Wen could do a small favor and train with the Bruins for two days, or lead them to make adjustments. Gao Wen's leadership qualities could always produce unexpected results.
But as soon as the thought came up, it was already cut off.
Gao Wen has left the Bruins. He has his own career. They have no right or qualification to ask Gao Wen to worry about the Bruins again.
More importantly, he should trust MacDonald, the current captain of the Bruins. If he asks Gawain for help, will it destroy MacDonald's confidence and worsen MacDonald's psychological burden?
They cannot rely on Gawain and sooner or later they need to learn to fly alone.
Finally, he swallowed his words and regained his sanity among the disturbing thoughts.
Martin showed a smile, and the words that came to his lips changed, "So, when you come back this time, is it just a vacation, or is it to prepare for the US Open series?"