"Yeah, Wis told me about your plans yesterday in the training dome," Oswin said, passing the ball to Bongani.
Winston came jogging onto the training field.
All three turned toward him. With the ball at his feet, Oswin asked, "You okay? You look worried. Did something happen back home? Is your family okay?"
"Yeah, everything's okay. Morning, guys," Winston said. "I just saw some players giving me confusing stares when I was coming here. It was weird."
"Are you sure they were giving you those stares?" Elijah asked. "I think they're jealous of your progress. I mean, did you see your rating in Building C?"
"I forgot to check."
Winston clicked his wristwatch and brought up his progress.
"Oh, yeah. Oswin, do you know Busisiwe's number?" Winston asked casually.
"You miss Busi?" Oswin said, he glanced toward the sky, "Man, this weather is getting bad. It looks like it's going to rain for the entire week and weekends."
"Yeah, it's been a long time since I last spoke to her," Winston said. "The last time I spoke to her was when I was in the junior league."
"I've been meaning to ask this. Who is Busisiwe, and how does Oswin know her?" Bongani asked, keeping the ball at his feet.
Hickman and Elijah both looked at Bongani, then at Winston and Oswin. Winston wore an awkward smile and looked away. Oswin, on the other hand, answered casually, "She's my cousin. We live in the same building back at Westminster. Wait… do you know her?"
"No. Winston was screaming her name along with some girl named Annalise." Bongani flicked the ball up before trapping it and dribbling it between his feet.
Oswin immediately burst out laughing. Winston looked down, a blush spreading across his face.
Oswin draped an arm around Winston's shoulders, "Well, boys, Wis here is in quite the dilemma."
Oswin burst out laughing again, the others glanced at Winston with furrowed brows. Winston pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head. "Oswin, bro…"
"Ohhh, I get it now," Hickman, Bongani, and Elijah said in unison.
"Anyway, never mind that. What were you practicing before I arrived?" Winston asked, trying to change the subject.
"We haven't started yet," Hickman said, stretching his body. "Bongani and Elijah were telling us about the plans you came up with for next week. What are you planning to practice? I don't really know what you guys usually practice on this field."
"Oh, I see, Can we practice long passes? Bongani and I have been practicing dribbling and ball control." Winston began explaining the type of long-ball passes he wanted them to work on. "Oh, by the way, does anyone want to add anything to the training?"
"Not really. You're the one who has been trained by the legendary striker, so anything you come up with, I'm cool with." Oswin looked at Bongani and Elijah, "Since Bo and Elijah don't have any objections, what about you, Hickman?"
"I'm okay with this training," Hickman said. "I've been looking to boost my defensive archetypes, especially after seeing what Danilo can do."
He moved to stand beside Winston. The four of them began practicing long-ball passing drills, continuing until it was time for their dome training.
Winston and Oswin walked toward their attacking dome.
"I see you've been able to move around with those ankle weights on," Winston said.
"Yeah, your pointers have really helped me. I'm starting to feel comfortable with them, but I still need to get used to wearing them when I wake up in the morning." Oswin lifted one leg, "Look, I can raise my legs now." He made a kicking motion before lowering his leg.
"Glad I helped. Now I have to watch out for your explosive speed. If I don't improve mine, you'll end up being the faster one between the two of us."
"Don't worry. I'll make sure I don't beat you in a long-distance run." Oswin made another exaggerated kicking motion.
"Huh. We'll see."
The two walked into the attacking dome and sat down on the grass, waiting for the bald, short instructor to arrive for their training.
"I wonder what type of training we'll be doing today," Winston said.
"I hope it's something fun. Lately, I've really been enjoying his training. It's actually helped us develop our skills."
Oswin picked up his water bottle and took a long gulp.
The bald, short instructor walked into the dome with a cup of coffee in his hand. The youth players quickly got to their feet and formed a line. "Morning, everyone," the bald, short instructor said again, taking another sip from his coffee.
The youth players glanced at one another. That's the second time he's said that.
