Chapter 69 A cunning rabbit has three burrows; remember to be strict during room checks.
The National Championships lasted only two days, and both children had already met the selection criteria for the training team. The pressure of this competition was not great, and they both stood on the podium. Yang Yiyan even won the national championship for the first time.
New Year's Day fell just two days after the National Championships ended. The training center's official Weibo and WeChat accounts released the total training roster, but strangely, it seemed that not many figure skating fans were waiting for it.
It wasn't that all the figure skating fans went home for the holidays; rather, long before the final roster was released, the fans had already pieced together the list from the piecemeal notifications from other provincial teams' official accounts. The list included skaters that were familiar to Chinese figure skating fans.
The athletes who went to university had already taken leave in advance and were preparing to fly to Heilongjiang, while the athletes who were still in high school had finished last year's courses and took the opportunity of the New Year's Eve party to say a brief goodbye to their classmates.
Xia Yuezi was packing her luggage in the dormitory and was also explaining the training of the other children to Meng Xin. Meng Xin waved her hand repeatedly, saying, "Alright, alright, I'm their coach too. I know their situation very well."
Xia Yuezi smiled and shook her head, then stuffed another folded down jacket into the suitcase: "I understand, but recently a few kids have shown signs of puberty and their condition is fluctuating a lot. Also, a few new people have joined the team, so I'm afraid you won't be able to take care of them when you're busy."
Meng Xin rolled over in bed. Next to her pillow was the notebook Xia Yuezi had just given her: "Don't worry about me. This time, the higher-ups have sent you to the training camp to coach the women's singles jump team. You need to keep a close eye on those four kids, especially Xiao Yan. If you're assigned to do dorm checks, remember to check them carefully."
According to information revealed by Yang's mother, Yang Yiyan is very adept at having multiple burrows.
Every time Yang's mother cleaned her room, she could find an unopened bag of snacks in an unexpected place. Sometimes she could even find an empty snack bag in her schoolbag, probably to cover up the evidence on her way to school the next day.
Yang Yiyan was criticized a lot for this, but she hardly made any changes.
Upon hearing this, Xia Yuezi also thought of the embarrassing incident that had happened before and couldn't help but laugh out loud: "Don't worry, I will keep a close eye on her. But that girl has a lot of tricks up her sleeve. I'll see who lives with her and then find the right opportunity to turn her against me."
Regarding this act of planting an undercover agent at the source, Meng Xin turned her head to look at her, then raised her left hand and gave her a thumbs up.
"Does someone in your family work as the dean of students? You can even come up with such underhanded tricks. I'm so glad I didn't run into someone like you during our training camp back then."
Xia Yuezi zipped up her suitcase and retorted with a smile, "Thank you for the compliment. Besides, is this considered a dirty trick? It's just doing what we went through back then again, only with different identities."
Back when they went out for training, who didn't hide some contraband in their room? When it comes to being cunning, Yang Yiyan's tricks were no match for Xia Yuezi.
Hearing this, Meng Xin sat up from the bed and casually combed her messy hair: "You know what's going on. Anyway, there are always a few minors whose temperaments haven't been settled during the training camps every year."
Xia Yuezi stood her suitcase upright, glanced at her watch, picked up one suitcase in each hand, and walked out: "It's getting late, the plane won't wait for anyone, I'm leaving the team's affairs to you, call me if anything comes up."
Meng Xin waved her hand: "Have a safe trip, and don't forget to send us some gossip about the training camp."
The Beijing team members all traveled on the same flight. In addition to Yang Yiyan and Feng Simai, the selected players were Zhang Mengyi and Jiang Shuyu in women's singles. Apart from them, the other players in the training team all came from the three northeastern provinces.
It was already evening when they arrived at the training center. The athletes were all capable of taking care of themselves and had extensive travel experience, so the only staff member accompanying them was Xia Yuezi, who was selected for the coaching team.
The group first went to the staff to get the dormitory keys. Xia Yuezi glanced at the two children's roommates and found that they were all familiar faces.
Zhang Mengyi shared a room with Yang Yiyan, Jiang Shuyu shared a room with Liu Yaxi from Heilongjiang, and Feng Simai shared a room with Lin Ye.
Xia Yuezi secretly breathed a sigh of relief. The children were all familiar with each other and there would be no problems due to the adjustment period. Liu Yaxi and Jiang Shuyu were both older singles players and were already mature, so it was even less likely that they would cause any trouble.
After the coach left, Yang Yiyan dragged her suitcase and followed behind Zhang Mengyi, her eyes darting around, clearly already plotting how to do something sneaky right under the coach's nose.
Zhang Mengyi had been to Heilongjiang before for training, so she was quite familiar with the area and found her room without any trouble.
She pushed open the door, and a wave of warmth rushed towards her.
The room wasn't big, but it was very clean, and they even thoughtfully turned on the underfloor heating. Two single beds were placed against the wall, with a shared wardrobe in the middle, and a desk next to the window.
As the senior student, Zhang Mengyi let Yang Yiyan choose her bed first. She had just moved her suitcase next to the bed when she remembered what Xia Yuezi had said to her and Jiang Shuyu on the plane, and subconsciously looked towards Yang Yiyan.
The young girl deftly took out several packets of biscuits from a hidden compartment in her suitcase and stuffed them into the pocket of her down jacket.
Noticing Zhang Mengyi's gaze, Yang Yiyan paused, looked up, and gave an innocent smile: "Sister Mengyi, would you like some too?"
