"You... is this how you guys used to train?" Zhang Tian'ai asked Cui Tianci from the sidelines, watching the players on the court groan in misery.
Cui Tianci shook his head. "The intensity of our past training didn't even reach half of this."
"Then why the sudden increase in training intensity?" Zhang Tian'ai was puzzled.
"Because He Ximeng has higher goals this year! The national competition only happens once in a lifetime..."
"Wait! High school lasts for three years, giving you three chances for the national competition. Why do you say it's only once in a lifetime?"
"First-year players are usually reserves of reserves, with limited playing time. Second-year players have just become starters, but not core players. Only in the third year, when your skills and experience reach the peak of your high school career, can you potentially become the team's ace and lead your own team to the national competition... For He Ximeng, Yan Hui, and Feng Chen, this year's national competition is the one that truly belongs to them... They will fight with all their might, leaving no regrets in their high school careers..."
"No wonder these three train the hardest... especially Ximeng, he's the most dedicated high school player I've ever seen..."
"Ximeng... he used to train hard, but lately... he's been almost possessed..."
By the time Sanye arrived at the gym, the players had finished the first two training sessions and were engaged in live practice.
Seeing the players panting on the court, he was furious. "With this stamina, how can you compete in the national competition? You all look like you haven't eaten enough! Run, no slacking..."
Sanye didn't know what training they had done before, thinking they were still being left to their own devices as usual.
As a result, some players who had been complaining about He Ximeng's high training intensity, upon hearing Sanye's roar, tacitly assumed that all of He Ximeng's demands were actually Sanye's instructions... The blame shifted.
An hour and a half of training ended.
The team, which had been lively and cheerful before, was now groaning. All the players were shouting, "I'm exhausted."
Sanye, however, refused to believe them, thinking these brats were complaining when they were actually getting the benefits!
"What kind of spirit do you all have? Huh? With such physical reserves, you'll just be cannon fodder in the national competition. It's better not to go! Tomorrow, Ximeng, you need to continue to increase the training intensity! In this last month before the national competition, make sure to push everyone's stamina up another notch..."
"Understood!" With the head coach's approval, He Ximeng's subsequent training arrangements became even more righteous and natural.
"Ah... still increasing? I'm going to die, I'm going to die..."
Amidst a chorus of complaints, today's training concluded.
Zhang Zhenpeng, not having participated in such intense training for a long time, couldn't take it today and took Zhang Tian'ai home directly, skipping the extra training.
"Ximeng, are we still shooting 300 balls today?"
"We are! Supervise me, I can't leave until I finish them..."
Shooting practice is mainly to train muscle memory. In a game, you won't have the luxury of space and time to adjust your shot as you do in practice. Opportunities often come and go in an instant.
Therefore, shooters put in their hard work during normal times. Only through diligent practice and the development of good muscle memory can they, in a split second during a game, instinctively channel their entire body's strength, coordinated with their hands, to complete the entire shooting motion...
For the first 100 shots, He Ximeng maintained a normal shooting pace.
For the middle 100 shots, due to severe fatigue, He Ximeng had to slow down his rhythm to ensure his shots didn't deform...
The biggest taboo in shooting practice is developing incorrect shooting form. This will not only fail to improve shooting skills but also lead to bad habits.
He Ximeng was naturally well aware of the key points of this training. Therefore, when he started practicing this push-shot motion, he didn't set excessively high goals for himself.
He focused on groups of 100 shots, adjusting and correcting his form at any time. He prioritized correct execution over speed, even if it meant training slower.
For the final 100 shots, He Ximeng's stamina was beginning to run out, and his shooting form was repeatedly deforming. However, he gritted his teeth and persevered with his immense willpower.
Today's task of 300 balls was also completed, with a total of 104 made shots, an improvement of 5 made shots compared to yesterday. Although the progress was slight, any progress was a good sign.
No one can achieve overnight success. Even with extraordinary talent and physical abilities, basketball skills still require time and sweat, honed bit by bit, to become muscle memory, to become a part of one's body...
After finishing training and returning home for the carefully prepared dinner by his mother, He Ximeng's life gradually returned to its normal rhythm.
During the day, he wrote the English version of "Pirates of the Caribbean" in class. After school, he went to the gym to coach the team for an hour and a half, then practiced for another hour on his own, and finally returned home for his mother's meticulously prepared dinner...
A month passed in a blink of an eye...