Joining the Provincial Team

After Zhang Guan crossed the finish line, he looked around and noticed that no one was paying attention to him, so he prepared to leave.

"Don't go yet," a voice called from behind. He turned around to see an old man and a middle-aged man approaching.

"Can I leave now, sirs?" Zhang Guan asked.

"Your name is Zhang Guan, right? My surname is Chen, and his is Zhou. We are coaches from the provincial athletics team," the old man introduced himself before continuing, "Would you like to join the provincial team and train with me?"

"Provincial team?" Zhang Guan was momentarily surprised, then asked, "Isn't the provincial team made up of professional athletes?"

Old Chen nodded. "Yes, they are all professional athletes. If you join, you will be a professional athlete too."

"Why choose me?" Zhang Guan immediately asked.

"Your 100-meter speed is very fast. With more training, you could become a leading figure in domestic sprinting. You might even compete internationally and bring honor to the country," Coach Zhou responded officially.

"I'm not going," Zhang Guan shook his head. A typical 17-year-old might be easily swayed by such words, but Zhang Guan knew that being an athlete was tough and there was a good chance of never achieving notable results.

Seeing Zhang Guan's refusal, Coach Zhou quickly added, "I have a spot for a guaranteed admission to the Provincial Sports University. If you join the athletics team, that spot is yours."

"Really?" Zhang Guan felt a bit tempted.

According to his original life plan, Zhang Guan would have ended up at a local second-tier university, studying sports management. After graduation, through a stroke of luck, he secured a job at the sports bureau, leading a leisurely life of trading stocks by day and gaming by night. Given his academic performance, he had no chance of getting into a first-tier university. But now, the opportunity for a guaranteed spot at a first-tier university was a real benefit for Zhang Guan.

At that moment, Zhang Guan recalled the excitement of his parents when he got into college, even though it was just a second-tier university. He could still feel their pride. Getting into a first-tier university would be an amazing gift for his parents, so he made his decision almost instantly.

"If I can really get a spot at the Provincial Sports University, I will join," Zhang Guan said.

…

Back home, Zhang Guan couldn't wait to explore the system in his mind. However, he was disappointed to find that he couldn't access the skills section because he was still in the novice tutorial mode, and the system functions were not yet activated. For now, the only thing he could use was the "Sprint" skill.

Zhang Guan didn't know when the novice tutorial would end, but the next task was to participate in an official competition.

"Participate in an official competition? Where am I supposed to find an official competition?" Zhang Guan looked at the task prompt in frustration. Clearly, without completing this task, the novice tutorial would not progress, and he wouldn't be able to unlock the system's other functions.

…

At the provincial sports team's dormitory.

Zhang Guan was busy arranging his belongings when a skinny young man on the nearby bed was lying down, reading a martial arts novel and chatting with him.

The skinny young man was named Wang Kai, also an athlete on the athletics team, specializing in the 1500-meter long-distance event, and Zhang Guan's roommate.

Wang Kai, lying on the bed with one leg crossed over the other, a martial arts novel in one hand and picking his toes with the other, said casually, "I must say, Zhang Guan, you're really lucky. I've heard that Old Chen is going to personally coach you!"

"Old Chen? Is that the old man in his sixties? Is he really that impressive?" Zhang Guan asked as he stuffed his clothes into the wardrobe.

Wang Kai suddenly sat up and said, "In this athletics team, you might not need to know about others, but you definitely need to know about Old Chen! Do you know who he is? He used to be a coach for our national athletics team. A few years ago, he retired and was invited by the provincial sports bureau to come out of retirement and join us here."

Seeing that Zhang Guan didn't react much, Wang Kai continued, "Old Chen was once the top figure in our country's athletics and even considered the fastest man in the world."

"The fastest man in the world? Doesn't that mean he set a world record?" Zhang Guan laughed and said, "Brother Wang, I'm not well-read, but I know that in the 1980s, someone in our country broke the Asian record in the 100-meter event, but we never broke the world record."