Zhang Mengyi was both amused and exasperated. She walked over and gently poked her head: "You, Coach Xia specifically told me to keep an eye on you, and you defied the rules on the very first day?"
Yang Yiyan pursed her lips and took out a bag of beef jerky from the box. The packaging looked familiar, as if she had taken it from the cafeteria lady.
“How is this going against the grain? I’m just replenishing my energy properly, and…” she lowered her voice, reached out and hugged Zhang Mengyi’s arm, winked at her, “We’re in the same boat, you can’t betray me.”
Zhang Mengyi was so flustered by her that she couldn't do anything about it and softened her heart for a moment: "Okay, but if the coach finds out, just don't drag me into the water."
The training camp is strictly managed. Being caught using prohibited items and having to do extra training is a minor issue. The real problem is having a roommate who won't admit their mistake, which could lead to being implicated. If you also have a bad-tempered coach, the entire team could be punished.
The training camp was even more tedious than Yang Yiyan had imagined. In addition to basic physical training, it involved hiring a coach to provide detailed training in a specific area.
For example, Zhang Mengyi's physical fitness and bone density are not good right now. In addition to training, the coach will also work on her diet to help her increase her leg muscles and improve her current condition through speed-based training methods.
In men's singles, the general trend is to lower the ranking. It's difficult to improve basic skills like footwork in a short period of time, so the coaches are focusing on spin and adding elements that can help improve the ranking.
Feng Simai became an exception in the men's singles. He spent more time in the gym than on the ice every day. Xia Yuezi also spoke with the men's singles coach and asked them to take his injury into account when making plans.
As for Yang Yiyan, she was assigned to focus on improving the quality of her jumps and cultivating her T-shaped awareness.
Compared to the youth group, Yang Yiyan's jumps have gradually fallen between speed and height, and her stability is also evident. However, her consecutive jumps are too unbalanced and rely too much on the quality of the previous jump.
According to Xia Yuezi, Yang Yiyan has stronger muscle memory for consecutive jumps (lo) than for consecutive jumps (T). If something unexpected happens during a consecutive jump, her first reaction is not to perform a 2T to make up for it, but to turn the jump into a single jump and change the next jump into a 3lo.
To cater to Yang Yiyan's jumping habits, Xia Yuezi always placed the 3-lo combination in the first half and arranged a single jump at the end as a remedial measure. After all, the second half consumes more energy and has less room for error; once a mistake is made, a lot of points will be lost.
Xia Yuezi also helped her practice 3T+3T, but this jump was rarely used in competitions, and most of the time she would go for 2lo.
The contestant herself didn't seem to have any objections to this. Pearl Bellman's combination of wearing LO is indeed too damaging to her back. Her lumbar spine has shifted a few centimeters to the side. Although it doesn't affect her daily life yet, if this continues, her back will probably be ruined in a few years.
"One more set, pay attention to the timing of the second jump." Xia Yuezi stood on the sidelines, holding a training record book in her hand.
Yang Yiyan wiped the sweat from her forehead, skating forward a short distance, turning around, lifting her right foot to touch the ice, and then touching the ice again the instant she landed.
This is a 3F+2T system.
Compared to 3lz+3lo, she uses 3F+t3lo more often. In addition, the show features a triple jump of 3F+2T+2lo, so Xia Yuezi directly used this jump for her to practice, which will help her master the rhythm.
After completing the jump, Xia Yuezi made a few notes in her notebook: "Your gliding speed on the first jump was still too slow, which affected the height of your subsequent jumps. However, you found the timing well. Rest for ten minutes and practice again later."
Yang Yiyan nodded, slid to the sidelines with her slightly weak legs, picked up her thermos and drank a few sips of water, while also rubbing her sore knees.
During the break, Yang Yiyan's gaze unconsciously drifted to the other side of the ice rink, where Zhang Mengyi was being led by another coach to practice on the ice bar.
At the moment of takeoff, she placed her legs on her ankles, clenched her hands and stretched them upwards, making the entire axis of her jump appear exceptionally slender.
It must be said that even though Zhang Mengyi's 3lz+3T is currently missing a week, her jumps are still very smooth and look like they have a calm and unhurried beauty.
"What are you looking at? Focus." Xia Yuezi's voice came from behind, interrupting her thoughts.
Yang Yiyan quickly looked away and stuck out her tongue: "It's nothing, I just think Sister Mengyi's jump is so beautiful."
Xia Yuezi followed her gaze and saw Zhang Mengyi fall onto the ice. Perhaps she was too thin, because there were no ice shards around her when she glided out; she was as light as a feather landing on the ice.
"Everyone has a different jumping style. Her jumps are mainly light, while your jumps are mainly fast. There's no need to compare yourself to others. Let's practice two more sets and pay attention to the issues I just mentioned."
Yang Yiyan nodded and skated back onto the ice rink, deliberately increasing her speed. However, this made her look even more clumsy in comparison, and she even fell.
Seeing this, Xia Yuezi quickly slid to her side: "Did you hurt yourself?"
Yang Yiyan shook her head, trying to get up, but the coach pressed her shoulder down: "Don't rush, adjust your breathing first. This is high altitude, not flat land. You can't use the methods you used in the provincial team."
"But I can't jump up the second time without putting in more effort," the little girl muttered.
"Xiaoyan, this isn't about practicing 3T combos. This is just to help you readjust to T combos. We just need to find the rhythm. You don't need to jump so high."
"Try to focus on the rhythm, like dancing, and find a suitable connection point."
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com