Chapter 16: Coach's Instructions
Aryan just looked at the girl who was sitting by his sister. "Guess she also has friends," Aryan murmured, knowing his sister to be a really picky person socially.
"Aryan, how did it go?" Priya called out from the kitchen, asking about his first session with the U19s.
"Sensational," Aryan said before running upstairs.
Aryan put his heavy kit bag down, sat on his bed, and opened his System tab to select his personal info.
[PLAYER INFO]
NAME: ARYAN SHARMA
AGE: 14 (4 MONTHS TO 15)
HEIGHT: 1.80m (5'11")
PROFESSION: CRICKETER
STATUS: YOUTH PLAYER
TEAM: Mumbai U19
SYSTEM EVALUATION: Youth Prospect
PLAYER RATING: 65/100
POSITION: Fast-Bowling All-Rounder
POTENTIAL: 87
LEGEND POINTS: 11,200/10,000 to LV 3 (Upgrade Available)
STAT POINTS: 26
[STATS]
Speed: 70
Footwork: 62
Spatial Awareness: 65
Technique: 65
Batting: 62
Bowling: 64
Physical Strength: 64
Weak Zone Proficiency: 4 stars
Shot Creativity: 4 stars
[SKILLS POSSESSED]
Cover Drive: 85% Completion
Helicopter Shot: 50% Completion
Switch Hit: 70% Completion
Reverse Paddle: 50% Completion
Aryan saw that he had already gained the points to upgrade his System level. He decided to distribute his stat points before upgrading the System. His first upgrade brought him the snooping function, so he was hyped up about the second one.
Aryan decided to quickly upgrade his stats. He looked at his lowest and most useful attributes and decided to upgrade the Footwork (Body Control) and Batting attributes.
He clicked on Batting:
Batting: 62
Finishing (Slog Overs): 60
Range Hitting (Sixes): 58
Timing: 67
Running Between Wickets: 60
Aryan added 4 stat points to Range Hitting and 5 to Finishing. He also added 2 to Running Between Wickets and 3 to Timing.
He looked at the Batting attributes and saw that it had gone up significantly.
Batting: 66
Finishing: 60 [+5] > 65
Range Hitting: 58 [+4] > 64
Timing: 67 [+3] > 70
Running Between Wickets: 60 [+2] > 62
Aryan then clicked on the Footwork (Body Control) attributes.
Footwork: 62
Agility: 65
Jumping: 60
Reflexes: 60
Balance: 60
Aryan was left with 12 stat points, so he decided to add 3 stat points to each of his attributes under Footwork to create a balanced athlete.
Footwork: 65
Agility: 65 [+3] > 68
Jumping: 60 [+3] > 63
Reflexes: 60 [+3] > 63
Balance: 60 [+3] > 63
Aryan quickly went to the main Stats page, and the System displayed the updated information in front of him.
[STATS]
Speed: 70
Footwork: 65
Spatial Awareness: 65
Technique: 65
Batting: 66
Bowling: 64
Physical Strength: 64
"Ding."
[Host's Rating has improved from 65 > 66]
Aryan looked a bit sad that his overall went up by just one point despite the heavy investment.
"No one said it was gonna be easy," he said as he got into position to do his post-training yoga routine.
After Aryan was done, he went downstairs for dinner. He looked around to see if the girl he had seen earlier was still there but didn't see her.
"Guess she went home. Who was she anyway? She looked somewhat familiar..."
Aryan went to the table, and after he finished eating, he washed the dishes before going up. He pulled out his phone and started watching reels on Instagram. After a while, he started looking at some news in the world of cricket.
He saw the news about Shubman Gill's form in the IPL and thought very soon, those kinds of franchises would be wanting to sign him. Aryan looked at a bit more news before retreating to slumberland.
Aryan woke up the next day and checked the time; it was 6:00 AM. His eyes flashed to the date on his phone, which showed [17 April 2022].
"F**k," Aryan said as he remembered that he had not done the System upgrade the night before. He had joined the U19s, and there were about 7 matches left till the end of their zonal season.
Aryan freshened up and went out for his daily task (morning run). After he finished, he came in and drank a cup of milk before going to bathe. After he finished, he dressed and went down again. This time Priya was done with breakfast.
Aryan gobbled it up, and after he was done, he decided to ride his bicycle to school today.
"Mom, I'll be riding my bike to school today," Aryan said.
"Okay Aryan, just be careful in the traffic," Priya said from the kitchen.
Aryan saw that it was still early, so he decided to relax and enjoy the wind brushing against his face, making his hair disheveled. Aryan got to school and went through the day without much hassle.
He wrote the mock exam without much struggle; aside from training, he had been studying too. He was confident he aced the exam. At the end of the day, Aryan picked up his bag before heading off to the BKC training ground.
Aryan arrived early and saw that he was the first to arrive. He changed into his training kit and decided to train a bit before actual practice.
Aryan set up the cones and a target net and did some speed and dribbling (football habit—changed to: agility and footwork) drills. After a while, he decided to do a bit of Power Hitting drills.
Aryan set up a bowling machine to feed balls and placed 4 target bins in different areas of the stands. The first zone was Long-On, 75 meters away. Aryan took his stance.
He waited for the ball, cleared his front leg, and with a high backlift, launched the ball into the empty stand. Although there were no fielders, from the way Aryan hit the ball, it wouldn't make a difference if there were.
Aryan's second try was aiming for Deep Square Leg, 80 meters away. This time he swiveled and pulled the ball, but it struck the top of the boundary fence—a four, not a six.
"You must use your body weight transfer well if you want to clear the rope consistently," a voice spoke, prompting Aryan to turn his head only to find Coach Kulkarni standing behind the net.
Aryan quickly greeted him. "You should press your front foot well to get the maximum leverage for the swing," he said.
"And also, for more elevation, get the bat under the ball and snap your wrists at the point of contact," he added.
Aryan nodded and reset the machine for the next ball, which was aiming for Long-Off, 85 meters out. Aryan this time widened his stance.
He looked at the ball release, leaned into the shot, planting his front foot firmly beside the line, and with a heavy downswing, struck the underside of the ball.
The ball rose up into the air, soaring over the sight screen. With rapid speed and a clean trajectory, the ball homed into the bucket seat in the stands.
Aryan stood there holding his follow-through, looking at the ball. He looked at Coach Kulkarni, who was smiling.
"What a monster. I guess we won't have to worry about the death overs for a while," thought Coach Kulkarni after seeing Aryan's power-hitting potential.
The same happened for the next ball as Aryan smashed it into the roof of the stands.
Aryan looked at the coach and smiled. Coach Kulkarni saw that some of the players had arrived and told Aryan to quickly wrap it up.
Aryan packed the cones and pushed the bowling machine back to its place. After he finished, he followed Coach Kulkarni.
When the players saw both of them coming, one of the players remarked, "Hey Aryan, has Coach Kulkarni adopted you yet?"
The other players who heard this started laughing. Some felt pity for Aryan.
Aryan walked up to Kabir and asked him what they meant by that.
"Well, Coach has the tendency to overtrain players he likes," Kabir answered.
"Let's say if we were all running 10 laps, you, my friend," he said placing his hand on Aryan's shoulder, "are going to run 20 laps."
"Oh," Aryan said.