Soccer System: All the Skills, One Player!

Chapter 50: 49 - Experience of the most experienced



"Okay... I was hoping for something better, but I’ll keep it. Maybe it’ll come in handy at the right time." He closed the screen with a gesture and sighed deeply, leaning back against the wall of the corridor where he was standing.

Suddenly, he heard heavy footsteps echoing down the corridor. Emerging from around the corner was Coach Yamamoto.

"Lucas?" Yamamoto looked surprised to see Lucas.

"Coach." Lucas straightened up, almost instinctively.

Yamamoto stopped in front of him, crossing his arms. "What are you doing here? Up at this hour?"

Lucas put a hand to the back of his head and smiled nervously. "I was sleep deprived, so I came to get a latte."

Despite his progress as a player, whenever the coach appeared unexpectedly, the weight of authority fell on Lucas like a ton of bricks.

Yamamoto looked at him with those piercing eyes. "Milk, huh?" he grumbled, with a half-smile. "You know, kid, I admire your dedication... But you need to remember that rest is just as important as training, maybe even more important when you’re in the middle of a championship."

Lucas nodded, knowing the lecture was coming. Yamamoto was like that - serious but concerned. He always found a way to make even the smallest transgression seem like a great life lesson.

"Do you have any idea how many promising players I’ve seen destroy themselves because they thought they could do everything? Train harder, play harder, try harder... and in the end, their body couldn’t take it. Tomorrow is an important game, you know that. You need to be rested, both mentally and physically."

Lucas, with his hands in his pockets, looked down at the floor: "I know, coach. I just couldn’t sleep, my head was full of stuff, you know?"

"Full of stuff? What’s bothering you, Tanaka?" Yamamoto uncrossed his arms, taking a step closer.

"Oh, it’s just... the championship, you know? The responsibility, the pressure... it feels like everyone is expecting something from me, and I can’t fail. If we get through tomorrow, my parents will come to watch the semi-final."

"I understand. Pressure is part of it. But do you know what separates the great players from the good players? It’s not always their ability on the pitch, it’s not how much they train either. It’s the ability to deal with that pressure and do what needs to be done, even when they’re feeling exhausted."

Lucas opened his mouth to reply, but Yamamoto held up his hand, cutting him off. "And that’s exactly where rest comes in, Tanaka. Do you remember the Wushia School team that went to the National Championships? Well, of course not. You were just a kid. That team I was in charge of five years ago was practically unbeatable.

We had exceptional players, a talent in every position. Everyone thought it would be the team that would bring the most important title in school soccer to the school. But you know what happened?"

Lucas shook his head, even though he had already heard the rumors.

"They broke down before the final. All of them. The goalkeeper twisted his knee, the main defender had a muscle strain, and the star striker? He couldn’t get off the bench because he had cramps during the warm-up. Do you know why?"

Lucas already knew the answer, but the coach said it anyway:

"Because they didn’t rest. They thought they were invincible, ignored orders and kept pushing their bodies to the limit. The result: we lost the final by a shameful scoreline. That team had everything to win, but they failed because they didn’t understand that the body has limits. After that, frustration occupied the minds of several of them.

Only two went on to become professionals, one playing in Switzerland and the other in Brazil. In small teams, nothing very relevant."

The coach sighed and approached the drinks machine. "I see potential in you, Tanaka. A lot of people do now. But you need to learn to listen to your body. You need to understand that it’s not just about how hard you work, but about how much you take care of yourself."

Lucas listened, but didn’t absorb. How could he think of resting with so many things going on at the same time? How could he sit still while his future as a simple office worker pushed him to do his best on the pitch every time.

Yamamoto looked at him for a few more seconds, then, with a sigh, walked away.

"I’m not going to stand here and pressure you. Just think about it, okay? We’ve got a big game tomorrow, and you’re going to need all your strength. Get some sleep. And please, no more milk at midnight. It can give you a stomach ache."

"All right, coach. I’ll try."

Yamamoto patted him lightly on the shoulder before walking away down the corridor, ironically with a can of coffee in his hand.

"Yeah... Maybe I should... try to sleep." Lucas muttered to himself, walking back down the corridor towards his room.

Luckily, the milk or the conversation with Mr. Yamamoto helped Lucas’ mind relax a little. The next morning, he woke up feeling very sleepy.

Lucas stretched as he got out of bed and then looked at the bed next to him. Nishida was no longer there and, as expected, the sheets on the bed were completely organized.

"He must have gone down to breakfast by now." Lucas muttered and yawned. "Yaaw! I think I need a coffee now too..."

The game against Nishikawa College was scheduled for 11 am at Asset Minato Stadium. It was the first game of the day, so the stadium would probably be even more crowded than the day before.

The electronic clock on the bedroom wall read 9:01 a.m., but for some reason, when Lucas put his first foot out of bed, he felt a strange sensation, a feeling that not everything would go as smoothly on this day as it had during the game against Gekokujou High School.


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