When He Ximeng arrived at the gym, most of the basketball team members were already present.
Due to the graduation of the senior players and the head coach being "very busy," the new recruitment work had been delayed, leaving the Zhuzhong High School basketball team short-handed with several vacant spots. Fortunately, core players like He Ximeng and Yan Hui, who were juniors last year, could still play for another year.
Yan Hui had finished his warm-up and was doing push-ups bare-handed, meticulously sculpting his pectoral muscles...
But "Third Master" hadn't arrived yet...
"Third Master" was none other than Zhang Yide, the "very busy" head coach of the Zhuzhong High School basketball team! Because his name sounded similar to Zhang Fei, the basketball team members called him "Third Master." Third Master was a good guy, very easy to talk to. He was just very busy... Busy with what? Of course, with his after-school tutoring...
It was said that Third Master's family was not well-off and he desperately needed money.
Being a sports teacher at Zhuzhong was Third Master's first job.
Teaching at an after-school tutoring institution was Third Master's second job.
Back then, the country generally turned a blind eye to teachers taking on side jobs. The government had always spoken about increasing teacher salaries, but the salaries remained low. Unable to improve their financial situation through official channels, teachers had to rely on themselves. The government implicitly condoned this practice, allowing teachers to supplement their income.
After all, teachers were ordinary people. They had families, elderly parents to support, and children to raise – all of which required money.
The busy Third Master had considered resigning as the head coach of the basketball team several times because it was a purely honorary position with no overtime pay. However, being young and inexperienced, and with the other teachers in the sports department even busier, no one else was willing to take on the responsibility of the basketball team. Thus, Third Master reluctantly accepted the role of head coach...
For the Zhuzhong High School basketball team of the past, having such a head coach was more detrimental than beneficial. With training being sporadic, the team's strength relied primarily on the players' individual talent. This was also a major reason why the Zhuzhong High School basketball team had consistently failed to achieve good rankings in national competitions.
The former He Ximeng had even complained about Third Master. If Third Master had been present and in charge back then, would He Ximeng have avoided suffering from overexertion and injury...
However, for the current He Ximeng, having such a "very busy" head coach was perfect for him to showcase his "coaching" talents...
As the whistle blew, He Ximeng naturally gathered all the team members around him.
"Hey, Ximeng, you're starting to look more and more like a head coach..." Cui Tianci praised from the side.
Cui the Fatty was a devoted basketball fan but lacked the skills to be an official team member. He had to settle for the honorable position of "assistant coach." "Assistant coach" was just a title; in reality, he helped with mopping the floor, collecting basketballs, recording game data... essentially, doing all the chores.
"Of course!" He Ximeng patted his chest. "I wouldn't say I'm top-tier in China when it comes to playing, but when it comes to coaching... Hmph..."
"Oh, come on! You're getting a bit arrogant after a few compliments..."
Seeing his teammates gather around, Ximeng stopped bantering with Cui the Fatty and shifted to analyzing tactics.
Today's friendly match was against Caota High School.
Before the rise of private high schools Hailiang and Ronghuai, the Zhuji region's high school basketball scene was dominated by Zhuji Middle School as the top-ranked team and Caota High School as the second.
Zhuji Middle School and Caota High School often took turns representing the Shaoxing district in the Zhejiang provincial qualifiers.
Zhuji Middle School's best historical achievement was 4th place in the Eastern Division, while Caota High School's best was 6th.
Neither team had ever managed to break into the top two of the Eastern Division, meaning they had never reached the final national championships.
However, within the Shaoxing region, these two teams consistently represented the highest level of high school basketball.
Shaoxing basketball looked to Zhuji, and Zhuji basketball looked to Zhuzhong.
But in recent years, with the emergence of private high schools Hailiang and Ronghuai, which began to prioritize their sports teams and spared no expense in offering scholarships to scout talented players from junior high leagues...
Previously, Zhuzhong could still recruit top junior high basketball players from the Zhuji region through special admissions. But parents of young players were becoming increasingly pragmatic. The prestigious reputation of Zhuzhong as a provincial key high school was no longer as attractive as the straightforward lure of scholarships.
Following this development trend, within a few years, Zhuzhong's position among the top 12 provincial schools would likely be usurped.
"Caota High School's current core player is their center, Yu Chu! You are all very familiar with Yu Chu's style of play. His style is similar to our center Yan Hui's, imitating Patrick Ewing's game. His one-on-one defense is particularly troublesome. Although Yan Hui's individual ability is not inferior to Yu Chu's, to contain Yu Chu, we must use double-teaming in the paint! Therefore, Feng Chen, your task is to constantly shrink the defense and help Yan Hui double-team Yu Chu! As long as we can contain Yu Chu's performance, we will have achieved half of our defensive success!"
"Besides Yu Chu, there's another player from Caota High School that needs attention, their primary shooting guard, Chen Qiudao..."