Chapter 218: Chapter 215: Basketball Training

Ling Chengyan just found out that it was originally just a friendly basketball invitational to kill time over the New Year, but other units took it as a challenge and eagerly accepted, even the district was getting involved. They’ve agreed to organize a spring basketball competition, with participating units signing up voluntarily. The format is a round-robin to decide the top four, followed by elimination matches to determine the champions and runners-up.

Since there are less than twenty units in the district, and some civilian units might not participate, they decided not to group them.

From the start, it was going to be a chaotic battle.

Ling Chengyan sighed half-heartedly and then turned to Xu Dong to remind him that participating players should add two eggs to their diet every day for better nutrition.

They had just applied for an increase in food expenses before the New Year. This minor expense couldn’t be requested from the district and had to be handled internally.

Ling Chengyan had a thought and came up with a plan.

“Before the New Year, wasn’t there a unit that contacted us asking for help in training their militia? Get in touch with a few interested units… Yes, military and civilians are like family, and we should do what we can for the local people.”

Xu Dong’s mouth twitched, holding back a laugh, and nodded.

Ling Chengyan watched basketball for about ten minutes, chatted with Xu Dong and a few others, and then Xu Dong clapped his hands to signal the end of today’s training. Time to wash up and rest.

“Instructor, let us practice a bit longer. It’s still early,” someone spoke up.

Ling Chengyan responded indifferently, “Haste makes waste, dismiss!”

Hearing her voice, the players finally realized who this young woman in a regular coat was!

They had noticed a young woman earlier and assumed she was Instructor Xu’s girlfriend. Who could have guessed that as soon as she spoke, she turned out to be their captain?

With Ling Chengyan speaking, no one dared to utter another word. Holding their basketballs, they agreed and left the court quietly.

Yet, it was obvious that Ling Chengyan didn’t want to let them off so easily and spoke again indifferently, “When you go back, massage each other’s legs and arms. Tomorrow I want to see your training results.”

“Yes.” The group instinctively stood at attention, responding affirmatively. Only after Ling Chengyan waved her hand to dismiss them did they silently leave the basketball court, rushing away like being chased by a tiger.

Zhou Lixin snorted, cursing, “Such lack of ambition.”

Xu Dong and Tang Guohui simultaneously glanced at him, casting admiring looks.

After saying a few more words with the three, Ling Chengyan left with Tang Guohui and Xu Dong, while Zhou Lixin headed to the dormitory. He was on duty tonight.

The night passed uneventfully. The next day, Ling Chengyan resumed her routine, getting up early to take the kids to the training ground, leaving them with her subordinates, and then heading to the basketball court.

All the participants for the basketball competition had arrived, and the official and substitute players had been decided.

During training, they divided into two teams for a scrimmage.

When Ling Chengyan arrived at the basketball court, everyone had already warmed up and was in training groups. They didn’t fix the team members during training, aiming to give everyone a chance to train and get familiar with each other, to better cooperate on the court.

Xu Dong and Zhou Lixin also arrived. Seeing Ling Chengyan, they both greeted her, and Zhou Lixin said, “These guys are too restless. How about the captain shows them something?”

Ling Chengyan glanced at him and said flatly, “Let’s see their training first.”

The three stood by the court and the players tightened their focus, trying to show their best. The game immediately flared up with energy, with constant shooting and breakthroughs, maintaining a fast pace.

But to Ling Chengyan, whether in charging or defense, there were too many flaws.

Ling Chengyan didn’t say a word, silently watching, observing each participating player’s performance, noting them down, and analyzing who was suitable for offense, defense, or mid-court control.

After half an hour, Ling Chengyan clapped her hands to call for a stop.

Xu Dong immediately called everyone over to the water station by the field to drink water and rest, while Ling Chengyan started calling out names.

After a ten-minute break, they would play another round, playing in the positions assigned by Ling Chengyan.

A soldier named Zhao Jincun wanted to play forward, but Ling Chengyan had placed him as a guard. Confused, he asked Ling Chengyan, “Captain, I’m tall and strong in charging. I’m better suited to play forward.”

Ling Chengyan looked at him calmly and said, “You’re tall, but not agile enough, and your shooting accuracy is low. Try playing guard in the next round, and we can adjust if needed.”

After adjusting their positions, the game resumed.

This time, Ling Chengyan only let them play for fifteen minutes before calling a halt.

Ling Chengyan made another adjustment, but Zhao Jincun, who had previously expressed his opinion, remained at the guard position.

After another ten-minute break, Ling Chengyan went onto the court herself, standing at the forward position for one of the teams.

Though slightly weary, faced with the freakishly strong captain, the soldiers dared not relax for a moment. They put in maximum effort to match her, even assigning two players to stick to Ling Chengyan, trying to block her from breaking through, let alone scoring.

Ling Chengyan, however, looked relaxed, dribbling the ball while glancing to the left, her body feinting right. She smoothly spun to the right, easily escaping the double block, advancing past several players, and reaching the opponent’s basket. She jumped, raised her hand, a light lay-up, and the ball went in!

Everyone on the court froze, watching Ling Chengyan catch the ball falling from the net, holding it in her arms. When Ling Chengyan’s gaze swept over them, they instinctively looked away, not daring to meet her eyes.

They suddenly felt a bit guilty…!

Ling Chengyan coughed, and everyone instinctively stood straight in the listening posture.

“At ease.” Ling Chengyan didn’t stress about relaxing, and after a command, she started naming the two who had been defending her to come forward for a replay. How the opponents defended, and how they attacked…

“It’s like two armies facing off, with corresponding tactics for both offense and defense…”

Ling Chengyan demonstrated step by step for over ten minutes, then had the two teams practice once again, to digest and internalize the tactics, and become familiar with applying them.

Ling Chengyan wasn’t in a hurry. She had only briefly been exposed to basketball and had never trained formally, but she had grown up immersed in military strategies and combat training. She was a super amateur in basketball but a professional in combat.

Setting aside the rules that forbade certain actions in basketball, the techniques Ling Chengyan taught might not be seen in any basketball player, but they were undoubtedly specific and highly practical skills.

After more than an hour of play, Ling Chengyan, the coach on the field, didn’t feel much difference, but the players were exhausted beyond measure. Not just physically, their minds were also strained… they simply couldn’t keep up anymore.

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep