Just then soone dressed in white arrived on the field. The person ca in unannounced and said, "Exactly, if you can't trust yourself then how can the ball trust you?"
White jacket and white cap, he had a rather short fra.
"The coach is here."
Hiro turned to look at the person. Just as his eyes landed on the individual dressed in white, he imdiately recognized the person.
'So, you were their coach.' Hiro thought while staring at him.
"Coach, Endo. We weren't slacking. This gentleman before us was teaching us the
fundantals of shooting," Ren the young keeper, clarified.
He feared that the coach would get the wrong idea seeing them gather there standing idly. So, he clarified before he got the wrong idea.
Endo looked at Hiro as he said, "Yes, I know."
"Thank you for helping our players," he thanked Hiro for the lesson.
"Ahh..., you don't have to thank . I was only sharing the things that I had learned. I'm sorry for interrupting the training session," Hiro answered.
"It's alright. But can I trouble you by continuing what you were saying? I was fascinated by your words and I'm sure the kids would also appreciate it," Endo asked generously.
Seeing how he talked, Hiro could tell that he hadn't been found out. So, he continued the act, "If you say so."
Then Hiro turned to look at the kids, "As I just said, you must be confident to shoot properly. But confidence isn't sothing that can be achieved easily. You might think you're confident, but it doesn't an you're confident."
"Huh?"
"What do you an by that?"
"Then how do I tell I'm confident?"
The students felt puzzled when they heard him. It was as if he was talking in riddles. As they talked among themselves, it got a bit noisy.
"What I an is that you have to train your mind in a way that confidence cos naturally. After all, you can't take forever to take a shot, can you? Even without thinking, your subconscious mind should feel it." Hiro said.
Despite trying his best, it wasn't helping. The kids before were still as puzzled as before. Many of the terms were new to them.
"Sir, I don't get it. Indeed, we can't take forever to shoot. After all, a montary hesitation can cost us the ga. But if the feeling cos naturally then does it an that so of us don't possess it?" one of the kids asked.
Endo couldn't help but comnd the kid, 'Indeed, you've thought about it well.'
Confidence isn't a resource-limited to only a few chosen ones. Unlike many other talents, it's one of the fewest talents that everybody possesses.
Hiro looked at the kid and answered, "It does co naturally but it doesn't an that you can't train it. You can train yourself to be confident."
"But how sir?" so kids asked curiously.
"How do you get good at sothing?" he followed up with a question.
"Isn't it by practicing?"
So kids answered although they appeared a bit hesitant.
"Indeed repetition is the key. However, if you blindly repeat without ever improving your mistake then you won't improve. You excel in the wrong thod."
"We get it. But what if we can shoot well in the training but can't do it in real matches?"
"Just as I've said a mont ago. Repetition is the key. You can shoot well in the training before you have trained yourself to shoot well in training. But to shoot well in matches, you need to take your chances in real matches as well." Hiro said as he slowly walked to the ball before him.
"You need to overco your fear. Sure, a few shots would go astray and you'd get criticized. But you need to overco your fear of getting criticized and focus solely on your goal. Rember, you don't grow in your comfort zone. Only when you step out of your comfort zone, will you grow."
Just as he finished his sentence, he rushed to the ball and shot a powerful shot.
Hiroshi stood there in silence, pondering over Hiro's advice, 'You require courage to change yourself. Am I a coward?'
"Now then shall we continue the training?" Endo stepped up to organize the players.
After that, he assigned so individual drills to the players and walked to Hiro to thank him for the advice he had given the players.
"Those were so good advice," he said with an amicable smile on his face. "But why do I feel like I've heard your voice sowhere? Also, it's strange how you remind of soone I know."
Upon hearing him, Hiro rolled his eyes to look at the people in the surroundings. Then he revealed himself before Endo, "I've got to say. You've got quite a keen insight."
Endo's eyes widened in surprise. Then a bright smile ford on his face as he said in an elated tone, "Hiro, you're here. I knew that you were Hiro. How have you been? What about your
hand?"
Hiro stared at him, a bright smile adorning his visage, "I've been alright and I've also recovered. But how have you been senior Endo? You never ntioned that you've started
coaching."
Endo pulled him closer in his arms as he said, "Just like you I'm doing great. Yeah, it was a little random. So, I couldn't get the ti to inform others."
For a while, the two talked, diving deep into their past experience. Hiro hadn't seen Endo for a long ti, so, he wasn't aware of the things taking place in his life.
"But why didn't you contact ?" Hiro asked.
Endo upon hearing this frowned as he said while revealing a self-deprecating smile on his face, "I was caught up with University. Plus, aren't you a busy person?"
From how he reacted, Hiro could guess that he felt guilty about contacting him. However, the fault partly lies ith h as well. After all, he uld
didn't either.
ken the initiative
"Yeah, I'm sorry. I had been so caught up with the schedule," Hiro apologized.
talk.
he
"Why are you apologizing? You haven't done anything wrong. But I'm really glad to have t you here," Endo responded.
"I'm glad too. I thought that I could et you in the league but I couldn't find you even after searching for you. Are you still playing university league?"
Endo's frown deepened when he heard that. He was well aware that Hiro wasn't trying to mock him. Even so, he felt disheartened when he heard that question.
"Ahh..., I've stopped playing football. Now, I only coach," he said with a self-deprecating
smile.
Hiro was shocked to hear those words. So, he couldn't help but inquire, "What?! You stopped! But why? You are such a good player. So, why did you stop?"
"A year ago, I injured my wrist. And you know to a goalkeeper their hand is everything,
right?" Endo answered.
Hiro's complexion paled as he heard him. He felt as if soone had carved a hole in his heart. Frowning, he said, "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have asked it."
Endo revealing a bright smile tried to console him, "Don't worry about it. I'm glad that you asked. But it is what it is. There's no need to cry over a spilled milk."
Hiro was shaken by the news of Endo's career-ending injury. He had always held him in high regard. So, when he heard about Endo's early retirent, he couldn't help but feel aggrieved.
However, now that he heard him, everything made sense. The reason why he never heard about the na Endo despite the talent he possessed in his previous life- it was all because
of a career-ending injury that forced his early retirent.
Helpless, he could only mourn his loss. There wasn't anything he could do for him.
But maybe there was sothing he could still do for him.
"Senior, can you gather all the players?" Hiro asked.
"Sure," Endo responded albeit looking a bit puzzled. He wasn't aware of what he was trying
to do.
Nonetheless, he gathered the players around.
"What's happening?"
"Is that gentleman going to say sothing again?"
The kids talked among themselves, puzzled by the sudden call.
Hiro stood in the middle beside Endo. Then as everybody gathered, he cleared his throat to
speak, "I'm sorry for interrupting your training. But can I share sothing with you guys? It
won't take long."
"Do you know Hiro?" Hiro asked.
"Who doesn't know him here?"
"Any who doesn't know him must be living under the rock."
The kids answered. It seed that Hiro was quite popular among the kids.
"Then what do you about Hiro's performance?" Hiro asked.
"Obviously, he's the best. Is there any need to ask such an obvious thing?"
"Exactly, he's the best player in the league right now."
Once again, the kids there unanimously shared the sa sentint.
"Then what if I tell you that very player whom you regard as the best player struggled against
your coach?" Hiro asked.
The kids couldn't believe Hiro's words and they started ridiculing him.
"There's no way that he'd have struggled against our coach." "With all due respect to the coach, I can't believe your words."
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