Almighty Coach

"Facing Danger, Chinese Coach Taking Over the Reins of the U.S. National Track and Field Team!"

"The Decline of the U.S. National Track and Field Team? We’ve Found a Non-American Coach!"

The following day, all the major media outlets ran a piece in their sports section announcing Dai Li as the new head coach of the U.S. National Track and Field Team.

Most media reports were relatively neutral or, more precisely, they were relatively simple. They only gave a brief overview instead of going into a detailed report.

Some media outlets, however, found Dai Li’s resume and discovered that he was the one who groomed the "Blade Warrior" Phillip. They also found that the 400m sprint king Jimmy Irwin, upon making his return, chose Dai Li as his coach. At the same time, Dai Li also had his fitness training centers. From this point of view, Dai Li did indeed have the qualifications to become the head coach of the U.S. National Track and Field Team.

There were also a lot of news outlets that generated negative opinions. They obviously felt that the U.S. National Track and Field Team should not have a Chinese guy as its head coach.

"The U.S. is the best in the world when it comes to track and field, but now we actually need a foreigner to become our country’s track and field team’s head coach!"

"Does the United States’ track and field need to be saved by a Chinese coach? What are our American coaches doing?"

"Has the Track and Field Association gone mad? They actually let a Chinese person lead our national team! The number of gold medals they have can’t even be compared to amount we have!"

"Although China isn’t a country that’s weak in track and field, it definitely isn’t a strong one. How can a Chinese coach have the qualifications necessary to lead the world’s strongest and mightiest team, the U.S. National Track and Field Team!"

The U.S. was an immigration nation. The society was considerably inclusive, and foreigners holding the position of a head coach in a particular national sports team wasn’t actually rare. In the history of the U.S. Olympic delegation, there have been multiple instances where the head coach was not born in America.

However, in events that the U.S. was strong in, there had never been a non-American head coach. For example, basketball in the U.S., every coach had been American, and in the many years of NBA history, there had never been a foreign head coach. Occasionally, there would be coaches with dual nationalities, but they always grew up from American basketball culture.

The track and field event was a traditionally strong event for the U.S.. In the 1980s and 1990s, the United States conquered the world of track and field and all of the previous U.S. National Track and Field Team were far stronger than the current U.S.A basketball dream team. Therefore, there had never been a non-American track and field coach in the history of the U.S.

As such, there was no way the Americans would accept a head coach leading their national track and field team if he wasn’t born in America.

Some media outlets gave Dai Li negative reviews, and some also voiced their objections. People also expressed themselves on the internet, saying that they shouldn’t let a foreigner become the head coach of the U.S. National Track and Field Team.

However, overall, it didn’t really cause a huge public uproar. After all, coaches did not attract as much attention as athletes. Not many would pay special attention to whomever it was that coached a particular athlete. There were some who only paid attention to who won the championship, they didn’t even bother with the second and third-placed athlete. These people obviously wouldn’t care about news regarding coaches.

...

In the age of the internet, the spread of information around the world in seconds. As soon as the news was broadcasted in the U.S., people on the other side of the ocean would see it.

It was morning in the U.S., and night in China. At that moment, most people who worked for internet corporations in China had not yet finished their work for the day.

For an internet corporation in China, a 996 work system was common. Going to work at 9 in the morning, leaving at 9 in the evening, working six days a week. It had already become the rule of various internet corporations. These sorts of schedules far exceeded the stipulated time allowed by labor law. However, internet businesses simply enjoyed that work system, many even took pride in it.

It was also because of the 996 work system that many editors who were working overtime had the chance to see the news right away.

In the editing room of some web portals, Editor A read a piece of news on an American site.

"’New Coach of the U.S. National Track and Field Team Announced.’ That was such a huge scandal, even the head coach was involved. Looks like the chances for the U.S. National Track and Field Team is slim this time. I wonder what kind of head coach they found to become the savior of the American team," Editor A said to himself.

He actually didn’t care too much about this piece of news, the people in China were similar to the people of the U.S.. They don’t follow coaches as much as they did athletes. Even if it were the coaches of their respective countries, no one really bothered, and this guy was the coach of some foreign country.

A piece of news like that wouldn’t garner much attention even after being translated, so the editor didn’t really plan to click on the link. However, considering the performance-enhancing drug scandal that rocked the U.S. recently, the editor still clicked and opened the news webpage, albeit with just a curious and not-really-thinking-about-it mentality.

"Eh? I’m not mistaken, am I? The head coach of the U.S. national team is actually Chinese!" Editor A exclaimed loudly in shock.

"What’s all the noise? That scared the hell out of me!" A complaining sound came from the side. The guy had been secretly sleeping before the shout from Editor A woke him up. After all, not every employee could take the 996 work system. It was common to nap if one couldn’t hold on.

"Guys, hurry up! Come and see this! The new head coach of the U.S. National Track and Field Team is actually Chinese!" Editor A repeated.

"That’s fake, right? With the American’s standard, why would they need a foreign coach? There’s a ton of exceptional track and field coaches lying around everywhere over there."

"If you think about it, there’s no way that’s possible. After all, how strong is the U.S. track and field team? And how strong is our track and field team? We’re not even one-tenth of their strength! What gives us the right to teach the Americans track and field?"

Everyone thought that Editor A was just exaggerating things. Some people walked over to expose Editor A’s lie but, instead, found out that the editor was telling the truth.