"Today, I want us to practice shooting. I also want to introduce two great players I want you to try to beat inside the box."
As the instructor continued speaking, two senior players walked into the dome. One was a goalkeeper, while the other was a defender. The two senior players walked over and stood beside the instructor, both wearing confident smiles. Murmurs spread throughout the dome, the two players were well-known professionals in the Supreme League.
"Players, I'd like to introduce Mikel, the best defender in the Supreme League, and Gaillanger, the best goalkeeper in the same league."
The instructor took another sip of his coffee before continuing, "Today, each of you will have a chance to beat these two players in the drill behind me." The instructor pointed toward the training setup.
"First, you need to weave through the mannequins. One of my assistants will then pass you the ball. Once you receive it, you need to beat Mikel in a one-on-one situation. After that, you'll have to beat Gaillanger."
He nodded toward the two senior players beside him. The two professionals quickly jogged toward their positions. The instructor took another sip of his coffee. "Diego, you go first."
Diego stepped in front of the four mannequins and waited for the instructor to blow his whistle. He bounced lightly on his feet.
Peeep!
The whistle sounded.
Diego immediately dashed toward the mannequins, weaving between them with ease. Once he cleared the final mannequin, an assistant passed the ball toward him. Diego performed several stepovers before turning his body and attempting to shield the ball from Mikel.
Mikel remained calm.
Being an experienced defender, he simply slipped his leg between Diego and the ball and poked it away—the ball rolled loose. Mikel immediately used a body feint to send Diego the wrong way before sprinting toward the ball. He reached it first and calmly passed it toward Gaillanger.
Peeep!
The instructor blew his whistle, "Next player!"
One after another, the youth players took their turns. Most of them tried to show off their individual skills. Stepovers, body feints, sudden changes of direction, and flashy dribbling techniques were all thrown at Mikel.
None of them worked.
Mikel read every move and took the ball away with ease. After several players had completed their attempts, the instructor called out.
"Winston, you're next."
"Wish me luck," Winston said, striding forward.
"With your skills, I would wish the luck on those seniors," Oswin replied. Winston chuckled to himself before walking toward the starting line.
The instructor raised his whistle.
Peeep!
Winston dashed toward the mannequins—before entering the drill, he had already begun channeling Nethen Essence. The moment the energy spread through his body, his explosive speed surged. Winston weaved through the four mannequins in an instant before sprinting directly toward Mikel. Instead of attempting to dribble past him immediately, Winston deliberately dashed toward Mikel's right side.
Mikel shifted his body to follow him.
Most of the players before Winston had tried to display their skill moves the moment they received the ball. Mikel had easily read each attempt and taken the ball away. Winston had no intention of doing the same. My plan is to draw him away from his position. His eyes remained focused on Mikel. Then I'll use my explosive speed to beat him. That was why Winston had started channeling Nethen Essence before entering the drill.
One thing he had recently learned about channeling Nethen Essence was that he needed a few seconds to properly prepare it. The longer he allowed the energy to circulate through his body, the greater the burst of explosive speed he could produce. More importantly, he had discovered that preparing the energy beforehand reduced the strain on his muscles.
Winston continued dragging Mikel farther away from the goal. Once he felt he had created enough distance, Winston suddenly performed a stepover.
Mikel reacted immediately—Winston turned his body as though he was going to move around him, but instead, he dragged his heel across the ball. The ball slipped directly between Mikel's legs—nutmegging him.
Winston exploded forward—his prepared Nethen Essence surged through his leg, and his explosive speed kicked in. He sprinted toward Gaillanger—the goalkeeper immediately lowered his stance, preparing for the shot. Winston approached the edge of the shooting area and dropped his shoulder, preparing to fire.
But just as he was about to release the shot—Mikel suddenly appeared at his side. The defender had recovered far faster than Winston expected. Mikel slid across the grass and stretched out his leg.
Bang!
His boot connected with the ball and knocked it away before Winston could shoot.
Winston's eyes widened. He recovered that quickly?