Zachary spent the next thirty minutes working on set-pieces with the Swedish goalkeeper. After spending more than two weeks training in both the system skills simulator and the field, he could put three out of ten freekicks into the back of the net.
He felt like he was progressing daily. His technique was improving slowly but steadily. His mastery of the Bend-it like Beckham Juju had advanced by 4.2%. He had already taken more than 200 set-pieces in the virtual simulator over the previous two weeks.
"I would advise you to add more power to your technique," a voice interrupted Zachary after he finished taking one of the freekicks. He was momentarily perplexed. He had kicked the ball with grace and sent it curling, past the wall of mannequins, into the back of the net. Kendrick had not even managed to react. Yet, someone was telling him to add more power to his technique.
Zachary turned around only to find Coach Johansen observing him. He had focused all his attention on the freekick and had failed to notice his arrival.
"Good morning, coach," he greeted.
"Good morning." Coach Johansen nodded, his face devoid of any emotion. "I see that you are early as usual. And, you brought some of your teammates along with you this time. That's good."
Zachary half-smiled, nodding. "You said I need to add more power?"
"Yes." The Coach took a few steps towards Zachary. "I can see that you are already working on your technique for freekicks. And it's disturbingly similar to David Beckham's. You must have practiced a lot to achieve that level of expertise." The coach nodded in a gesture of silent approval. "But, I've also seen you take long shots from outside the eighteen. Why not add that sort of power to your freekicks?"
"Imagine sending a powerful shot past the wall with enough curvature on the ball," Coach Johansen continued, half-smiling. "As long as it's on target, no keeper will ever have time to react to it."
Zachary nodded. "I get what you're saying. However, I need to master the technique and postures first before adding more power behind the ball." He elaborated. If he could achieve what the coach had suggested, he would have created a new world-class skill. But, training a new skill was a difficult task.
"That is a wrong approach you are taking," Coach Johansen replied. "If you were aiming to become another freekick taker like Beckham, your training would be fine. However, if you need to power-up your freekicks beyond that level, you should begin now. Otherwise, you'll find it hard to adjust your technique once all the postures and body motions have become ingrained into your muscle memory." The coach explained, stroking his red beard. "Are we clear?"
"Yes, coach," Zachary replied, smiling wryly. He understood Coach Johansen's reasoning to some extent. The coach didn't want him to copy Beckham's technique exactly. There was no such thing as a perfect technique in the whole world. He was advising Zachary to attempt to improve it. He could only make those modifications and advance his skill further before developing hard-to-break habits for the technique.
"It is good that you understand." The coach nodded. "As much as you admire all the stars in the world, you should try to develop your unique playing style."
"Aim to surpass the stars, but not imitate them. I would not say this to any other player."
"But, you aren't just any other player. You have got the talent to accomplish such a feat—that's if we train together for some time." The coach said before walking away.
"Was he just talking about freekicks all the time?" Kendrick ran up to him once the coach departed.
"Yes." Zachary nodded. "He was advising me to add more power to my set-pieces."
"Oh, my," Kendrick exclaimed, mopping a hand through his long brown hair. "Does he want to turn you into a Roberto Carlos?"
"Nope. I think he only wants me to improve my technique." Zachary sighed. "Coach Johansen is surprisingly somewhat caring in contrast to what many think of him."
Kendrick shook his head. "That's because you weren't here two years ago," he said quietly.
"Can we try a few more freekicks?" Zachary inquired, diverting the topic from Coach Johansen.
"Just four more since the others have started arriving," Kendrick replied, running back to his goal.
Zachary took a few more freekicks against Kendrick. He added more power to his shots, making them waver far beyond the goalposts. He realized that it would be much harder to modify the technique than he had imagined.
Beckham's freekick technique generated incredible power, unleashing shots with speeds over 80 miles per hour. Zachary was sure he could release curling freekicks exceeding 90 miles per hour if he mastered the Bend-it like Beckham Juju. However, Coach Johansen had advised him to add even more power to the shots, further raising their speed.
Did the coach intend for him to unleash shots traveling at 100 miles per hour? The idea was enticing to him. That would stretch physics to its limit. No goalkeeper would ever be fast enough to react to such ball velocity.
Very few individuals had managed to let loose such shots in recorded football history. Usually, it was by accident, not by design. Keepers would remain terrified of him as long as he could consistently smash the ball on target with that much power.
Zachary just needed to ask the coach for advice during their meeting later that day.
In-between his training with Kendrick, Zachary noticed that most of the players had turned their attention to the administrative building housing Coach Johansen's office. "Do you know what is happening?" He asked the Swedish goalkeeper.
"Nope." Kendrick shook his head, wiping his gloves off his sweat pants. "But I do have some guesses." He smiled wryly. "Let's ask Paul and Kasongo first. They should know more about what is going on.
They approached Kasongo and Paul and inquired about what was going on in Coach Johansen's office.
Paul sighed. "The coach has called two players into his office. Everyone suspects they'll be—cut from the team."
"Which ones?" Kendrick asked, frowning.
Paul's expression darkened with what looked more like sadness or maybe sympathy. "Ivan, one of the midfielders, and Mathew Stevenson, the other goalkeeper."
"Let's hope the coach is in a good mood and will not call anyone else aside from those two," Kendrick said. "It's good we still have a team of fourteen. Otherwise, we would miss out on the international tournaments once again this year."
Coach Johansen only cut two players from the program. They departed from the training grounds soon after.
Zachary empathized with them. His team in his previous life had released him and similarly terminated his contract. The experience was something he never wanted to go through again. It was simply hard to hear the news that a dream you had devoted over half your life to—would never be realized. The rejection had left a mark that sealed his fate as a failure in his previous life. That was the main reason he was putting a lot of effort into his career in this life despite having a system.
"Zachary!" Coach Bj?rn Peters hollered out from near the administrative building.
"Here," Zachary yelled back, jogging towards the coach.
"You can meet the coach now," Coach Bj?rn said before turning back and heading into the building.
Zachary took a deep breath and followed him through the glass doors. He wasn't the least bit worried he would be cut loose by the team. He was certain that he was the star player of the academy's under-17 team.
After the match the previous day, Coach Johansen had assured him they only needed to meet briefly to discuss his future. Zachary expected to hear about the plans the academy had for him.