But he didn’t need to worry too much, as Maurice was pulling Logan Grant aside to explain the training requirements to him.

“Your agent said you’re fast, so we won’t bother with a 100-meter sprint. That doesn’t mean much in football. You’ll never get a full hundred meters to run in a match. What matters more in football is short-distance sprints, about thirty meters or so. This drill is perfect for you. In a moment, just stand next to that coach over there. When the coach kicks the ball to the blue-bibbed player up front on the left, you start running forward, go around the outside of the blue-bibbed player who receives the ball…”

He hadn’t finished speaking when Logan Grant interrupted him: “I know, coach.”

Maurice was a bit surprised. “You know?”

Logan Grant pointed to one of the youth team players watching nearby, the same black player, Rick, who had just finished this drill earlier.

“I just saw him do it once.”

Rick was a bit surprised to be singled out by Logan Grant: Why’s that kid pointing at me?

Maurice glanced at the surprised Rick. Outwardly, he showed nothing, but inside he was quite surprised—he figured it out just by watching once?

Actually, this was just a standard youth team training drill, designed to teach players how to make runs from deep and exploit space.

In a rectangular area twenty yards wide (about eighteen meters) and thirty yards long (about twenty-seven meters), there are three attackers and two defenders. The player starting the drill controls the ball at the starting point, dribbles forward a couple of steps, then passes to a teammate positioned ahead and to the side. After receiving the ball, that teammate cuts toward the center, forcing his defender to follow him inside.

At the same time, the third attacking player, who started on the opposite side, also moves toward the center to support the ball carrier.

Throughout this process, the first player who started with the ball must make a run from behind the second player, exploiting the space on the outside, curving his run to target the space behind the defensive line.

Because of his position, the second player may not be able to see the first player running behind him, so he needs to pass the ball to the third player who has come up to support. The third player, facing the direction of the first player’s run, can see him clearly.

At this point, the third player passes the ball diagonally into the open space ahead of the first player’s run, making sure the first player receives the ball in stride, not having to stop to collect it.

Finally, the first player receives the ball and delivers a cross.

That’s a complete drill.

It looks simple, but for a total football novice, being able to grasp the key points after watching just once is pretty impressive…

He thought of what Gordon had said: “He’s a quick learner.”

Is this what he meant?

So he didn’t bother explaining the running requirements any further, and instead said to Logan Grant, “You don’t need to do the final cross. Just run up and receive the pass. Run as fast as you can.” This was a regular part of the training session, not something designed specifically for Logan Grant, but it happened to be a good way to test Logan Grant’s speed.

Logan Grant confirmed with a question: “Run as fast as I can?” If that’s really the case, then this is easy for him!

Maurice nodded. “Yes, run as fast as you can. Let’s see your best speed, kid.”

Logan Grant grinned confidently, his eight teeth shining: “Just watch, coach! Running is what I do best!”

…

Warren stood with a football at his feet, with Logan Grant beside him.

The drill—or rather, the test—was about to begin.

Except for the five players participating and one coach, everyone else stepped aside. Maurice, Lyle, and Gordon stood on the sideline, while the other youth team players gathered behind coach Warren.

There were also the dozens of fans who had already been at the training ground.

They all became witnesses to this test.

Especially the youth team players and fans—they were all quite puzzled. Training was going just fine, so why did they suddenly pause and bring in a new face?

“I heard it’s a trial…”

“A trial?”

“Yeah, apparently the kid is supposed to be really fast or something, so they’re giving him a chance to show it… That’s what I heard, anyway…”

“Rick, do you know that guy?” Lucas Sutton nudged Rick with his elbow.

“I don’t know him.” Rick shook his head.

“Then why did he point at you?”

“How should I know?” Rick shrugged.

Meanwhile, outside the training ground, the watching fans were also talking among themselves.

“Who’s that guy in the red vest?”

“He’s not on the São Paulo youth team, is he?”

“Of course not, and he doesn’t look like a youth team player either…”

“What’s he doing here?”

“And why is he on the training pitch? Why did the whole youth team stop training just to watch him?”

Amidst the chatter, the test began.

At the sound of the whistle, Warren, with the whistle in his mouth, dribbled the ball forward and then passed it to the waiting player up ahead.