Arenas

After Jiang Shi finished speaking, Zhu Zhan began jumping. He started slowly, counting softly, "One, two, three..."

"When you first start jumping, keep your body straight. Drive with your hips and combine it with the strength of your waist and abdomen. Then build up gradually and slowly increase your speed. When you jump quickly, both feet should spring up rapidly at the same time. Remember to land on the balls of your feet!"

As Jiang Shi spoke, the jump rope in his hands spun faster and faster, giving off a whistling sound as it cut through the air.

After roughly thirty jumps, Jiang Shi said again, "That was the first method. The second is to move from side to side while jumping!"

As he spoke, Jiang Shi continued jumping. His hands whipped the jump rope rapidly while his legs bounced nimbly and lightly from side to side, like a little rabbit.

"Jumping like this works the muscles in your waist and legs at the same time. Most importantly, pay attention to rhythm while jumping. Rhythm is very important. Master the rhythm!"

After demonstrating, Jiang Shi handed the jump rope to Zhu Zhan and Zhang Yuqing. "Starting today, you will no longer rest during the breaks after your shooting drills. You'll practice jump rope instead. Of course, the pace won't be very fast. This is mainly to teach you how to regulate your breathing and relax your muscles. Breathing is also extremely important in basketball games!"

After speaking, Jiang Shi looked at Zhu Zhan. "Zhu Zhan, do you know how to breathe?"

Zhu Zhan looked at Jiang Shi in confusion, not quite understanding what he meant.

Jiang Shi shook his head and was about to speak when Zhang Yuqing jumped in. "Of course Junior Brother doesn't know, but this Senior Sister does!"

With her big black eyes wide open, Zhang Yuqing looked smugly at Zhu Zhan. "Learning to regulate your breathing during a game can conserve stamina, slow your heart rate, and steady your emotions. It helps basketball players improve their shooting percentage!"

Jiang Shi looked at Zhu Zhan and Zhang Yuqing. "You're both about to enter college. You should have mastered this breathing technique long ago. Once you learn how to breathe, you can conserve stamina when facing full-court pressure or playing in an extremely demanding game. It's a technique with many benefits!"

Jiang Shi paused before continuing, "Yuqing, Xiao Zhan, do you know how to breathe? How do you usually breathe during games?"

Caught off guard by Jiang Shi's question, Zhu Zhan and Zhang Yuqing looked at each other.

"I've never paid attention to how I breathe during a game," Zhang Yuqing said.

"Me neither!" Zhu Zhan said.

Jiang Shi nodded. "Then you must have felt that when the pace of a game becomes tense, your heartbeat keeps accelerating and your breathing grows heavier. Then your legs feel heavier, and your footwork slows down as well, right?"

As soon as Jiang Shi finished speaking, Zhang Yuqing and Zhu Zhan nodded at the same time.

So breathing has such a huge effect. No one ever taught me before, so I never noticed! Zhu Zhan suddenly understood, his brows drawing together slightly.

He turned to glance at Zhang Yuqing and saw that she was deep in thought as well. So she didn't know either. I thought she was all-powerful and knew everything!

As if she had sensed Zhu Zhan's gaze, Zhang Yuqing turned around and shot him a fierce glare. Her beautiful face turned icy as she said, "What does that look in your eyes mean, Junior Brother? Are you mocking your Senior Sister?"

Zhu Zhan froze and quickly turned away.

Jiang Shi secretly chuckled. Zhang Yuqing was the fearless little princess of her family, so how could she possibly be afraid of Zhu Zhan? Still, watching the two youngsters bicker made him happy as well.

"Ahem!"

Jiang Shi cleared his throat. "Stop fooling around, you two. We'll continue shooting practice this morning, still Three Hundreds. Of course, aside from replacing your breaks with jump rope, I'll also teach you breathing techniques. Once you master them, the time you need for shooting drills will be greatly reduced, and your shooting percentage will rise accordingly!"

Jiang Shi spoke with immense confidence, and Zhu Zhan's heart filled with anticipation as he listened.

"Now, pick up your basketballs and shoot on your own for a while. Get a feel for the effects of yesterday's practice. Later, we'll gradually raise the requirements. When you do Three Hundreds, we'll add a shooting percentage requirement, and the punishments will change accordingly too!" Jiang Shi said with a smile.

At those words, Zhu Zhan's eyes flashed.

Looks like there'll be more suffering ahead. After yesterday's practice, I'd felt sore all over this morning and had no strength at all. It was even more exhausting than playing a practice game at school.

But he did not care. As long as he could grow stronger, surpass his best friend Li Ke, and win this year's National High School League championship, he did not care about exhaustion or hardship. Deep in his heart, he had a dream he had never told anyone about: through constant effort, one day in the future, he wanted to become a professional player.

If he could truly become a professional player, he would not only fulfill his dream but also let his mother live a better life, free from working herself so hard as she did now.

Taking a deep breath, Zhu Zhan looked at Jiang Shi and spoke calmly. "Uncle Jiang, let's begin!"

Jiang Shi nodded. "All right, let's begin!"

Zhu Zhan jumped rope while practicing the breathing method. He was amazed that this method actually made him feel less tired.

It would be immensely helpful on the court.

Zhang Yuqing was beside him, jumping rope as well.

Both of them breathed slowly. If one paid close attention, one would find that their breaths were deep and drawn out, with long intervals between them.

Jiang Shi watched them and nodded. "Very good. You can already control your breathing rhythm well. I'm very pleased. This afternoon's practice wasn't in vain!"

"All right, that's enough. Today's shooting training was very effective. Xiao Zhan, stop for a moment. How about the two of us play some one-on-one?"

Jiang Shi looked at Zhu Zhan with a faint smile. His eyes carried a fiery competitive spirit usually seen only in young people. He took off his jacket, revealing his lean, muscular body. The number on his jersey was especially eye-catching.

Number 0!

"Uncle Jiang, why is your jersey number zero?" Zhu Zhan asked when he saw Jiang Shi's jersey number.

"Uncle Jiang likes Arenas the most, so he likes number zero!" Zhang Yuqing said as she stopped as well, breathing lightly.

"Mm." Jiang Shi nodded and shook his jersey a few times. "At the beginning, everyone is a zero. Start from zero!"

Jiang Shi looked meaningfully at Zhu Zhan, smiled, and rolled his arms, sounding somewhat excited. "Come on, let's play some one-on-one. Who gets the first possession?"

Zhu Zhan paused, then silently nodded. Though he knew he was probably no match for the seasoned Jiang Shi, such an opportunity was rare.

Taking a deep breath, he picked up the ball and walked beyond the three-point line. As he walked, Zhu Zhan said, "Uncle Jiang, I'll go first."