The chilly evening wind carried a hint of early spring coolness.
The women's basketball team at the Qingbei training base rested for two hours after finishing their afternoon regular season game, and then continued their training as usual in the evening.
Defeating Jiang team was indeed exciting, but the joy couldn't last long. The tough qualification situation meant Qingbei team dared not relax in the slightest.
"This game was a close call, and your performance deserves praise and encouragement." This is Coach Wang's usual way of speaking.
He walked slowly to Chu Feiyu, then changed the subject, "But we must also try to solve the problems we see in this, so that there is room for progress."
Before Coach Wang could finish speaking, Chu Feiyu spoke up, "Coach, being completely outmatched by Weng Pei today was due to my lack of skill."
"Hey—" Coach Wang waved his hand, "This isn't criticism, it's a summary. Our rebounding was pretty good today, but our interior defense positioning needs adjustment, and Shu Juan and Yang Lingling need to increase the speed of their movement and coordination."
Coach Wang continued in a serious voice, "Weng Pei is one of the top shooting guards in the league. Fei Yu, it will indeed be very difficult for you to guard her one-on-one. However, your blocking ability definitely needs to be improved."
After Coach Wang gave Chu Feiyu a targeted training session, he led Yang Lingling and Shu Juan to adjust the defensive positioning of the inside players.
Chu Feiyu practiced defense over and over again, with Lu Yu and Sun Meng taking turns being her defensive targets.
Chu Feiyu lowered her center of gravity and stared at Lu Yu's dribbling rhythm.
Lu Yu took a step to the left and then suddenly swayed her shoulder to the right. Chu Feiyu adjusted her position accordingly, and Lu Yu lightly turned her ankle, nimbly accelerating from the left side to break through Chu Feiyu's defense.
Lu Yu didn't even need to use her signature butterfly step; she easily fooled Chu Feiyu with just two feints. Chu Feiyu was extremely frustrated.
Despite Lu Yu's solo drive, she still struggled to find the crucial moment to intercept the ball.
Lu Yu pushed the ball into Sun Meng's arms. "Sun Meng is attacking, I'm defending."
Lu Yu raised her voice a few decibels, "Fei Yu, focus on the shift in your center of gravity, and try to blur out the feints in your limbs."
Chu Feiyu watched intently from the side.
Sun Meng dribbled and ran, but Lu Yu didn't just follow behind. Instead, he suddenly accelerated and stopped abruptly in front of Sun Meng. To avoid committing an offensive foul, Sun Meng had to slow down his offensive pace.
Lu Yu gestured for Sun Meng to stop, explaining, "Speed is key not only in chasing people, but also in the timing of a sudden stop. 'Closing a position' isn't just about standing in a fixed spot; it's about understanding your opponent's intentions and disrupting their rhythm with sudden changes in speed."
Sun Meng continued dribbling and attacking, but her two attempts to feint to the right and her jab step failed to get past Lu Yu.
Chu Feiyu stared at Lu Yu's movements. No matter how she stretched her limbs, her center of gravity remained stable, with only slight shifts in the direction perpendicular to the ground.
Sun Meng suddenly accelerated to the left, turned and dribbled. Only when Sun Meng's center of gravity changed drastically did Lu Yu change his center of gravity and move closer to defend.
Sun Meng was forced to jump and shoot from the spot, while Lu Yu, using his lowered center of gravity, jumped a step later than Sun Meng.
Lu Yu didn't have a height advantage over Sun Meng, but he timed his jump perfectly. Just as Sun Meng let the basketball slip from her grasp, Lu Yu flicked his wrist, and the basketball was easily knocked away.
The timing of a shift in the center of gravity!
Chu Feiyu's eyes welled up with tears. Even though Lu Yu didn't make any further explanation, Chu Feiyu seemed to have been suddenly jolted awake.
Once you grasp the key points, the specific problems will clearly emerge one by one.
The rhythm of sudden stops, the timing of shifts in center of gravity during defense, and the control of hang time during jump blocking are all problems that need to be solved.
Sun Meng ran two steps, picked up the basketball, and said breathlessly, "Weng Pei is a combo guard who developed from a shooting guard. She has skillful dribbling techniques and a very fast center of gravity shift. It's already not easy for you to keep an eye on her."
Chu Feiyu took the basketball from Sun Meng and dribbled it twice quickly. "If I run into Weng Pei again, I need to steal the ball from her at least once."
The electronic screen displayed the time. When the training session ended, Chu Feiyu had only barely resolved the issues of sudden stop rhythm and timing of center of gravity changes among the three major problems. She hadn't even had time to adjust her airborne posture.
Jiao Yuyin, who was waiting at the alleyway opposite the Qingbei training base, was greeted by three people at once.
Assistant Qin glanced in the rearview mirror and saw Lu Yu, Sun Meng, and Chu Feiyu chattering away in the back seat.
Jiao Yuyin propped his head up with a wry smile in the passenger seat.
Surprisingly, the scene was quite harmonious.
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com