Almighty Coach

Chapter 312: Happy Sport

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

Hiking in the mountains could also be regarded as physical training, which was good for the body in many ways. It was not only an aerobic exercise, but a component of strength and endurance training as well.

Hiking in the mountains could enhance the overall coordination of body; it was also good for people’s joints, bones, muscles, blood circulation, metabolism, etc. Moreover, getting close to nature could also relieve the mental stress of daily life, which was very relaxing and helped to maintain psychological health.

Shuang Pang was a professional athlete, so hiking was not an exhausting activity; his daily training was much more intense than a simple mountain hike. As a coach, Dai Li’s physical performance was also much better than an ordinary person’s. Therefore, while ordinary people normally needed three or four hours to reach the mountain top, Dai Li and Shuang Pang only needed about two hours.

During the weekends, a lot of people went for an outing, including many avid mountaineers. The two of them stood on the mountain top and looked down the mountainside; they found over 10 groups of people who were hiking in the mountains.

"Look, those are people who like to go hiking in the mountains." Dai Li pointed at the mountain path. "None of them are professional mountaineers; they are more like fans of mountain hiking. Some of them are not even fans, but just like walking in the mountains. I guess most of them will be occupied in their daily lives by busywork, and only have time on the weekends to do something they like."

As Dai Li spoke, he turned around. "Actually, it is quite a special thing to do something you like as a job. The job is your hobby, and your hobby is your job. You could do something you like every day, and it would bring you income to support your family. This should be a dream job for most people, because there are not many jobs like this in real life. However, being an athlete is obviously one of these jobs."

"Someone likes basketball, and finally becomes a basketball player; someone likes soccer, so he becomes a soccer player; while someone likes playing table tennis, and finally becomes a table tennis player." Dai Li looked at Shuang Pang seriously. "So do you like table tennis?"

"I... should like it, shouldn’t I?" Shuang Pang’s answer was more like a question.

"If you like a sport, you should be able to have fun in it." Dai Li answered. "Think carefully. Can you remember something which made you happy in these years as a table tennis player?"

Shuang Pang hesitated a bit, then answered, "Too many. I couldn’t remember them all in a moment."

"Can you not remember them, or were they just not impressive?" Dai Li asked suddenly.

Shuang Pang was tongue-tied immediately. He really didn’t know how to answer Dai Li’s question.

"I guess this is the crux of your problem. You just treat table tennis as a job you have to accomplish, not as your hobby. So you can’t have fun and enjoy it."

"Coach Gu keeps pounding the idea of fighting for our country into you; therefore, each match for you is a mission. The ultimate mission for athletes is to strive to be the champion; so until you accomplish your task, you are always in a working state. However, when you enter the final match and fight against one of your teammates, you realize that the national team has already taken possession of the championship, so you lose your working state. You slack off in the match and even don’t play seriously. Therefore, you will always have all kinds of problems in final matches. "

"And the root reason for all of this is that you don’t enjoy table tennis. You have stayed in the stage of ’striving for our country,’ and you don’t aspire for a championship for yourself!"

"No, I want to be a champion!" Shuang Pang retorted immediately.

"No, you don’t! Unless you are requested to win the championship, otherwise you are not very eager to be a champion. My judgment is not groundless." Dai Li paused a bit. "I have watched all your final matches from the last few years. I think you did your best in the final match of the National Games. Although you lost at the score of 3:4, the score of the last round was 13:15. I could sense your eagerness to win; you really wanted to win the championship of the National Games."

"The reason you wanted to win was to help your provincial team get a gold medal of the National Games. You thought it was your mission, and a task you had to accomplish; so you strived very hard in that match. If your opponent in the final match had been a teammate of your provincial team, could you still have done your best in the match?"

"I..." Shuang Pang was faltering, but he didn’t answer the question.

Dai Li paused for a few seconds, so that Shuang Pang think about what he had said, then he continued his enlightenment. "Last night I asked you what were you fighting for, right? Your answer was to fight for our country, but I told you that wasn’t the only answer. Now you should understand my meaning, right?"

"When you participated in the international events by representing the national team, you were indeed fighting for our country; when you participated in the National Games by representing your provincial team, you were fighting for your provincial team; however, when you are representing yourself, you should fight for yourself. The key is your attitude. You have to adjust your attitude and know when you are fighting for yourself!"

"You mean in those matches which I lost, I should have fought for myself?" Shuang Pang realized that, but finally he shook his head. "Maybe it is impossible for me, for I have never thought about it."

"No, you have thought about it, but you haven’t realized that." Dai Li smiled and said, "Try to remember those internal upgrading matches in the national team; didn’t you fight for yourself? When you were promoted to the first team from the second team, you defeated many teammates; didn’t you fight for yourself at that time? Now what you need to do is get back that feeling. Especially when you are in the final match, you have to get back that feeling and tell yourself that your mission hasn’t been accomplished yet; a championship is still waiting for you."

Shuang Pang nodded as if he agreed with Dai Li. However, in his eyes, Dai Li didn’t find any resolution, but more puzzlement.

Shuang Pang’s reaction made Dai Li feel quite helpless, so he had to say, "I have told you what to do, do you still have the feeling that it is very difficult for you to do as I said?"

Shuang Pang nodded, but he said, "I will try it in my next match."

Dai Li shook his head. "You still don’t understand the meaning of fighting for yourself, for your cognition of table tennis hasn’t been changed yet. The first thing you need to do is to be fond of table tennis, and make table tennis your hobby instead of a job."

"A job is different than a hobby. Workaholics can gain a sense of satisfaction from their work and a sense of accomplishment from their success; however, they might not have fun in their work. A hobby, on the other hand, could not only provide you with a sense of satisfaction and accomplishment, but also could let you have a lot of fun."

As Dai Li spoke, he pointed at the mountain hiking fans who were hiking strenuously, and said, "Just like them. They might only have one day off in several weeks to hike in the mountains, but they are happy, and enjoying the mountain hike, because they like hiking in the mountains."

"I also hope you can enjoy table tennis. I hope one day when you are standing in front of the table with a bat in your hand, you are cheerful; when you are playing table tennis, you feel happiness in your heart. I hope you gain real enjoyment from table tennis, and enjoy the matches, even enjoy every score and fumble in the match."

Shuang Pang nodded, and asked, "Then what should I do?"

"For this, I can’t help you. You have to sense it yourself. As a professional athlete, you have been playing table tennis for so many years; you should be able to find the enjoyment in it." Dai Li smiled. "The competitive sports are designed to bring happiness to people, not only to the audiences, but to the professional athletes as well. The fun of challenging opponents, the fun of challenging yourself, and the fun of creating miracles—you should enjoy that more than the audience does. Maybe it will be a long process, but I believe you will be able to sense it as long as you try to feel it with your heart."