"Old friend, how have you been lately?" George walked over to Coach Wayne's side and found a seat, looking like he intended to have a deep conversation.
"Terrible. I just finalized the divorce papers with Selena. I can't believe she would actually do something like that..." Having finally met someone he could confide in, the dejected Coach Wayne couldn't help but vent about his ex-wife.
Regarding such matters, any man would likely find it hard to restrain themselves.
However, Wayne quickly realized that this wasn't the appropriate place for such talk, so he shifted his tone and said: "Forget it, let's not mention those frustrating things. Tell me about you - how have you been since leaving the team?"
"I'm doing alright. I found a job at a sporting goods store with weekends off..." George answered in a relaxed tone, not pouring out his own negative emotions.
Afterward, the two engaged in casual small talk, during which George kept looking for an opportunity to persuade the other man to pull himself together.
Just like that, time reached nearly ten in the morning. As the match was about to kick off, the players from Little Garden High School appeared in the center of the field.
Aaron, on his side, came before Coach Wayne before heading out, asking: "Coach, what tactics are we using today?"
"Tactics?" Coach Wayne clearly hadn't considered the question, then replied perfunctorily: "Just use the tactics from your previous training sessions."
Tactics from training? That meant no tactics at all.
"Alright." Aaron paused for a moment, not exposing the lie to his face.
After saving some face for Coach Wayne in front of George, the former head coach, Aaron led his teammates onto the field with a worried expression.
"Wayne, this year's Spring Invitational stage is a good opportunity for you to prove yourself..."
Once Aaron left, George took the chance to advise Wayne beside him: "If you can lead Medford - a team with such potential now - to good results, you might even be scouted by a university team..."
Last year, it was because George led the team to great results that he received an offer from a university football team.
Wayne, who was not yet forty this year, was at the age where he should be striving; his career definitely had room for further advancement.
In middle age, one must grasp either family or career.
George wanted to use career success to motivate his old friend, who was frustrated at home, to cheer up again.
"We'll see during the Summer League." Coach Wayne looked like he was just giving up.
To be fair, the non-ranking Spring Invitational did have much less prestige compared to the Summer League.
Of course, setting his sights on the summer while still in the spring was merely an excuse for Coach Wayne to escape reality.
Back when he was an assistant coach under George, Wayne's work attitude had been relatively slack.
Now, having suffered a heavy blow to his family life, his edges had been smoothed away, and he had lost his enterprising spirit.
Opposite him, George, who had tried his best, looked at the disheveled and decadent Wayne and shook his head helplessly.
A person who has given up on themselves cannot be brought back with just a few words.
"By the way, how about we go for a drink later?" Wayne, still immersed in sorrow, extended an invitation.
Alcohol could numb the nerves and make one temporarily forget the pain.
"OK-" George nodded, not refusing the invitation. Immediately, his gaze turned toward the field.
On the field, the coin toss between the two teams had ended, and Little Garden High School luckily won the right to attack first.
As both teams spread into formation, the first quarter officially began.
In their first round of offense, Little Garden High School adopted standard long and short ball tactics, aiming for a steady advance.
On the other side, the Medford team, having experienced a loss in the previous game, showed their best form, wanting to wash away their previous disgrace.
Consequently, at the midfield position, the two teams engaged in a fierce battle of offense and defense.
In the end, the defensive players led by Sam tightly entangled Little Garden High's quarterback.
It was clearly felt that the basic skills of Sam and the other veteran players had not declined.
George, noticing this from the sidelines, nodded with satisfaction.
Afterward, the game on the field entered a long stalemate.
Finally, when the game had proceeded for over four minutes, Little Garden High - having been forced to a halt three times in a row - relied on a field goal opportunity to win three points for the team.
Four-plus minutes and 3 points; such scoring efficiency wasn't high, but for the two teams on different sides of the field, it seemed acceptable.
However, after the possession switched, the atmosphere on the field underwent a subtle Transformation.
Medford's defeat last week was no secret, so before the game started, the head coach of Little Garden High had gathered information on the opponent.
Therefore, when the Medford team, with no extra tactics to choose from, once again set up their dual-core tactic, the opposing Little Garden High immediately adopted a local prevention and control strategy.
This situation, which felt like a repeat of yesterday, made the Medford players very uncomfortable.
Despite their overall strength being higher than the opponent's, they were restricted because of tactics; the feeling of being stuck in a quagmire slowly waiting for death was not pleasant.
Consequently, Sam, who was once again double-teamed by three opponents at midfield and forced to stop to save the ball, showed signs of losing control of his emotions.
And this was only the first quarter-
It could be imagined that if the situation continued to develop this way, Medford's performance in this invitational would only be worse than the last game.
"Wayne, the players need you now-"
From the sidelines, George, noticing the unfavorable situation, called out to remind Coach Wayne, who was leaning lazily in his seat.
This was exactly the moment for him to perform.
"It's fine, it's just an invitational. It's good for them to suffer some setbacks..." Coach Wayne, who should have done something, chose to let things go to ruin.
"Fine-"
Seeing Wayne's indifferent attitude, George shook his head in disappointment, no longer pinning any hope on him.
In the subsequent play, the Medford football team, unable to break through the opponent's defense, found it increasingly difficult and gradually lost the initiative in the situation.
When the whistle for the end of the first quarter blew, the suppressed Medford players returned to the rest area feeling frustrated.
Seeing the players looking dejected one by one, George finally couldn't help but stand up, clapped his hands to draw everyone's attention, and said: "Listen to me, kids, the game has just begun, it's not time to give up yet..."
As the veteran players gathered around, George found the feeling of when he used to be the head coach.
"Aaron, Sam, I need you to change your positioning in a moment..." George explained the way to deal with local prevention and control to the two of them.
As the quarterback, Aaron had better vision and long-passing ability. As for the power player Sam, as long as enough space was created for him, George believed not many people on the field could block his charge.
"Also, everyone else, pull yourselves together; you are a whole..."
"Let's go, everyone!!!"
The rest time for the first quarter was only two minutes. As the players prepared to return to the field, George also encouraged them.
The Medford players, who had gradually found a backbone, regained their confidence.
After the second quarter began, just as George had predicted, relying on Aaron's long-passing ability and Sam's charging ability, Medford broke Little Garden High's local prevention and control strategy.
The Medford spectators, who had already lost hope in their team, saw the players' sudden improvement and offered rounds of applause and cheers.
The scene suddenly became lively.
Sometimes, a game is a competition of momentum.
The Medford players, now feeling confident, fought more bravely after breaking through the predicament.
Immediately, Little Garden High, forced into a steady retreat, had to call a timeout.
"Coach, how should we play next?" During the timeout, Aaron came to the sidelines to seek George's help.
"After this timeout, the opponent will definitely change their defensive strategy. But don't worry, your comprehensive strength is much stronger than theirs. Next, no matter what tricks they play, you just need to play steadily..." George shared his experience.
At this stage, the Medford players had completed a transformation.
As long as they didn't make major mistakes in the upcoming play, in a head-to-head contest, there was simply no possibility of losing.