nevertheless || yuzuru hanyu

four - pathways to decisions

:: Gabriella

After a lot of rushing, me and Joanna arrived at the badminton training center.

It was still the same as I remember. The color of the bleachers and waiting areas were still the same. The space still looks very comfortable. The only thing new was the various lighting additions and the vending machines that were close to the reception area.

Joanna led me towards the team that I was asked to train. At this moment, I could feel my hand trembling slightly as I approached a group of young people waiting patiently by a vacant court.

"Hello everyone, this is Gabriella Kim. She will be your coach for a few months." Joanna introduced me as she got the attention of the young athletes who waited patiently for our arrival.

I looked at all of them with a smile and sheer fake confidence. All of them smiled back at me except a male teen who didn't seem so welcoming to me.

This may seem like an overreaction for some, but I am quite decent at reading people's emotions and it really seemed that this teen does not want me around, that or I really am overthinking the situation.

All nervousness aside, I approached them closer and greeted them.

"Hello everyone!" I simply said as one of the female teens stepped forward and asked, "Are we going to start training today?" with an excited look on her face.

Taken aback, I was at a loss for words for a few moments.

"Already? Alright then. However, let's put a spin on this."

"What type of spin?" Asked another person.

"Considering that I have no idea what I should call any of you, let's have you play a continuous rally but in every receive that you would take, you will say what name you want me to call you. Let this serve as our warm-up and getting to know activity. For me at least." I explained.

They all sank the information deep and talked amongst each other, only to agree a few seconds after.

"Alright, let's do this. Can you demonstrate?" They asked.

Well, I knew this moment would come, but not this soon. However, I feel pretty great so hopefully, this won't be much of a problem.

Joanna walked up to me and tapped my shoulder.

"I'll have to do some other agendas, for now, text me when you're all done." She told me.

"Noted. Take it easy." I replied. She then looked at the teens and said, "Don't be mean to her, and of course have fun." she left with a smile on her face as she took a phone call.

"Okay, let me demonstrate."

I went to the resting area to leave my bag and grab my racket.

With a slight sense of confidence, I walked over to one side of the court and stood with my legs bent and hand properly gripping the racket.

"Can someone serve me a ball?" I asked. Surprisingly, the male teen whom I assumed didn't like me as much stepped out to grab a shuttle cock.

He stood on the side of the court opposite me.

He too prepared himself with right foot placement and stance.

He then took a serve, which I quickly received while yelling, "Coach Gab." However, much to my surprise, the demonstration became a longer rally.

"Kane." The teen finally spoke as he received the shuttle cock.

With that, we had a mini-game which I ended with a stance I only did when I joined the Olympics.

I lowered my whole body and easily smashed the shuttle cock making it land approximately 2 inches away from the line marking the outside.

I smiled and said, "See, that was fun right?"

They didn't reply to me, instead, they gathered around me, "How do you move your body like that?" The only brown-haired girl in the group asked.

"Practice and placing," I replied.

"Do you want me to teach you?"

"Yes, please!" She exclaimed.

I smiled and said, "Well, let's finish introductions first then maybe I can teach you some simple techniques."

They all visibly agreed, except the angsty teen, who I now know to be Kane.

When a new pair of players were at the court, I watched them play to see where their skills were at and of course to know their names.

The first batch of girls, Irene and the one with brown hair, Odette took a few minutes with their match, so I took that time to approach Kane.

"Not so fond of me, are you?" I asked him.

"It's better that way." He replied, walking towards the water fountain alone.

I took a deep breath, but inside I knew that he wasn't going to warm up immediately.

That won't be a problem though, I hope.

After all, he seems to be interested in learning like the others. As the standing coach, that is enough for me.

With that realization in mind, I returned to watching different batches of athletes play until they all finished.

This is not as bad as I thought it would be.