Almighty Coach

Rubbing his temple, Blake thought for several seconds and then said, “Adam Holly is famous in America. From the perspective of publicity, it is beneficial for us to make this deal. And Adam Holly is rich, so he can afford high training fees. His name as a world champion can bring him some advertising revenue, and he has a shooting training center with an outdoor shooting range, which earns more than two million dollars for him every year.”

“Is a shooting center so lucrative?” Dai Li was surprised. “I know the gun industry is highly developed in America. It is said that there are more guns than people in this country. But I never knew that the industry had developed into such a prosperity that a single shooting training center can make two million dollars!”

Blake smiled and said, “I understand that what you want to say is about gun abuse in America. However, there are more reasons for the lucrativeness of Holly’s shooting center than the charm and celebrity of the Holly’s. For example, Adam Holly himself often plays the role of a coach and teaches courses on shooting. It is reasonable that courses from a world champion of shooting sports are more expensive.”

Not fully understanding Blake’s words, Dai Li nodded and listened to his explanation.

Blake added, “Adam Holly is a genius when it comes to shooting. With his father and grandfather as hunters, he has inherited the gene from his family. He started learning to shoot when he was five years old.”

“Wait for a second,” Dai Li interrupted him and said, “you mean hunters? Professional hunters? Such an old career still exists in America nowadays?”

“Yes, and it is very easy to get a hunting license. Anyone who meets the requirements can apply for a license by paying a fee and presenting a couple proofs of identity. Many gun shops even offer to make the application for you. And, of course, there are rules about what animals you can hunt. Having a hunting license doesn’t mean you are free to hunt all wild animals.”

“As for professional hunters today, they make their money mainly from hunting and offering guide services. Their prey are usually wild boar. The wild boar in the US is a non-native species that was brought here by the Spanish long ago, sp the wild boar generally has no natural enemies in the US. The wild boar population in some places will multiple three to five times every five years. Groups of wild boar will destroy crops, kill livestock, and even harm humans. Therefore, it is usual farmers who hire hunters to kill the boar.”

“And the hunting guide services are for hunters who are new or unfamiliar with an area. As you know, many hunters have a mastery of shooting, but they don’t know where to find the prey and how to track it. And there lies the opportunity for professional hunters. Going out with a professional hunter can make an amateur hunter safer. Professional hunters make big money by offering such services, since many amateur hunters are rich and willing to spend several thousand dollars on finding a black bear.”

After briefing Dai Li on hunters, Blake went on describing Adam Holly. “Where are we now? Oh, yes. Holly started learning to shoot when he was five years old. At that point, he wasn’t even strong enough to pick up a sporting rifle. He started with pistols, and soon, he showed his talent for shooting. He won the championship of the teenage group of an American national 10m air pistol game when he was twelve years old.”

“Besides shooting, Holly loves baseball, too. But his talent in baseball is not as great as his talent in shooting sports. Some top universities in America are willing to offer full scholarships to the best shooters. He chose shooting finally for the full scholarship. What’s more, he chose 50m air rifle, the most difficult program.”

Few American parents pay college tuition fees for their children, since tuition is very expensive in America. Most Americans go to college on loans. From the day they enter college, they shoulder the burden of paying their student loans. It usually costs them a few years after graduation to pay off the student loans. So, many students try to apply for scholarships to lighten the pressure.

The full scholarship in America covers not only tuition but also living expenses for the student. A full scholarship usually means that you are freed from worries about tuition fees and living costs. Some students even have a little money left over. A student with the full scholarship lives a pretty good life on campus. He or she doesn’t need to work for a living, and also doesn’t need to worry about student loans. Therefore, many Americans start planning for college scholarships in their junior high school days.

Blake continued, “After entering college, Holly received more professional training, which led to a rapid development of his shooting skills. He was the best in the 50 meters air rifle program all over the US when he graduated.”

“Holly became a professional shooter after his graduation. He then started to participate frequently in shooting games, including national and global games. He got many gold medals, including the one of the world championship of shooting. Holly soon grew into a household name in America. A sharpshooter would be an idol, given that shooting was a sport widely loved in America.”

“Later, he took part in the Olympic Games. You mentioned witnessing him picking the wrong target and losing the gold medal when he should have won. You know that failure.”