"Damn, it’s real. It really said so on the news!" Someone said.

"It can’t be, right?" Some people surrounded Editor A, while others started frantically searching on different website. A few even went to the American Track and Field Association’s official website. All the information they obtained was consistent.

The U.S. was the strongest track and field country in the world. The mighty U.S.A National Track and Field Team actually went and hired a Chinese guy to become their head coach. To the editors, it was big news. It definitely was seen as bringing glory to the nation.

In truth, a lot of Chinese citizens still had an inferiority complex, believing that everything overseas was more developed and, therefore, better. Everything the foreigners said seemed better because the grass is always greener outside the country. As such, when a Chinese citizen achieved something in the developed western countries, it was regarded as bringing glory to the country.

Extreme self-belittlement and xenophilia were, of course, not something to be encouraged. However, regarding track and field, the U.S. was indeed sufficiently developed and strong; no other countries in the world could compare. That alone was an indisputable fact.

So, the poor editors started another overtime shift. Dai Li becoming the head coach of the U.S. National Track and Field Team instantly appeared in the sports section of all the big news outlets’ websites. Some sites even made the news their headline.

...

Early in the morning, in a quiet community situated within the third ring of the capital of China, Beijing, a ferocious-looking old man with a shaved head walked on a bent path as he hummed a tune.

The old man was the ex-assistant head coach of the national track and field team of China, Li Xue. The current Li Xue had long begun enjoying his life of retirement.

In front of the community area, there was an old soybean shop that Li Xue visited every morning. He walked straight in and ordered a bowl of soy milk. He glanced at the freshly fried ring and swallowed his saliva, but in the end he ordered a tea egg.

"Aiyo, old Xue, why didn’t you order a fried ring today?" Someone beside him asked.

"Fried food is unhealthy and I have high blood pressure. I need to eat less of these things. I ate them yesterday, so I dare not eat them today." Li Xue shook his head in resignation. Later, he grabbed his soy milk and tea egg, found a table, and sat down.

Li Xue knew everyone at the table. Two old men also ate their breakfast there every morning. A thirty-year-old, middle-aged man who was a manager at a nearby real estate agency also sat at the table. The man lived nearby, and also became a part of the neighborhood.

As is the case when a few old men are gathered together, they began gossiping. The real estate agent started browsing on his phone instead of joining in the gossip.

"Aiyo, fresh news! The U.S. national team made a Chinese man their head coach!" The real estate agent suddenly announced.

"What did you say? Is it real? The Americans are so strong, they wouldn’t need on of us to be their coach" one of the old men exclaimed.

"It says so on the news, Uncle Chen, see for yourself if you don’t believe me!" The real estate agent passed his phone to the old man.

The old man took out his reading glasses from his pocket and began reading that piece of news on the phone.

"It really is true, huh. ’The U.S. National Track and Field Team welcomes their first foreign coach.’" The old man read the title of the news and said, "Look at the picture, this guy is still young. He must be pretty amazing if he can become the head coach of the Americans."

"Let me see!" The other old man grabbed the phone, read the news once, and spoke to Li Xue. "Old Xue, this fellow is better than you. You’ve worked for your whole life, but you were only ever our national team’s assistant head coach. You didn’t even become the head coach. Look at this guy, he might be half your age, and he’s already the head coach of the U.S. National Track and Field Team!"

The way the old man spoke, one would know from a glance that he was the type of person that provoked people whenever he could.

With a dissatisfied look, Li Xue said, "That must be fake! The American track and field standard is so high, turning to one of us to be their head coach? In my opinion, it must be fake news!"

"See for yourself if you don’t believe us! It says that it was announced on the official American Track and Field Association’s website, and there’s even a picture there!" The old man passed the phone to Li Xue.

Li Xue took the phone with contempt, but when he saw Dai Li’s photograph in the news on the phone, his expression suddenly became stiff.

In the next second, Li Xue’s chopstick dropped to the floor and tears began welling up in his eyes.

As soon as the old man who just spoke saw Li Xue’s expression change, he mistakenly thought that he had agitated Li Xue. He immediately said, "Old Xue, what’s wrong with you? Don’t be like this! I was only kidding. My mouth stinks, I was only messing with you! Is it alright if I just say sorry to you?"

However, tears rolled down Lie Xue’s cheeks.

"Old Sun, look at you. Never know when to shut up, now you’ve done it!" The other old man blamed him.

"It’s not Old Sun’s fault, I’m happy!" Li Xue wiped the tears off his face. He pointed towards Dai Li’s photo on the phone and said, "This guy here is my apprentice! His name is Dai Li, and he is my apprentice!"

"What? He’s your apprentice?"

"Are you serious? Old Xue, aren’t you amazing, grooming a head coach of the U.S. national team!"

"Even the head coach of the U.S. team is your apprentice. Old Xue you sure have some hidden moves!"

The surrounding people who were more familiar with Li Xue immediately gathered around them.

Even the owner of the place walked towards them. He looked at Dai Li’s photo and said, "Old Xue, this apprentice of yours sure looks young. When you were around his age, you’d only just joined the national team as a coach, isn’t that right? This sounds like the student surpassing his master, doesn’t it?"

"Yes, the student has surpassed the master! It’s good that the student has surpassed the master!" Li Xue breathed in deeply. However, he felt that there was still an uncontrollable feeling within his heart.