"Dale, thank you for taking care of me during this time." The next day, which was a weekend, George went to the sporting goods store with a hint of apology and resigned from his sales clerk job.
Although the salary for working at the sporting goods store was not high, it did help George get through his difficult situation at the time.
"Go on, George. I knew you would return to the team one day; that's where you belong." Dale smiled and waved, "Remember to come and support my store's business in the future."
"Absolutely." George turned and hugged him, promising, "When I have time, I'll come find you for a drink."
The past six months of companionship had also forged a deep friendship between two men of vastly different ages.
…
Monday.
George, who had resumed his role as head coach, spent the entire morning reviewing all the team members' profiles.
By the afternoon outdoor training session, he could already match the names of the newly joined players with their faces.
For a physical education teacher, this was quite an achievement.
"Aaron, you lead everyone in warm-ups first. Later, I'll give you a new physical test…" On the field, George, wearing an orange short-sleeved sports shirt, assigned tasks to everyone.
New coach, new atmosphere—
Seeing the new coach's enthusiastic demeanor, the football players were also full of fighting spirit.
After everyone had finished warming up and gathered again, George also stated his plan: "I plan to divide the team into an offensive group and a defensive group, so I need to give you another round of physical tests to arrange positions according to your individual situations…"
Not every school has the ability to divide its team into groups; that requires a sufficient reserve of talent.
The Medford Team, currently with nearly a hundred players, basically met the conditions for grouping.
In a regular football team, there are offensive, defensive, and special teams, totaling fifty-four official players.
Among them, the special team personnel, who have specific roles, are the most numerous and not highly effective.
Therefore, generally, it is only at the university level that various football teams have the ability and need to consider establishing their own special teams.
"Alright, I've said everything I need to say. Next, let's go to the equipment area for testing…" After arranging the players, George then said to Coach Wayne behind him, "I'll leave the scorekeeping to you."
"No problem," Coach Wayne, holding a clipboard behind him, nodded.
He had now clearly become George's little follower.
According to the team's needs, the physical tests included a forty-yard weighted sprint, standing vertical jump, shuttle run, and other events.
These events corresponded to the players' speed, explosiveness, and agility, respectively.
Of course, a comprehensive physical test also needs to measure balance, flexibility, coordination, and endurance.
A physical test for nearly a hundred people was no small undertaking; repetitive and mechanical testing inevitably made it feel tedious.
Of course, Mike's testing process was not included in that.
Forty-yard weighted sprint: 4.5 s
Standing vertical jump: 1.2 m
…
Mike, constantly breaking the Medford Team's physical test records, made the high school players, who had not seen much of the world, continuously contribute to global warming.
"45, 46, 47…"
On the one-hundred-kilogram bench press machine, Mike was undergoing his strength test.
"Hold on! Mike! One more time…" George, who witnessed the birth of a miracle, continuously cheered Mike on.
"50, 51—"
As the number of presses reached fifty-one, Mike stopped his strength test.
Currently, even the top professional football players generally perform around fifty bench presses in the 100-120kg range.
To avoid being too shocking and scaring everyone, Mike slightly restrained his abilities during the test.
Converted proportionally, this test probably showed about one-fifth of his strength.
Even so, everyone who witnessed the fifty-one bench press record couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.
"You, you really are a monster—"
After seeing Mike's inhuman performance, Georgie excitedly stepped forward and squeezed the muscles on his arm, almost drooling with envy.
In six months, Mike had grown another two centimeters, and his physique remained well-built and not bulky.
It was hard to imagine that such immense energy was contained within such a body.
"I wonder how his tackle compares to Sam's…"
The players who witnessed Mike's fifty-one presses discussed in low voices.
The equipment area had specialized impact training equipment, but unfortunately, that set of equipment could not measure impact force.
Therefore, everyone did not have an accurate understanding of Mike's destructive impact force.
As for Sam, after six months of hard training, his strength remained in a league of its own within the team.
In the recent bench press test, he also achieved an astonishing thirty-six repetitions.
Although there was still a gap compared to Mike's fifty-one, compared to the generally single-digit bench press numbers of others, Sam was indeed excellent in terms of strength.
To have a reference, everyone naturally connected Sam and Mike.
George also heard the players' discussions, and he was equally curious about Mike's impact force.
After all, in football, collisions are abundant.
So, during the interval just before the endurance test was about to begin, George asked, "Mike, Sam, do you two want to have a confrontation drill?"
"I'm fine with it, Coach," Sam stepped forward and responded.
Although he knew he couldn't compare to Mike, after a period of arduous training, he was still a bit unwilling to give up.
Moreover, confrontation drills not only test strength but also require skill.
And in the past six months, Sam had also specifically trained in skills.
This confrontation drill might be his best chance to beat Mike.
"I'm fine too." Mike, with his underlying strength, feared no challenge.
Furthermore, football is inherently a sport where strength speaks for itself.
Soon, under the watchful eyes of the players, Mike and Sam began their confrontation drill.
The two, less than a meter apart, both had thick pads placed behind them.
"Are you both ready?" George asked.
The two, leaning forward and ready for the confrontation, nodded simultaneously.
Compared to Sam, whose muscles were bulging and ready to explode, Mike's half-bent posture seemed a bit slender in comparison.
"Set..."
"Bang!"
With the ear-grating sound of protective gear colliding, a huge figure flew backward through the air.
Although they had guessed it, seeing Sam being knocked away in a second still surprised all the players.
Even Coach Wayne, who was responsible for recording scores behind them, opened his mouth wide.
One must know this was a close-range collision.
Heaven knew how much impact force Mike would have when running at full speed.
"Sam, are you okay?" George, after a moment of surprise, quickly ran to check on Sam.
The huge impact force almost sent the big guy flying out of the pad's range.
However, thanks to the protection of the thick protective gear, Sam, although he looked a bit battered from the collision, was actually not injured.
"I'm fine, Coach," Sam replied after calming down a bit.
Only after confirming that he was truly fine did George relax. Otherwise, injuring a player on the first day back with the team would not be good to explain to the school.
"You go rest on the side for a bit—"
To be safe, George gave Sam the privilege of resting, then said to the other players, "Next, we'll do the final endurance test."
The endurance test was very simple: the players formed a square formation and ran laps at a steady pace, and those who couldn't keep up could drop out of the formation.
More than an hour later, as players dropped out one by one, Mike, the only one remaining, also stopped.
At this point, the endurance test was completely over.
"I have a basic understanding of everyone's situation. Tomorrow afternoon, I will officially announce the positions you will be taking on the team. Of course, if you have any different opinions or suggestions, you can always come to me to express them…" The team was not a dictatorship, so George did not make his words absolute.
Afterward, seeing that it was about time, George gave everyone enough time to rest and wash up.
"That's all for today, dismiss—"
"Goodbye, Coach—"
After bidding farewell to the coach, the players, exhausted, walked together towards the locker room.
Clearly, the previous endurance test was not easy for everyone.