Chapter 681: The Monotonous Training
The afternoon sun was especially harsh. With no skyscrapers to block it and no dense forests to stop it, the golden sunlight beat down mercilessly, scorching the vast land of California. The air was steaming, and the rising temperature made the air twist. In less than twenty minutes outside, you would be drenched in sweat.
It was hard to imagine that it was only April, and yet the streets of Los Angeles were already filled with the heat of summer.
Being inside the indoor stadium, the feeling wasn't so obvious. As you walked through the shadows, a few goosebumps would pop up on your skin, and you could vaguely feel spring's lingering footsteps. But as soon as you left the shelter of the concrete walls, the intense heat would hit you like a wave, as if you had immediately entered hell mode.
Leigh Steinberg took out a handkerchief from his pocket and wiped the sweat from his forehead. Through the shadow of his sunglasses, his eyes fell on the field. The players were dedicated to their training, and the quiet training field was filled with a scene of bustling energy.
Among the players training, there was Leigh's client: Lu Ke.
At this moment, Lu Ke was panting heavily. He grabbed his water bottle, aimed it at his mouth, and squeezed it hard, quickly swallowing the energy drink to replenish his constantly-depleting energy. At the same time, Kip Krist was standing next to him, personally demonstrating the movements and explaining the key points and techniques.
The offseason had already begun.
Strictly speaking, Lu Ke's offseason started earlier than other players.
After returning from Hawaii, Lu Ke took two more days to adjust. It wasn't for rest, but to specifically travel to Oakland to personally visit the Oracle Arena and watch an NBA regular season game to cheer on his friend Stephen Curry.
Oakland and San Francisco are connected by a large bridge, the "San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge," but residents of both cities affectionately call it the "Bay Bridge," making travel between the two cities very simple and fast.
Because of this, people generally see the San Francisco Bay Area as a single entity, a huge metropolitan area—second only to New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago, and the fourth largest metropolitan area in the United States. It is an important pillar of the North American continent in terms of population, economy, arts, and transportation.
The intimacy and friendliness between the two cities have also been extended through the Bay Bridge. At the Oracle Arena, Lu Ke received a superstar's home-field treatment. The fans generously gave him applause and cheers, enthusiastically welcoming his arrival. In a trance, they seemed to have forgotten the existence of the Oakland Raiders.
Unfortunately, the Golden State Warriors lost to the visiting Oklahoma City Thunder by three points at home. But Curry performed well, delivering ten assists and leading the team in technical stats. After the rest and adjustment from the lockout and the encouragement from his conversations with Lu Ke and Watt, Curry was slowly finding his place on the team.
After his visit, Lu Ke drove to Los Angeles and officially kicked off his offseason at the University of California, Los Angeles. While other players were still immersed in the post-Super Bowl frenzy and planning their vacations, Lu Ke had already started his full-fledged training for his second season.
For Leigh, this was naturally a good thing.
Every offseason, sports agents have to be busy.
On one hand, they fight for better contracts for their players to get more benefits. On the other hand, they urge their players to get into offseason training, especially rookies and young players. They have to work harder and fight harder to establish themselves in the league.
However, Leigh didn't need to urge Lu Ke. Lu Ke had already started organizing training on his own. On the contrary, Leigh was worried that Lu Ke would overtrain and cause unnecessary injuries. For a sports agent, this was a good problem to have.
This time, Lu Ke was not alone.
With Leigh's full support, Lu Ke officially formed his own personal training team, including a strength and conditioning coach, a professional nutritionist, a data analyst, and a physical therapist.
There were four members in total. They temporarily signed a three-month short-term cooperation agreement to be responsible for all the training details for Lu Ke during this offseason. As for whether they would continue to cooperate in the long run, they would decide based on the results of the three-month cooperation.
In addition, the San Francisco 49ers' quarterback coach, Kip Krist, also personally came to Los Angeles to join Lu Ke's training team and was responsible for the technical guidance.
However, Kip was only a part-time coach. He would not stay with Lu Ke twenty-four/seven. After formulating the corresponding training plan, he would still enjoy his vacation and then come back regularly to check on Lu Ke's training progress and provide guidance and suggestions for improvement.