Dai Li nodded and said, “I watched the match on TV that day. Our Chinese shooter ranked number two after the next to last shot. And he was 9.1 points behind Holly. Holly would have won without any doubt if he hadn’t missed the target. But he did miss. And dramatically, he shot on someone else’s target, getting a breathtaking score of 10.6 points, which was almost never happened in a professional game, especially in an Olympic final. With due respect, I was so excited that I jumped up from my chair when I saw it happen.”

“An Olympic gold medal for free was a perfect reason for you to celebrate,” Blake said unnaturally.

Dai Li smiled awkwardly, and he asked, “What’s the following story then? Holly lost the gold medal. He has been accused by Americans, hasn’t he?”

“No, he is our hero!” Blake shook his head and added, “It seems that you don’t know there are two programs under 50m rifle. They are 50m Rifle Three Positions, in which Holly lost the gold medal, and 50m Rifle Prone, which ended earlier. And the winner of the Olympic 50m Rifle Prone competition was Adam Holly. Why should we blame a man who won one gold medal and one silver medal in the Olympic Games?”

“Oh! I only know his bad luck at the Olympic Games. I really didn’t know that he had already been an Olympic champion before his failure,” replied Dai Li.

“Almost everyone blamed the failure on Holly’s bad luck. And the failure did pay Holly something in return. A Czech female shooter comforted Holly after the final ended. Her name is Ekarina, and she is Adam Holly’s wife now. He lost a gold medal, but he got a beauty,” Blake said.

“Yuan, Miao Bu Ke Yan…” Dai Li whispered in Chinese.

“What are you saying?” asked Blake.

“It means…” Dai Li took some efforts to explain this Chinese idiom to Blake and finally, Dai Li made himself half-understood.

Blake knew that it was hard for Dai Li to express the exact meaning of the phrase in English. So, he didn’t waste much time on the Chinese sentence. He went back to talking about Adam Holly. “During the years after the Olympic Games, Holly got world championships many times. He was then still ruling the 50m air rifle program. I even thought he was not influenced by his bad luck at the last shot in the Olympic Games that year.”

“But I was wrong.” Blake changed his tone and added, “Victories Holly got were all because of advantages at early stages of his matches. Holly could win with all his advantages before the final shot. And four years later he was in the Olympic final again, and it was the final shot again. And he failed again. At that moment, everyone realized that he had never escaped the shadow of his failure caused by missing the target four years before.”

“I watch that match on TV. Holly had always been in the leading position, and he was in a good competitive state. He often got 10.5 points and more. He was 4 points more than the shooter in the second place before the final shot. That was a decisive advantage, which meant he only needed another 6 points to be the winner. And the fact was his final shot got only 4.4 points, a score that was almost never seen in an Olympic match,” Dai Li said.

“Yes. And that score showed that he never walked out the shadow of his failure four years before. In fact, he got totally 400 points in the previous 120 shots with prone position, which proved that he was still a king of the 50m air rifle program. Unfortunately, the final shot was his nightmare…” Blake sighed regretfully. “From that day on, he has been stuck by the final shot. It is a good score for him if his final shot can get more than 8 points. Therefore, he is called ‘Tragic Last Shot.'”

“It’s a mental problem!” Dai Li threw up his hands and added, “Doesn’t he go to a psychologist?”

“Of course he does. He has seen psychologists from America and Europe, and famous psychologists all over the world. I think a psychologist would gain great fame if he could solve Holly’s problem of his final shot,” said Blake.

“His problem is not solved by famous psychologists. And he turns to me, a coach?” Dai Li asked, laughing.

Blake obviously held a different opinion. He replied, “Don’t you feel that’s better? You will not need to worry. It’s better if you can solve his problem. And it’s also okay if you cannot.”

Dai Li thought for a moment and he said, “Let me meet with Mr. Holly first and then I can decide.”

“Okay. We really should have a talk with him in person. I will let you know after I set up the appointment,” Blake said. “Next is a piece of good news. I haven’t got letters of resignation for eight weeks. The trend of resignations of our coaches has ended.”

“Okay. Those who want our coaches have got enough coaches from here. And those who wanted to leave left.” Dai Li smiled mysteriously. “Do you still remember what I said before? It’s not so simple to get my employees!”