At the same time as he fell, his left foot touched the soccer ball, and the ball slowly rolled toward Olivia Lee, finally coming to a stop after hitting Olivia Lee's foot.

Olivia Lee lowered her head to look at the culprit that caused Ryan Howard to fall, then looked up at Ryan Howard lying on the ground.

“The ground is too slippery, it rained last night…” Ryan Howard explained a bit awkwardly.

Olivia Lee then kicked the soccer ball back.

Ryan Howard got up from the ground, took the ball, and once again charged toward Olivia Lee.

※※※

After Ryan Howard failed for the tenth time to dribble past Olivia Lee, the ball rolled to Olivia Lee's feet, while Ryan Howard sat on the ground, not looking at Olivia Lee, and argued, “Actually, I’m a poacher-type striker. Scoring from close range is what I’m best at. Dribbling past people isn’t really my thing…”

But Olivia Lee shook her head. “Your deskmate was right. You’re not suited for playing soccer. If your coordination is poor, you just can’t play well.”

Ryan Howard suddenly looked up and glared angrily at Olivia Lee, saying indignantly, “What does that fat guy know? He doesn’t even watch soccer games. What does he know about ‘coordination’?”

“Coordination is something I can see,” Olivia Lee said.

Yesterday, she had watched Ryan Howard train alone from the window for a while. When he received the ball, his movements were stiff, giving off a very uncoordinated feeling, which is why he made so many mistakes controlling the ball.

After practicing with Ryan Howard for a while today, she was even more convinced of her judgment.

This person has a big problem with physical coordination.

“Coordination refers to your ability to use all parts of your body together to complete a technical movement. For example, when controlling the ball, you need to observe with your eyes, think with your brain, move your body, and then use the right amount of force and the proper movement to receive the ball…”

At this point, Olivia Lee suddenly kicked the soccer ball hard at the uneven stone wall of the platform.

The ball slammed into the wall and bounced off in an unpredictable direction.

Before Ryan Howard could react, Olivia Lee had already run over quickly and stopped the ball with her foot.

It was a powerful ball, but Olivia Lee stopped it easily, as if the ball marked by Ryan Howard actually belonged to Olivia Lee and only listened to her.

This made Ryan Howard feel a bit jealous, and also a bit frustrated—he wasn’t even as good as a girl…

“If your coordination is poor, you might end up stopping the ball with your own face.”

Ryan Howard thought of the scene yesterday when he was secretly training here, and his nose still seemed to ache faintly.

“Some people think coordination is just agility, but it’s not just agility—it also includes balance. In matches, especially during physical confrontations, coordination is even more important. If you can’t even perform movements properly when playing alone, how can you do them well when competing against others? Have you ever tried to take a powerful shot, swung your leg with all your might but didn’t generate any force, or even ended up falling over yourself?” Olivia Lee looked at Ryan Howard and asked.

Ryan Howard nodded, but immediately argued, “Occasionally, only very occasionally!”

“That’s a sign of poor coordination,” Olivia Lee didn’t care about Ryan Howard’s defense and continued, “Coordination is a fundamental ability for soccer players. It’s the link that connects a player’s technical and tactical skills—strength, endurance, technique, speed, agility… all these abilities rely on coordination to work together. People with poor coordination can’t possibly play good soccer—how could someone who trips over themselves while performing moves on the field ever become a professional player?”

At this point, Olivia Lee suddenly realized that the boy in front of her wasn’t a professional player, and had probably never even received any formal soccer training since he was a child. Her words might have been too harsh for him.

So she coughed and added, “Of course, if you’re just playing for fun, for your own enjoyment, then it’s no problem…”

But Ryan Howard suddenly asked, “What if I want to join our school’s soccer team?”

Olivia Lee hadn’t expected Ryan Howard to ask such a question… Then she thought of her father’s strict requirements and shook her head. “No chance.”

Ryan Howard didn’t believe it. “Just because you say there’s no chance, there’s no chance?”

“Which has higher requirements, playing for fun in PE class or joining the school team?” Olivia Lee retorted. “You can’t even get on the field in your class’s PE soccer games, and you want to play for the school team in inter-school matches? I said it’s fine to play for fun, just kick around casually… What?”

Olivia Lee saw Ryan Howard waving at her.

“Give me the ball, I’m going home.”

The boy covered in mud slowly got up from the ground.

※※※

Olivia Lee watched as Ryan Howard bent over in the grass, hiding the soccer ball there. His butt-sticking-out posture was still comical, but this time Olivia Lee didn’t laugh.

She wondered if her comment about “not even being able to play in the class PE soccer game” had hurt this boy.

She still remembered what Ryan Howard was like during PE class.

Even when no one wanted to play with him, he still stood on the sidelines and watched the game.

He really cared about this…

After hiding the soccer ball, Ryan Howard didn’t say goodbye to Olivia Lee, but just got on his battered bicycle and wobbled away.