Chapter 28

When the training officially began, Rongguang was brought to an empty goal by the first-team coach Sergio Rocha—not entirely empty, as there was a mannequin placed inside to act as a goalkeeper, mainly to serve as a reference point. Without a reference point, shooting practice would be ineffective.

Then, Rocha and Rongguang placed the footballs on the penalty area.

There were ten in total, lined up in a row.

After setting them up, Rocha began to explain the key points of shooting to Rongguang.

There are many techniques for shooting, and different methods are used for different types of shots. However, in Oswaldo's plan, there was no time to teach Rongguang each one individually.

So, they chose the most practical method—whichever shooting technique had the highest goal-scoring rate would be the one they used!

"We don't have time to start from the basics and build up gradually. I'll only tell you what strategy to use in the game to score the easiest goals. Then we'll only practice this one type of shot." Rocha, the first-team's offensive coach, was responsible for the players' shooting practice. The fact that he had left the entire team to give Rongguang special training showed how much Oswaldo valued him.

"When you have a chance to shoot, remember to keep the ball as low as possible, ideally as a ground ball. It's better to miss wide than to shoot high. I noticed that your goal in the last game was quite high. If the ball had traveled a bit further, it would have gone over the crossbar. You were using too much force, and you hit the ball in the wrong spot. Shooting isn't about using the most strength."

Rongguang nodded as he listened, showing more patience for shooting practice than for other types of training.

This was all very valuable experience and knowledge to him, and he absorbed it like a dry sponge suddenly thrown into water, eagerly taking in everything that could benefit him.

"The key to shooting is the correct direction and application of force. A ground ball can change direction, and it can also be slowed down, bounce, or slip—these factors make it harder for the goalkeeper to save. So for the next week, you'll only practice shooting ground balls. Now, let's do some ground ball shooting practice!"

With that, Rocha began to demonstrate the key points of shooting ground balls.

He shot all ten balls into the goal with ease.

After showing Rongguang the shooting technique, he began to break down the movements step by step, demonstrating and explaining as he went.

After explaining, he had Rongguang perform the broken-down movements.

But he didn't let Rongguang kick the ball; he just had him repeatedly practice the foot-striking movement for half an hour.

Rongguang stood next to the ball, generating power on the spot, making the movements but not actually kicking the ball.

After half an hour, he had Rongguang start practicing the complete shooting action with the ball.

"Shoot these ten balls, trying to keep them as close to the ground as possible," Rocha said, pointing to the balls.

Rongguang followed the movements he had practiced and quickly shot all ten balls, but only one was a ground ball; the others were either high or wide.

"There's a problem, Rong," Rocha said after Rongguang finished, calling him over. "Before shooting, you didn't look up to observe the goalkeeper's position—although it's just a mannequin here with a fixed position, you still need to get into the habit of observing the goalkeeper."

Rongguang nodded. "I'll remember that, Coach."

"Let's try again."

Another ten balls.

"This time you observed the goalkeeper's position, but Rong, you need to look down after observing! When shooting, you need to look down at the ball and keep it stable to hit the spot you want most accurately."

"I understand, Coach."

"Let's continue."

After another ten balls.

"Don't choose the easiest way just to hit the ball accurately. That will only send the ball into the goalkeeper's arms! You need to aim for the most vulnerable areas of the goal. If the goalkeeper is in the center, aim for the sides. If he's on one post, aim for the far post! When he thinks you