Second Chances: Indonesian Football Player

Chapter 107's

Monday, 29 April 2013.

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At one of the gyms in Lotto Park, the headquarters of RSC Anderlecht, Nero is fully focused on his training. Salty droplets flowed down her face dripping onto the gym floor as she pushed her body up, completing her 50th push-up. On his back was a dark line in the middle of the light grey color of the Nike boss without his arms a diffused sweat map showing the hard work he did in his practice that morning. His current Physical Coach is Coach Sebastian standing to the side, watching him like an eagle and shouting instructions at the speed of a machine gun.

There is no other soul in the gym. The other players have been given a morning off since they played a Pro Ligue match against KV Machelen earlier in the day.

"Keep moving, don't slow down" chanted Coach Sebastian, clapping as he moved around Nero's position on the floor. "You can do it. Up and down, up and down..."

Nero was tired. It feels like his energy reserves are depleted like buffalo. His vision blurred as his entire body cried out to him to let go and relax to take a moment and lay on his back on the floor.

At that moment, the hard floor looked as welcoming as the comfiest bed in Nero's eyes. But, he knew he could not stop before finishing the entire set of sixty push-ups. If he succumbs to fatigue, the effectiveness of the entire routine will be reduced. So, he squeezed out more steam from the depths of himself and forced himself to complete the 51st push-up that morning.

It has been almost two months since the day he signed a professional contract with Anderlecht. He hasn't made it into the starting eleven of the club. He has spent most of his time working with Coach Sebastian for his fitness. He has gone through various exercises in a progressive overload regimen to improve his body control simultaneously with his balance and coordination.

He has followed Coach Marcel's advice to make the most of his time before he gets into the starting line-up to improve his fitness further. He wants to reassure the club's management and coaching staff that his growth spurt is not an issue and will not prevent him from appearing in Belgium's top flight league. The only way to achieve this is through carefully planned exercises to improve his fitness in the shortest time possible. That way, the coaches don't have to worry about him being vulnerable to injury due to his physical changes.

With that in mind, Nero has maintained a rigorous training schedule with Coach Sebastian for most of the time he has not trained with the rest of Anderlecht's squad. Bench press, yoga, classic board for knee tightening, push-ups, sit-ups, hip stretches he has been doing for two months under the supervision of a fitness trainer.

"Don't slow down" chanted Coach Sebastian. "Defend. Only nine more, then we can stop to rest." He added, clapping with a steady rhythm, probably to encourage Nero.

Nero, on his part, did not answer because he did not have the strength to answer even with a simple answer. All the focus is on finishing the remaining nine press-ups.

Her black hair, tied into a loose bun, was soaking wet. He looked like he had just pulled himself out of the pool. However there is no water around, but only the spacious and well-equipped Anderlecht gym. He paid no heed to the slightest sweat and continued with the press-up routine until he finished the entire set of sixty.

"OK, you did well" Coach Sebastian said with a smile. "Let's take a five-minute break before continuing." He handed me a bottle of water.

Nero received the bottle and downed the water. It feels like the rarest potion in the world. So, he took it for granted, trying to recover his stamina in the shortest time possible.

"Next," said Coach Sebastian after a few minutes. "We're going to start the classic knee tuck board using Bosu fitness balls. I'll explain it to you once more. Keep an eye on me so you don't miss anything." He added, taking the blue Bosu ball from a nearby shelf and putting it on the floor.

Nero took a few steps back to give the coach enough room for a demonstration. He then watched as the coach sat in a full board position, with palms resting on Bosu's ball and hands parallel to his shoulders. From his posture, Nero can see that Coach Sebastian is very fit. He can even make some professional footballers run away for their money.

“When doing knee tuck classic plates, the most important thing is to form a straight line from shoulder to heel,” he said while turning to glance at Nero who was still in a plank position. "Then, what you need to do next is to strengthen your core and push your right knee across your body towards your left elbow." His words came out of his mouth at a steady pace even though he was in an unnatural position.

"Stop for a moment at the top point for about thirty seconds and then return to the starting position," continued the coach, still demonstrating the training on the Bosu ball. "Continue alternating between legs for a total of fifty repetitions. Are we clear?" He asked, lifting himself off the floor.

"Yes, coach," Nero replied as he nodded.

For the previous two months, Nero lived only for training. He barely socializes with friends or spends time doing anything unrelated to football. He almost refused all invitations from Sage and Maria to have dinner together over the weekend. Almost all of his focus is on getting a place in the first team as quickly as possible. Everything else can wait until he becomes a regular in Anderlecht's squad. He has no intention of continuing to watch Anderlecht matches in the Pro Ligue as a spectator in the stands.

So, he had been exercising like a madman making use of every moment to practice with the help of physical conditioning potions. He even added some simple fitness routines in his daily life to make the most of those few immobile seconds to benefit him.

When the microwave is on, he'll do jumping jacks.

When the water boils in the kettle, he will do Squats.

When commercials are in between his TV programs, especially sports and music shows, he will lift the weight of his hands.

After taking a break from the restroom, he would do various types of Planks.

Thanks to that routine, he could feel his fitness gradually increasing once again. The year before, it had almost leveled off, with none of its physical attributes having experienced such tremendous growth. However, with two months of special training, he could sense that he had entered a period of rapid improvement once again. He had the feeling that one of his attributes could immediately break into that S rank if he continued to train.

"Nero, are we together?" Coach Sebastian said, his voice slightly raised. "Why do you daydream when I'm busy explaining exercise routines to you? Does this seem easy to you?" He frowned, seemingly annoyed.

"Sorry, coach," Nero replied, his voice humble. "That's not gonna happen again."

Coach Sebastian nodded, his facial expression slightly relaxed. "I'm saying that you should focus more on stabilizing yourself because you'll be using one leg at a time. You should keep that balance on one leg for more than thirty seconds. And don't relax your abdominal muscles while you do it. If not, the exercise will not be effective. Are we clear?"

"Yes, coach."

"OK, since you've had enough rest, come down and give me 50 sets of classic plank knee tucks" he said, looking at his watch. "You have to be quick and finish this maybe in twenty minutes. Coach Marcel has told me that he needs you to attend a video review meeting of the game at 11:00. So, you need time to prepare before heading to the tactics room."

"He wants me to attend a video review meeting?" Nero asked, feeling his heart start pounding with hope. Coach Marcel had not called him for such a meeting during the previous two months. It was because only the players in the previous or next match squad could attend that meeting.

"Yes" replied Coach Sebastian with a smile. “Do not think that all your hard work is not noticed by the coaching staff. I've also sent reports to people in charge of your medical, telling them you're fully fit and ready for action.Call you for another assessment in the next few days."

"Thank you, coach," Nero replied, reflexively bending slightly at the waist. He could barely hold back his happiness. Anderlecht will face Mouscron in the second round of the Belgian Football Cup in two days. If the head coach calls him for a video review meeting, chances are he is part of the squad for that game.

"Together" replied Coach Sebastian, smiling. "And this is all because of your hard work. So, go ahead and give me fifty knee boards right away."

"Yes, coach," said Nero, nodding in agreement. He then sat on the board position on the top side of the dome-shaped Bosu ball.

He then pulled his knees forward and immediately began the routine of Knee Planks. Since it seemed like he would get the chance to join the match squad, after all, he was more motivated than usual to finish training.