420 I’m Going to Retire (1/2)

The AP Training Center

”Well, this set is finished, let's take a break.” The coach picked up a towel, wiped the sweat off his head, and then walked away indifferently.

Phillip sat on the stool and panted. But his eyes were full of helplessness, because he had sensed the indifference of his coach, which was totally different than when he had just come here.

Phillip still remembered that when he first came to the AP Training Center, every coach was so enthusiastic about him. They even gave him a small reception party. But now when the coaches worked with him, they were impatient and perfunctory.

It was true that Phillip's performance was disappointing, at least for the coaches who trained him, because they felt that their hard work was not being rewarded.

It was just like a teacher who found a very talented student, then spent a lot of time teaching the student, giving the student special attention, and trying to cultivate the student to be an elite. However, the student's academic performance became increasingly worse, until it was the worst in the class. Then the teacher who had endeavored to cultivate the student would be very disappointed, so the teacher's patience for the student would disappear gradually, and his expectation for the student would eventually transform into disgust.

The same was true of the coaches. When Phillip first came to the AP Training Center, all the coaches had great expectations for him. They hoped that Phillip would make it to the Olympic Games and make brilliant achievements. So, when he first came here, they were very patient and gave him much attention.

But Phillip's performance declined until it was practically free-falling. So the coaches were dissatisfied, and they were also under great pressure from their management, which made them put in more effort.

However, who would continue to try when their efforts were not rewarded?

When the patience of his coaches was worn out, Phillip's performance was still as terrible as before. So they chose to give up. They were not enthusiastic about Phillip, and they no longer paid special attention to him. On the contrary, they were indifferent to Phillip, just like numb workers standing in an assembly line.

Phillip didn't like this feeling, and he was eager to get away from the training center as soon as possible. He wanted to go back home, where he could feel more secure.

At that moment, Phillip's phone rang, and he took it out only to find it was a call from Steven.

Shouldn't he be negotiating with the sponsors in Oakland now? Has he succeeded? Phillip was slightly pleased, and he answered the phone.

”Have you reached an agreement with the sponsor?” asked Phillip.

”No! What a d*mn sponsor, they want you to cut the ribbon for a pizza restaurant, then promised to give you two hundred bucks as appearance fee, among which one hundred dollars are vouchers for their restaurant. Damn it, who would want to eat pizza in their restaurant! It's insulting! Well, let's talk about another topic. Can you find today's Sport Today around you?” asked Steven.

”Probably? What's the matter?” asked Phillip.

”Looks like we were betrayed by the AP Training Center!” Steven said gloomily.

Dai Li picked up a copy of Sports Today, and there was a news report about Phillip, one which read, ”We specially interviewed the AP Training Center in Los Angeles, and a coach, who didn't give his name, said Barron Phillip didn't pay much attention to his daily training, which was the main reason for his bad performance...”

When Dai Li saw this report, an unnatural expression twisted his face.

”How could they say that? Barron has been with me for two years, so I know him. He's definitely not the guy to be lazy in training! He has no feet, so he needs a pair of prosthetic legs for training. He's suffered more difficulties and pain than ordinary people, but he persisted! He spares no effort,” said Dai Li.

”Don't you understand? This is just an excuse of the AP Training Center. They want to pass the buck.” Blake made a helpless gesture and added, ”The AP Training Center won't tell the press that they are not as good as we are in terms of training, yet Phillip's performance is getting worse and worse! They have to find an excuse to put the blame on someone else!”

”But they may destroy Phillip's future by saying so. This is a lie!” Dai Li said excitedly.

Even if it's a lie, the AP Training Center wants it to be true! Blake crossed his legs with a poker face, and then said, ”You may think it's despicable behavior, but if you were in the position of the AP Training Center, you might find that the AP Training Center is just trying to minimize their losses. It's true that it is morally wrong to do so, but it is okay to do so when it comes to business operation. I think if I had faced that situation, I might have chosen to do the same.”