In addition, several other players, including J.J. Watt, Logan Newman, Marcus Lynch, Mike Ruparti, and Scott Tolsen, also joined Lu Ke's group and came to the University of California, Los Angeles, to train together during the offseason.
What was most unexpected was that offensive lineman Joe Stanley also showed up.
Also, Ted Ginn came to Los Angeles and joined the offseason training. However, Ted still couldn't do strenuous exercise or even train with the ball yet. He was still in the early stages of recovery, so his training items and content were different from his teammates.
Originally, Lu Ke had also invited Aldon Smith.
Aldon verbally agreed, but in terms of action, Aldon was nowhere to be found.
"Nowhere to be found" was a literal meaning. He truly disappeared. He didn't answer calls or reply to emails. Later, Logan accidentally found out where he was on Instagram. Aldon was enjoying his wonderful vacation in the Caribbean Sea.
In response to this, Lu Ke and Logan could only shrug. In the end, it was a personal choice.
Logan also said with an envious look, "Ah, that's my dream offseason. If it wasn't for..."
If it wasn't for Lu Ke's invitation, Logan would probably be sunbathing in the blue waters of the Caribbean Sea right now.
But Logan didn't have time to finish his sentence. He felt Lu Ke's eyes, which were like flying knives, looking at him. He quickly stretched and said, "Oh, actually, training is pretty good. I'm already looking forward to it. I think we can make it to the Super Bowl this new season. What do you guys think?"
Marcus, Watt, and the others standing next to him didn't respond and silently pulled away, showing that they didn't know Logan.
Regardless, Lu Ke's offseason training had started. But Leigh never appeared on the training field. Professional training was truly too boring and tedious. There was no need for an amateur to be there. Today was only his second time showing up. In just twenty minutes, the scorching sun made him deeply feel how difficult it was to be a professional athlete.
On the field, after a brief exchange and guidance, Lu Ke bent down, grabbed a bottle of water, poured it all over his head, and then distanced himself from Kip and returned to his position to continue training.
Lu Ke stood in the middle.
Not the middle of the field, but the middle relative to the left and right sides, which can be understood as a simulation of a real game, standing behind the center.
He stood firm, bent down slightly, adjusted his breathing, and got into a ready position.
Kip, who was squatting diagonally to his right, shouted, "Start!" At the same time, there was a large basket of footballs beside him. He picked one up and threw it to Lu Ke. Then he immediately picked up another one, ready to feed the balls one after another.
After catching the ball, Lu Ke adjusted with small steps in place, then quickly took a step back. After two big strides, he raised his arm and passed the ball toward the net fifteen yards away.
After completing the first movement, without any pause, he stepped forward and returned to his starting position. Without stopping, Kip threw the football to Lu Ke again.
Lu Ke adjusted with small steps in place again. This time he moved horizontally to the left. After two big strides, he raised his arm and threw the football toward the same target.
This was a training drill for pocket footwork and moving passes.
According to the original training requirements, a four-quadrant area was marked on the ground. The intersection in the center was the snap point. Then, he would move in a straight line along the four directions of front, back, left, and right—or southeast, southwest, northeast, and northwest—and complete a pass while moving.
The target for each training session was the same, but the target would move after one session ended and a new one began.
For example, if the target for this training session was fifteen yards straight ahead, Lu Ke would have to aim for the same net after moving in the four directions of southeast, southwest, northeast, and northwest, and adjust the passing line, strength, and angle according to his footwork. But next time, the target might be eight yards diagonally ahead, and he would repeat the training of constantly moving in those eight directions.
The entire training was so monotonous. Just to practice one target fifteen yards straight ahead, Lu Ke would have to go back and forth more than fifty times, over and over and over again.
What was even more terrifying was that Lu Ke had changed the original training plan, or rather, increased the difficulty.
In addition to the four directions of southeast, southwest, northeast, and northwest, four more directions were added: southeast, southwest, northeast, and northwest. A total of eight directions, showing a radial coverage area, to complete a pass while moving at high speed.
In an official game, defensive players might swarm from all directions. Even if Lu Ke was not a running quarterback, he still had to learn to complete a pass in a chaotic situation. Any potential interference could be the reason for an incomplete pass.
"Faster! Faster! Faster!"
Kip squatted next to him, throwing the footballs to Lu Ke while controlling the training rhythm. The rhythm was gradually getting faster, like a raging tide!
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