The sound of running unhurriedly but maintaining a rhythm extends all the way along the morning avenue of the campus. The breeze blows and the golden sunlight surges between the shadows of the trees, as if traveling between dreams and dreams. All you need to do is spread your arms.
, if you sprint fast enough, you can soar in the wind.
Blue sky, white clouds; palm trees, chirping cicadas; sunshine, rainy season.
In November in Los Angeles, the sun is still shining brightly, and traces of summer and autumn can be found in every corner. It is difficult to accurately define the colors of the seasons. The only good news that can be determined is that the rainy season is finally coming. For the rest of the year
This is good news for the City of Angels, which has experienced only a handful of rains.
However, the question is, when will the rain come? Or will it never come?
Fortunately, this kind of weather is good news for outdoor sports enthusiasts. It is less hot and more cool.
Bend your knees and push on the ground.
Speed up, slow down.
MacDonald's attention is completely focused on his steps. Even when jogging, he needs to pay attention to details such as power generation and speed changes.
In the early morning, the campus is not yet fully awake, and here and there you can see students who have been studying all night in the library waking up and roaming like ghosts; or students who got up early to prepare for the library to give a report, running all the way with messy hair.
, can't even open my eyes.
This also allows Macdonald to focus on his steps and breathing, maintaining concentration.
Tread. Tread. Tread.
One step after another, I carefully controlled my breathing rhythm in my mind, then slowly approached the training ground, and then my pace gradually slowed down.
Tread. Tread.
However, a burst of relaxed footsteps came from the direction of the court, which disrupted Macdonald's thoughts. He couldn't help but raise his head, full of confusion.
who?
Who will come to the training ground at this time?
There is still more than an hour left before the training time specified by Coach Martin.
If he hadn't missed nearly two hours of training because he had to rush a report yesterday, he wouldn't have thought of arriving at the training ground early today to make up for basic training; after all, as the captain this year, he needs to shoulder the responsibility of first singles
He needs to lead by example.
But... is there anyone among the freshmen who is so diligent?
MacDonald was slightly worried.
If you are a junior or senior, forget it. You will be careful when practicing in private. However, freshmen are still too young and lack experience. If they practice too much on their own and end up with unnecessary injuries, then the gain outweighs the loss.
.
MacDonald couldn't help but remember that last year, he and Gao Wen always secretly practiced more, hoping to improve their strength as soon as possible and get on the court earlier.
Thinking of this, Macdonald couldn't help but smile. Therefore, young people's ignorance is the same.
Turning a corner, Macdonald had already entered the training ground.
Tap tap. tap tap. tap tap.
A figure wearing a dark blue jersey is immersed in footwork practice. Using the bottom line of the court as an interval, he alternates between accelerating in small steps and moving in long strides. He keeps moving left and right while maintaining rhythm and frequency. The ultimate goal is not to control time, but to
Control stride length and cadence.
Between the two blind spots on the bottom line, from left to right, from right to left, the number of steps back and forth needs to be consistent and precise.
In this way, train yourself to perceive the space of the baseline. Because the offensive and defensive movements of the baseline often do not have time to take care of the steps, all adjustments must be completed unconsciously, and then until the best shot is found, the accuracy
Shot at the time and point of impact——
If your steps are not in place, you need to make corresponding adjustments to ensure that you are as close to the correct hitting point as possible.
Training is about control and perception.
This is a very boring and boring basic footwork training, but it requires a high degree of concentration. Once the mind wanders, only the footsteps are moving, and the brain does not follow the footsteps, then all the training will be in vain.
The figure in front of me is very focused and devoted.
He lowered his head slightly, focusing entirely on his footsteps. His entire figure was hidden on the shadow side of the court. The sun that had not yet fully risen covered the court on the side of the entrance, so that there was some reflection and his face could not be seen clearly.
, the whole person is hidden in a halo of light.
MacDonald hesitated for a moment, but ultimately did not raise his voice to interrupt the opponent's training, or even get closer, to avoid having to start the footwork training all over again.
Fortunately, the training did not last too long and came to an end temporarily. The sound of footsteps scraping the ground stopped and I stood there breathing heavily.
"Hey young man, what grade are you in?"
"...Captain, I am a sophomore."
MacDonald: Sophomore year?
"What major..." MacDonald took two steps forward. Before he could finish his words, the sun was no longer dazzling, the backlighting effect had disappeared, and his vision became clear. Then he saw the sweating face in front of him:
Gawain.
Because it was so unexpected and so sudden, Macdonald couldn't help but froze. He stood there, unable to believe what he was seeing. The sense of chaos from the sunshine area into the shadow area lingered, so much so that he had a feeling of confusion.
A kind of half-dream and half-awake illusion, standing stupidly.
Gawain?
But why does Gawain appear here?
In a daze, it seemed as if they were back a year ago, when they were all freshmen, embarking on the college arena with dreams and expectations in mind.
Gawain let out a long breath and raised his voice, "Captain, I'm going to do some warm-up training. Do you want to join me?"
The smile just rose and bloomed, just like the first ray of dawn in the midsummer morning. Although he was standing on the shadow side, it seemed that half of the stadium was getting brighter.
Macdonald was a little embarrassed.
team leader?
If they hadn't all left the Bruins, the team's captain position would never have been his turn.
"Hey, captain, I heard Coach Martin say that you did a good job. Our goal for this season is to defend the title."
Across the court, Gawain's smiling voice came again.
He knew Macdonald, and they were good friends no matter in the previous life or in this life.
After the season started this fall, the UCLA Bruins were not in a good mood.
Thompson, Giron and Gao Wen, the top three main players on the team that won the men's tennis double last year, all turned professional in the summer——
Even after hesitating, Jilong resolutely embarked on a career journey.
The Bruins are in dire straits.
The autumn season has been very struggling and very sluggish. So far, only MacDonald has been able to support the weight of the entire team.
McDonald's national ranking is seventh, but except for him, all the other main members of the Bruins are not ranked, that is, they are outside the 120th place in the country.
Just from this data, we can see the terrible current situation of the Bruins. Not to mention defending the title, the new season is likely to be rejected, and everything is not optimistic.
However, MacDonald shouldered the responsibility, took over the responsibilities of captain, and carried the banner of the Bruins.