nevertheless || yuzuru hanyu

twenty-two - a competition of efforts and luck (1)

| one week before the Junior International Tournament |

"Okay, Kyla. When you are about to hit the shuttle cock at that position, extend your leg more and rest the weight on the stepping foot. If you apply the weight on the foot behind you, you're going to have a hard time moving around." Gabriella pointed at her student's foot as she explained. With a small demonstration, she placed her right foot in front of her, and applied weight on it, just as she instructed her student to do so. For wider understanding, she tried to facilitate the possible effects of having the weight placed in certain positions. She wanted her students to avoid any mishaps or injuries so she was aiming to teach them the internal technicalities.

"Did you get that?" She asked after the demonstration. As the student nodded, she too answered with a nod. "Okay, start again. Apply what I taught you this time around." She strictly uttered. Her eyes were furrowed and immensely focused on their movements. There was not a single motion that steps out of her sight. Every little thing matters, after all, mess one thing up and you might just miss an opportunity to strike.

For almost four months, this has been the training session that was given to the students. Gabriella was very meticulous in training them, even more meticulous than her coach. She pointed out every single mistake and every single 'hole' that would give an opponent a point. The students never hid the fact that the training was exhausting, however, it was not in vain as they themselves saw that they were in fact improving in the course of days. They were only one week away from the championships, so they gave every training their best. During the end of their training hours, Gabriella would always remind them to have a good rest and to sleep as early as possible. They even have a group chat for their training group wherein she would constantly ask her students if a part of their body was hurting unusually and sometimes she'd send a message reminding them to sleep. 'A great coach' is how her students described her. She does not only dwell on technical elements of the sport, she also dwells on the physical and emotional welfare of her athletes. She was good at what she was doing.

Away from that, her students can only see so much.

'She's a caring and skillful coach.'

'It's like she never gets tired.'

...

After every training session she has with her students, Gabriella will then proceed to her personal training. Coach Browne had her train under a friend of his just until she could fly back to Korea. And as much as her students' training was difficult, hers was even more extensive. It was of her own choice though. Her coach would sometimes tell her that she could rest for a bit, but she'd refuse to even sit or drink water just so she could practice more. When asked about why she refuses to take a break, she always answered,

"Coach, I've been taking a break for six months. I'm really far behind."

Her assigned coach never knew what to say to her, so he'd just allow her to keep training until the time period ends.

Catching of breath, nosebleeds, and cries of pain—they had all become normal as she trained. Every day, she'd push herself to train harder than the previous day despite whatever type of anomaly came to her. Nosebleeds? That was nothing. She would just wash her face and wait for the bleeding to stop, then she'd go back to her practice again. It was worrying... her determination to improve was worrying. And yet she was always like this, she worked herself to the bone.