After Leaving the Sports Circle, I Became a Cooking God (Completed BL)

Chapter 49: The so-called 'facing reality' & 'easygoing' Su Bai

Translator: dapotaturs
Release Date: 09/04/2023

"Not... Coach Su, how do you plan to make them understand the reality?"

Su Bai's previous answer had caught Pei Jin'an off guard, and he seemed a bit flustered.

Looking at Pei Jin'an's nervous expression, Su Bai remained calm and said, "It's nothing. I just want them to realize their current level."

Pausing for a moment, Su Bai continued, "If it's convenient, I'd like to ask the national team to help arrange a foreign match or invite athletes from Europe and America to participate in a simple internal practice match for our key 400m athletes."

Hearing Su Bai's words, Pei Jin'an finally completely understood—Su Bai intended to give the 400m athletes a reality check!

He furrowed his brows and said to Su Bai, "Coach Su, I understand that you're new here and might be concerned about the athletes' lack of cooperation in training. But as coaches, we not only have to consider the athletes' training but also their psychological conditions. Currently, the Asian Games are scheduled for August 23rd to September 1st. Today is already July 18th, and the training camp athletes will be arriving within the next three days. Deducting the relaxation and adaptation time before the competition, we have barely 40 days for the training camp."

"We need to ensure that the athletes have effective training during this time and, even more importantly, maintain their competitive confidence. Organizing practice matches for our athletes against 400m athletes from Europe and America might seriously undermine their confidence and could prove detrimental to their performance at the Asian Games..."

From Pei Jin'an's response, it was evident that he wasn't supportive of Su Bai's plan. However, since Su Bai was a newcomer, Pei Jin'an gave him some leeway and refrained from outright opposition or criticism.

Before proposing this idea, Su Bai had anticipated this kind of reaction. After Pei Jin'an rejected it, Su Bai explained the reasons behind his request.

In reality, Su Bai had already begun noticing the current state of the 400m event when Qiu Wen participated in the preliminary rounds and finals of the 400m event at his first Grand Prix station. Additionally, after observing the 400m event at the trials over the last couple of days, this impression had become even clearer to him—the domestic track and field environment was too lenient towards the 400m event.

The reason behind this lenient environment was simple: the domestic 400m event was weak. It was so weak that any minor improvement, any bit of growth, would be met with enthusiastic praise from the athletics community.

This situation, in a sense, was a good thing. Due to the leniency and encouragement from track and field enthusiasts, athletes wouldn't have to bear unwarranted life attacks or disparaging comments that they shouldn't have to endure under high-pressure conditions.

However, from another perspective, athletes raised in this nurturing environment were prone to complacency and easy contentment. As long as they achieved some level of success or progress, they would be showered with countless praises.

In the early years, the 100m and 200m events had a similar environment. However, these two events, especially the 100m, were always the most highly regarded on the domestic track and field scene. Therefore, the Athletics Management Center would bear pressure from the General Administration of Sport, which would then be passed down to various track and field teams, increasing the intensity of athlete development.

It can be said that in order to make a breakthrough in the 100m event, the entire sports system in China had to endure a certain level of pressure. In such an environment, every second of improvement was praised, but the weight on everyone's shoulders remained substantial. Achieving even a slight result didn't lead to overjoyed complacency.