Disoriented, and drool hanging on the corner of his mouth, he elongated his body—Winston felt his body light, all the intensity of his muscles was gone. Sitting up straight, he scanned the room and discovered with surprise that he was sleeping in his hotel room. For a minute, he wondered how he got here—until he remembered he was with Dumi. He shifted to his right side, reached for his phone, observed that it was midday, and then rapidly ascended from his bed to hasten himself towards the bathroom. He was still somewhat dazed from his sleep, and then it dawned on him that he had a training session with Dumi, though they hadn't confirmed the exact time.
He fixed his training cleats on the bed, then glanced across the room, excited about training with the world's top football striker—while sitting down, he glanced at his legs. An overwhelming excitement came over him—he squeezed his legs. His legs had been experiencing a series of sensations that were remarkably free of any pain, a situation that he still struggled to fully accept; simultaneously, a brisk, cool wind enveloped his body, jolting him awake and compelling him to stand and make his way over to the door. With an expression of sheer excitement adorning his features, he couldn't contain his enthusiasm.
Having descended to the hotel's ground floor, Winston ambled toward the spacious hallway, his eyes briefly examining the area around the receptionist's desk. As Winston rapidly approaches them, Dumi, who had been resting against the receptionist's desk, is presently involved in a conversation with his daughter. Annalise extended her neck to get a better view over her father's shoulder. Dumi shifted around at a slow pace, keeping one arm propped. "Rise and shine; how are you feeling, kid?"
"Ye…yes! Thank you so much for helping me," Winston said, stretching his back head.
"Don't worry about it kid, I talked to your head coach about me being your personal trainer. We got about four weeks until the junior league continues. So right now I'm gonna be your trainer—C'mon, let's head to the ground. See you at home, Lise."
Annalise bid farewell to Winston and her father with a wave. "Who is that guy? Is he your distance, cousin?" Whipping her head towards the voice coming from the other side of the long, sliver steel—painted receptionist desk. "Oh hey Mbali, no he's part of the football club and they are staying in the hotel."
"Are you taking him, because if you don't, I'm taking him. Mmm, I wonder if he is single. Can you ask him for me?" Mbali said, lustfully admiring Winston.
"I don't think he has time for the relationship."
"Why is he taken?"
"I don't, I mean, right now he's just focused on football."
"Oh, he is athletic too, I likey"
"..."
Winston looked over at Dumi, who was ahead of him in the central large hallway. Winston had not until this moment. Dumi, clad in a blue tracksuit and running shoes, felt a surge of conflicting emotions. He was thrilled about finding a mentor but also apprehensive about the unknown training and the mentor's personality. After leaving the hotel's back door, move towards the beautiful plants located outside the hallway. He watched his teammates wrap up their training session from the training ground. A voice startled him, causing him to turn his head and see the striker coach and Maximilian standing before him and Dumi. "Mr. Crowe, what a surprise seeing you here, what brings you here?" said the striker coach, shaking Dumi's hand.
"I live around this part, and I have a kid with me. He needs my mentorship."
The striker coach glanced at Winston, smirked, and shook his head. "Him, why bother with him—they are other youthful players who have more potential than him."
"I don't think so. He has great potential, he's one of those gems in the rough."
"Good luck, oh, by the way, this is my player great striker in the club," the striker coach said, gesturing at Maximilian.
"Good evening, sir," said Maximilian
"Good evening, kid," replied Dumi.
"How about a challenge, four weeks before we leave for our next league match. In the next training match, how about both Winston and Maximilian have a light match?"
"Interesting, I approve of this match, I'd like to see these promising players progress after four weeks," said the head coach. From a vantage point behind Maximilian and the striker coach, the head coach observed the proceedings. Besides the head coach, all the other teammates were present and privy to the entire conversation. There was tension between Winston and Maximilian; these two strikers were at odds on and off the field, they both hogged the ball.
"Okay, let's make this fun—the loser will be benched for three matches, and the winner will start in the upcoming three matches."
The rest of the teammates murmured, sure Winston had hard work but his form was still fundamental. And on the other hand, Maximilian has shown significant form that far succeeded Winston. The striker's coach has improved his form and skills.
With a smirk on his face, the striker coach glanced Winston up and down. A subtle amusement arose from the observation of his physique, which featured only a modest amount of musculature. "Deal, this is going to be fun."
"Since we are done, we will be going. C'mon, kid, let's go."
Once they had reached the training ground, Dumi engaged in a lengthy stretch and yawn, showing no signs of distress from the ordeal they had just endured. Conversely, Winston remained in a state of shock, and the events that had just transpired left him feeling quite uneasy. He even thought that Dumi was a crazy man. Who just wedged his first eleven spot.
Maximilian has shown great growth, will I even be able to beat him in four weeks? And what type of skills will he teach me? Maybe I should ask him to train me in shooting. Maximilian is good at shooting when in the box but not from different angles.
