Journey

THE ANTICIPATED BEGINNING

« Joey! Where’s Daniel? »

« Did he regret his decision to coach us? »

« Did he finally get an invitation from Crystal Palace? »

Thank to Joey’s big mouth, almost all of the players in Croydon FC knew that Daniel has submitted a job application to Crystal Palace and they also knew that Daniel will serve as an interim coach in Croydon FC. When Joey come to the training ground, they surround and bombarded him with plenty of questions.

« Danny and my dad going to see Mr. Smith. Don’t worry guys ! Danny won’t change his decision and he will come soon to lead us in training. After all, this is our hometown team ! ». Joey said with a smile.

This group of players in Croydon FC is natives. They don’t live far away from the training ground. It is fair to say that some of them are neighbors and colleagues. They also know Daniel. Among them, there are two or three players with coaching certificates under their belt but when it comes to coaching, they do not have confidence they would coach a team as good as Daniel. Especially now that the club may battle relegation, they do not want to come forward acting as a head coach fearing the blame if they get relegated.

The players are wondering what kind of new ideas and new training regime will Daniel come up with. Of course, Joey did not know either. He has no idea at all. He was the most obedient player in the squad and follow an order to the latter. When the coach said they would jump the cliff, he would be the one to jump first to the cliff.

Donald Hawking is 40 years old and he is still a player in Croydon FC. He is also the captain of the team. Seeing the time is nearing their usual training time, he calls up his teammates to do the warm-up.

Before the warm-up is over, Mr. Smith and Wayne brought Daniel to the training ground and introduce him to the players. The players stop their warm-up and greet the three enthusiastly.

Daniel grimaced seeing the condition of the players, even without seeing their performance, they are an amateur team. On the surface, Croydon FC has a very complete organizational structure, with all of their infrastructure and management seeming to be standardized but the core of the first team training is too casual and lacks intensity. There is no discipline at all. That is also why many aspiring coaches do not want to coach on an amateur team as it is hard to change the team habit.

« Okay, okay everyone! Gather around! You must know that our search for a new head coach was not fruitful. In order not to affect the pre-season, we invited Daniel to fill in the position temporarily. He will lead you all in the training and prepare for the new season. » Mr. Smith gestured and greeted every player while introducing Daniel.

« As for Daniel, I don’t think he needs to introduce himself, isn’t that right guys? Haha .» Perhaps because of his familiarity with Daniel, Mr. Smith’s introduction to Daniel also seemed very amiable.

After a few words to the players, Mr. Smith walks away with Wayne, leaving Daniel to resume the training for the players.

« Let’s we welcome Daniel with applause guys ! ». The old captain Hawking took the lead to welcome Daniel with a smile.

« Thank you all! I’m very happy to see you all again! To be honest I have no experience at all in coaching the first team. I hope you all can take care of and support me! I hope we can work happily together ! ». Daniel did not give a long introduction to his players. Collin’s words this morning still echoes in his mind and he still needs to organize his thought and words. For example, how can one motivate the players to give their all in training ?! How to arrange the training? How do you tell the players you intend to change the schedule for the training?

After sending everyone to continue their warm-up, Daniel goes over to the sideline and sits while reaching for his notebook in his backpack. He has already made a training arrangement for the training session. He still has all of his memories of them. With all of ‘the previous Daniel’ experience and knowledge he has learned, he did not find any obstacle in writing the training schedule and regime.

After the players finished their warm-up, Daniel still had not completed his task, of designing the team training regime, so he told his players to do an intra-squad match. This proposal was naturally approved by players who do not like the tiring training session.

The game between the 22 players began in the training ground. There were too many players in Croydon FC, there are 30 first-team players, therefore, a few are still left on the sideline waiting for their chance to play as a substitute.

Daniel sat on the bench beside the training ground, observing the match while writing some notes in his notebook. Combining with ‘previous Daniel’ understanding of these players, he was beginning to understand the overall ability of the squad. He can also see some short-coming in their ability. As his memories slowly integrated with ‘the previous Daniel’, it made him feel enlightened from watching the game. He can’t describe the feeling but he realizes that maybe he could finally realize his dream to become a coach. It seems not so hard!

« Even as an interim coach, I may be able to improve the team’s performance ! ». He seems to regain his lost confidence while saying so.

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« How do you feel ? ». Daniel smiled and handed over the mineral water to the players who has just finished their friendly match.

« It’s not so bad »

« Johny’s goal was beautiful! »

« Tom was a bastard ! My chest still hurt, stupid challenge, did he want to kill me ? ».

The atmosphere was relaxed amongst the players, most of them were satisfied with the game and seem to enjoy the game too.

« If you think that your performance is not bad, hehe, then I want to say that the team is finished ! Next season, our fans might chase you if you ever encounter them ! «. Everyone becomes quiet hearing Daniel’s statement.

« You mean we’re going to get relegated? »

« God! Last season was a miracle! »

« Norwood is a jerk and his tactic is shite! »

« We are not so bad! Look at us! We might promote this season! »

The players started chattering again but Daniel did not like to hear insults about the former head coach behind his back.

« Quiet ! Quiet ! Listen to what Daniel wants to say first, he is our head coach now ! You must give him respect ! ». As a captain, Hawking realized that his teammates did not take Daniel seriously, so he remainded them.

« Seriously! I watched all your games last season, the team was almost relegated and I want to know where are all your confidence comes from? It’s good to have confidence and it’s also good to have a sense of satisfaction but it’s not good to be over-confident! Let’s talk about Crystal Palace, our neighbor! They started as an amateur team, if they can get to where they are today, don’t you think it might be possible for us too? To have success like them? »

« It’s not that we need to be a professional team like them but at least we must strive to be the best amateur team to exist ! »