"When the Asian record was broken, Old Chen was the coach leading the team," Wang Kai continued, "In the hand-timing era, Old Chen once ran a 10-second flat, which was the fastest in the world at that time. Old Chen matched the then-world record for the 100 meters, and before him, only four people in the world had ever run a 10-second flat. Old Chen was the fifth to do so! Isn't that impressive?"

"So it was him!" Zhang Guan nodded. He had heard about Old Chen's achievements when he was younger, but he didn't expect the man who was once called "the fifth fastest man in the world" by the West to be the same old man he met a few days ago.

Wang Kai added, "Now, many people in the national athletics team and the General Administration of Sports are Old Chen's disciples. For example, Coach Yu of the national athletics team was both a teammate and disciple of Old Chen. If Old Chen recommends you, getting into the national team is definitely within reach."

…

The next day, Zhang Guan didn't start training immediately but underwent a series of physical tests, including another 100-meter test. His hand-timed result of 10.32 seconds put Old Chen's mind at ease.

In the afternoon, Old Chen was reviewing the physical test report, frowning. Based on the data alone, Zhang Guan had no standout features. His various metrics were far below professional athlete standards and even below that of amateur athletes.

"No special qualities. This is just an ordinary person's data. Strange, how can someone with such data run so fast?" Old Chen tossed the report aside and muttered, "Forget it. When I was running, there weren't all these complicated metrics, and I still won awards."

…

Old Chen handed Zhang Guan a thick stack of handwritten papers, saying, "This is your training plan for the next month. Take a look."

Looking at the meticulously handwritten plan, which detailed every day's schedule down to the minute, Zhang Guan could tell that Old Chen had put a lot of effort into it.

Old Chen continued, "I've analyzed your current situation in detail. Overall, your main issue is a lack of professional training. Your starting technique is still at an amateur level, with slow reaction times and non-standard posture, which affects your initial power. You lack rhythm control during the run and have no athletic technique. Additionally, you lack stamina, leading to fatigue in the final stretch, significantly impacting your sprint speed."

Zhang Guan nodded in agreement. Old Chen's analysis was accurate. He was indeed a novice amateur athlete with no athletic technique. The only thing he didn't agree with was the loss of speed due to the "Sprint" skill's effect wearing off.

Old Chen continued, "As a professional athlete, a solid foundation is crucial. You are quite young and lack technical skills, so now is the perfect time to build a strong foundation. Your training for the next two months will focus on starting techniques. You need to correct your starting posture and improve your reaction time. My initial goal is for you to consistently react within 0.3 seconds in two months."

Human reaction time varies with the movement's complexity. Simple actions like moving a finger can take between 0.2 to 0.3 seconds, while larger movements like starting a sprint take longer.

Reaction times vary depending on training and state, with normal people reacting in 0.5 to 1 second. For familiar actions like emergency braking, trained drivers react in 0.4 seconds, meaning humans can reduce reaction time to 0.4 seconds through practice. Trained athletes, especially sprinters, can react in under 0.2 seconds, consistently achieving this low time.

In international competitions, sprinters' starting reaction times are often around 0.15 seconds. A reaction time of 0.14 seconds indicates a successful start, while anything over 0.17 seconds is considered slow.

Shortening reaction time requires extensive training to embed the starting motion into muscle memory. For beginners, improving reaction time by 0.1 seconds in two months is challenging but achievable with consistent practice.

Old Chen added, "This September, the 15th Asian Athletics Championships will be held in the Philippines, with about 50 slots for participation. While this doesn't directly concern you, the Asian Athletics Championships trials will be held in Tianjin in early July, two months from now. This is relevant to you. The trials have broad eligibility, offering many young athletes a chance to gain experience. I plan to let you participate to get a feel for the competition environment and make a name for yourself. This is a rare opportunity, so make sure to seize it."

"Old Chen, is this trial an official competition?" Zhang Guan asked eagerly.

Old Chen nodded. "Of course, it's organized by the National Athletics Association, so it's definitely an official competition."

Zhang Guan felt a surge of excitement, thinking that this was just what he needed. The system's task to "participate in an official competition" had been looming over him. He had been worried about how to complete it, but now the opportunity had come knocking.