"Kid, do warm-ups, start with a jog from one cone to another cone, and after that, forward shuffles. and do those going forward and backward." Dumi said, folding his arms.
For what seemed to be an extended period of twenty minutes, Winston carried out these warm-up exercises while simultaneously observing Dumi. His expression seemed to change from his natural laid-back to a more observing one. "Okay, now do knee high swing warm-up from this cone to another cone over there," he pointed at the cones separated by ten meters.
With a subtle nod of his head, Dumi carefully observed Winston's legs, indicating with a hand gesture that Winston should continue with more repetitions of the high knee swing warm-up exercise. Following an additional twenty minutes of practice, he instructed Winston to transition to a forward kick drill utilizing the same ten-meter cone setup.
After another twenty minutes, Dumi didn't allow Winston to catch his breath, of course, there was nothing to catch since he didn't feel tired nor out of breath. This warm-up exercise led him to believe that Dumi was deliberately testing the endurance of his legs, and it was indeed a surprising discovery for Winston to realize how agile and light his own legs felt during this process. "Okay, that enough for now. Do bodyweight exercises."
With a smirk on his face, the striker coach glanced Winston up and down. A subtle amusement arose from the observation of his physique, which featured only a modest amount of musculature. "Deal, this is going to be fun."
"Since we are done, we will be going. C'mon, kid, let's go."
Once they had reached the training ground, Dumi engaged in a lengthy stretch and yawn, showing no signs of distress from the ordeal they had just endured. Conversely, Winston remained in a state of shock, and the events that had just transpired left him feeling quite uneasy. He even thought that Dumi was a crazy man. Who just wedged his first eleven spot.
Maximilian has shown great growth, will I even be able to beat him in four weeks? And what type of skills will he teach me? Maybe I should ask him to train me in shooting. Maximilian is good at shooting when in the box but not from different angles.
"Kid, do warm-ups, start with a jog from one cone to another cone, and after that, forward shuffles. and do those going forward and backward." Dumi said, folding his arms.
For what seemed to be an extended period of twenty minutes, Winston carried out these warm-up exercises while simultaneously observing Dumi. His expression seemed to change from his natural laid-back to a more observing one. "Okay, now do knee high swing warm-up from this cone to another cone over there," he pointed at the cones separated by ten meters.
With a subtle nod of his head, Dumi carefully observed Winston's legs, indicating with a hand gesture that Winston should continue with more repetitions of the high knee swing warm-up exercise. Following an additional twenty minutes of practice, he instructed Winston to transition to a forward kick drill utilizing the same ten-meter cone setup.
After another twenty minutes, Dumi didn't allow Winston to catch his breath, of course, there was nothing to catch since he didn't feel tired nor out of breath. This warm-up exercise led him to believe that Dumi was deliberately testing the endurance of his legs, and it was indeed a surprising discovery for Winston to realize how agile and light his own legs felt during this process. "Okay, that enough for now. Do bodyweight exercises."
A particular form of bodily exercise requires a person to maintain a grip on their hips and advance forward, subsequently bending a single knee while reaching out both hands and twisting the midsection, transitioning the kneeling knee between each leg. For an additional twenty minutes, he continued to perform the ten-meter cone drills. Currently, Dumi has instructed him to complete ten rounds, and it is evident that the training exercises have begun to escalate in intensity. Winston's gaze fell upon Dumi as Dumi meticulously positioned cones in various locations across the fields. "Okay, now do high knees from the same ten meters and do five laps."
High knees drill is a drill where one raises his knees high and rapidly; the exercise helps with blood flow in the legs. After five laps, Winston went back to the starting line. Waiting on the cone for more instructions, looking at Dumi with his hands on his hips.
"Do the same drill, but this time perform it with your sides, mmm! Give me five more laps."
Without waiting for Dumi to finish his instructions, Winston started performing the same drills with his sides; the burning sensation on his entire body felt amazing. Sweating without losing his energy, to be fair, this is just another warm-up. Even though his drills were sporadic, he was now happy that he had a mentor who would monitor him and help him improve and grow. "Okay, now perform plyometric steps"
The exercise known as plyometric steps involves a sequential hopping action, where one leg is used to propel the body upward before transitioning to the other leg. This particular exercise was designed with the primary objective of enhancing both an individual's speed and their overall strength, ultimately contributing to the development of explosive power. "Okay, now some side shuffles."
Performing side shuffles bears a resemblance to jogging, though the fundamental difference arises when one is required to jog in a lateral direction. After Dumi directed him to engage in a different activity, he had repeated them on ten separate occasions. "Okay, that's enough, now do two laps on seventy percent, and eighty, and finish with full sprints,"
Dumi advised Winston to take a five-minute interval to rest after they had accomplished the ten-meter runs, before they would proceed further. Sitting down on the grass, Winston noticed the ground was full of cones and mannequins.