novelStarting the Season for Sports 2
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The other day with a rested body Zack managed to run the 4 km, but he was exhausted after running and ran slower than before, yet Jake didn't interfere as long as Zack could.
As it was, it would take a few more weeks for Zack to move on to 6 km training, when Zack's fitness improves faster and he can complete 42 km.
So next month Zack would improve much faster if he didn't give up on training, it also served to show Jake the difference between him and another of his age, at 14 Jake could easily run that distance with the speed that Zack was running.
And because Zack was supposed to have more than 14 on average statistics and had the advantage of being adult and having developed body that Jake did not have as a child, yet it was obvious what Jake could do better than others thanks to the system.
Not to mention when Jake started training in just over 2 months he had greatly improved his time even running faster than Zack, it would probably take 7 months before Zack could run a marathon with Jake's training.
That's because even if Jake's training was much more inefficient than others, he could ensure that Zack's body developed and when Zack could run a marathon once he could run several whenever he wanted to.
In training with the basketball team, Coach Smith performed several different play drills after pass training, in dribbling and ball control drills Jake was among the best but did not surpass Vince Carter, Antawn Jamison, and Shammond Williams.
This showed Jake that there is always someone who can be better, of course, this is because Jake chose one of the best NCAA teams, if it was a weaker team he would be the best for sure.
In attacking moves Jake outperformed his other teammates in mid-range and 3-point shots, not to mention that he was only slightly worse than his teammates in indoor moves such as layups and dunks.
That with players with Vince Carter, Antawn Jamison and Shammond William who were considered skilled even in the NBA, surprised all of their teammates and Coach Smith.
Impressed even Coach Guthridge who invited him to college, the coach had never seen Jake play at a high level and just heard what others said about him, so he thought Jake was good only at mid-range plays and shots from out.
But that wasn't really true, Jake just preferred to score mid-range shots and 3 point shots because it was so much more efficient and his opponents didn't have the ability to hinder their shots.
At Jake University he knew it would be different, so many teams would have defensive and strong players that even if they couldn't block, they would still get in the way of their shots, so now Jake would have to use his skills much more to do inside scoring.
So Coach Smith was thinking that even if Jake could not start as a starter, he could still go into the spin in the match and play for several minutes, just because he didn't have a lot of rapport with the team.
Maybe in more games, Jake could become the starter if he had good performances, it was the same situation in the high school Elite team, Nathan and Lucas were clearly better than David and Harrison and would still be the future of the team.
Even so, Coach Mike couldn't take David and Harrison out and leave them as starters because he had to think about how the two veterans had a relationship with Jake and his teammates.
Just at the end of the season last year that Nathan and Lucas were able to play as starters, Jake was in a similar situation, but even more, complicated because his teammates were of the same skill level as him so the coach could leave Jake in reserve.
Even though after these weeks of training, the basketball players talked more often with Jake and he was gradually getting in touch, Charlie was still talking to Jake more and Vince also talked to Jake more and more often.
That day when Jake returned to the dorm his friends hadn't arrived yet, Zack had gone off as he often did to talk to his brother, and William was in the library studying to do better in class.
So only Jake and Aaron were in the dorm, Jake thought this was a great opportunity to try talking to Aaron again, if he was wrong and Aaron still didn't want to talk to him, Jake would give up.
"Hi Aaron, we tried to talk the other day and I realized you seemed to have some problems that day, but we're in the same dorm so how about we go out to dinner and try to talk again?"
Aaron who was reading his book looked at Jake surprised after more than 1 month of classes and he still couldn't talk to his roommates, Aaron was shy and had already rejected Zack that day and so expected an opportunity to talk.
He didn't think Jake would understand his problems and try to talk to him first, so Aaron agreed with Jake and went out to the restaurant where Jake and the others would normally go, Aaron found it more comfortable talking to Jake than the three of them together.
"So Aaron, I don't know how to be as sociable as Zack and hope you have time to talk, can you tell me something about yourself?"
"I lived in New York before coming to university, my father owns a transportation company and my mother died many years ago."
"I have two older sisters who don't have much contact and an older brother named Terrence and he works with my father in his company, I should also go to work in the company, but I had the opportunity to study and came to UNC."
Jake had realized that despite having a face that always seemed to be angry Aaron was actually quite calm, so he spent all day reading when not in a class, Jake was glad to have decided to talk to Aaron again.
Just as Jake told a little about his life and family as he did with Zack and William, Aaron was also surprised to learn that Jake played basketball and still ran marathons, but did not doubt Jake as much as Zack and William had.
After they talked about many other things and Jake learned that Aaron also enjoyed sports a lot and remembered that Jake had won the marathon at the end of the Olympics, he had not recognized Jake because he did not care much about the marathon winner.
They also talked about various things that happened to them in middle school and high school, Aaron also got angry when he learned what the teachers did to Jake in middle school and what the coach did to Jake in high school.
In a few hours of conversation the two found that they had many things in common, Jake said he played some high school football games and Aaron was impressed and a little depressed before talking about what happened to him.
"I also played American football in high school, I always had a strong body and was pretty fast from a kid, so early in high school, I decided I would try to play football like I always saw my idols playing in the NFL."
Jake really thought that Aaron had a lot of muscle for someone normal, so he was an athlete, many play American footballs in high school, a shame that most do not have enough talent to enter the university as a player.
"I always trained my body at the gym and took care of my fitness, I didn't want to end up suffering an injury for not taking care of my body, when I was a Sophomore I finally got into the starting lineup in the WR position."
"As the years went by I secured my starting position on the team and made several touchdowns during the seasons I played, in the last year of high school I was the best WR on my team and I received scholarship offers from various universities."
When Aaron kept talking Jake understood that he had misunderstood the situation Aaron was in, it seemed that he really had a talent unlike most and even got a scholarship to play with.
But Jake understood that something must have happened for Aaron to tell this story without a smile and seems to be hurting to speak.
"I ended up choosing to study and play here at UNC because I'm a big fan of Michael Jordan, besides, I knew I wasn't that good at football and wanted to play on a team that I could play in."
"My father was not very happy to hear that I did not decide to work at his company as my brother and I decided to study, but he also liked football and knew that studies could just do me good, besides, as his company is his I can work there anytime I want."
"Unfortunately on my vacation before I came here I went to play a football game with my high school teammates and ended up suffering a rupture in my Achilles tendon."
"So my father warned the university that he said that as the injury was caused out of an official game they would not help and that I would lose my scholarship as I could not play on the football team."
Jake could understand why Aaron was so angry and nervous when they met him at the beginning of his semester at university, even though Aaron was wrong to end up hurting himself by playing outside of an official game they could be more supportive at such a time.
"Fortunately my father was able and paid for part of the surgery that was not covered by my health plan, so I was just over 2 months unable to walk normally and fully recover."
"Also, my father had to pay tuition and tuition here at the university as I had lost my scholarship, luckily my father can support me, otherwise my future would be lost, so I was having physical therapy before coming here and I'm still doing it."
"I was angry at the beginning of the semester when you came to talk to me about everything that happened to me on vacation and I was also very angry with the university that can't support me at the moment I needed it most and with the physiotherapy that was difficult to transfer sessions here and still bothers."
| ← Ch. 259 | Ch. 261 → |