#2 - Xia Suey

"Cheng," one of the students called out to his peer who just walked into the classroom. "Who do you think you are? Training with cones at the field just now? Can you don't be a xia suey1?" The student barked, following it with laughter among his friends as they continued bantering Cheng Hou in their native mother tongue.

Without acknowledging their words, Cheng Hou walked to his seat and took out a new set of clothes. He eyed at his seat partner and as if they communicated through telepathy, his seat partner got up and followed him out of the classroom and into the boy's toilet.

Stripping out his P.E. clothes and putting on his long pants, his seat partner - Darren, broke the silence with a question.

"Does it not bother you? The way everyone keeps talking about you like that?"

"Nah," Cheng Hou buttoned and zipped up his pants as he put on a fresh P.E. shirt over his torso. "At the very least, I'm working and trying my best. Why get upset over what Danial said?"

"Are you sure?" Darren leaned against the wall as Cheng Hou turned around to the mirror to fix his hair. "You don't secretly have depression because people are bullying you, right?"

"Relax. It's not like anything can beat dropping the ball in the final last year."

"You're still hung up about that?" Darren interrupted. "You need to let it go. It's not as if we lost because of that when we had a whole 90 minutes to score."

"Chill," Cheng Hou turned around and playfully pushed Darren. "It's just a 'learning curve' for me which is why I decided to train harder this year," he continued as he aired his fingers as quotation marks for the two words: learning curve.

Darren pushed back. 

"Oh, right. I'll be at the field slightly late today because I need to talk to Coach Zul later."

"Okay."

Usually, most students would go back home immediately once the bell rang. Some would perhaps stay back to talk with their friends or stay in school to eat. Some would go to the basketball court or football field to play for a while then rush home. But it's not a common occurrence to see students set cones out on the field and do intensity concentrated drills in the school compound.

Except for Cheng Hou. And maybe Darren.

The both of them decided to maximize the time they use to train as much as possible with Cheng Hou wanting to end his final NSG year on a high and make it to the under-17 national team set-up for the year. Darren, on the other hand, was not only playing for one of the club's COE teams, but has been a regular call-up for the same youth sector. In fact, he was more of an overseer to Cheng Hou's training rather than a partner.

Finishing up some dynamic stretching to end his warm up, Cheng Hou laid out his markers on the ground. Setting them up in a specific order and direction as he worked his ways through the cones. His primary focus was on his footwork. Quick and sharp steps in and out of the cones or through the cones in a zig-zag motion. His feet tapping in and out of the weirdly cone-shaped markers with a sprint to end it off at every rep.

It wouldn't be a proper training session in school for Cheng Hou without students walking past the field and giving backhanded compliments and rude remarks before they left the school. It made sense from a neutral standpoint. It's not as if the country reacts pleasantly to those who do things seen as  weird or  outside societal norms, and doing cone drills at the school field was something many people saw as stupid or foolish.

Cheng Hou continued his routine with a bit of distribution. He stood in front of the goalposts and worked on his short passing. He acted as if a striker was pressuring him and he would either feint a pass, or do a skill move to 'get out of pressure'. Once done, he would give a perfect pass into either corners of the net which he simulated as his defenders.

Afterwards, he would continue with different kinds of distribution. He would work on his goalkicks and aim for more distance with height. He practiced it with long passes onto both flanks and centrally. He'd then move onto his side volleys. Holding the ball on his non-dominant hand, he'd let go of the ball as his dominant leg would rise towards the ball in an acute angle. Aiming for good contact and a good follow through, the expected result was for the ball to fly to his intended target. For each pass he made, he had to walk to the ball and walk back. A rinse and repeat routine.

As Darren was still talking to the football coach, Cheng Hou decided to work on his diving technique himself. By now, the murmuring and judgmental eyes have died down as lesser students were left in school. He put on his goalkeeping gloves and strapped them on as he readjusted his drill setup.

A football was at the end of the cones and in a horizontal manner, Cheng Hou would do the same footwork drills he did earlier but add in a low push towards the ball. His body going down laterally towards the ball as his arms reached towards it, setting the ball firmly into his hands. That was a low dive.

After that, Cheng Hou would do the exact same drills and footwork again. But rather than end it with a low dive, he would get up with the ball and bounce it a step in front of him. He would then take a step towards the ball and catch it before pulling his body momentum down and letting the ball sit in between his palms and the ground. That was a mid dive, or what most would call it - a collapse dive.

After the collapse dive, Cheng Hou repeats the same movements again. This time, without a low or collapse dive. He would bounce the ball a step in front of him with more force and with the ball at a taller height, he would take a step forward and push off into the air towards the ball, catching it and setting it down with his body as he falls back down. A slight "Oomph" came out of him as he landed. That was a high dive.

"Is Darren still with Coach? This would be much easier if he was here," Cheng Hou whined.

In all fairness, this was true. While every other player could train and perfect their position with just a ball, cones, and while optional, a goal. It wasn't as easy for goalkeepers to train their craft in a game like situation. They'd need someone to service them a shot, and if there isn't anybody to provide that then they'd have to resort to static balls and solely focus on technique. Nothing else.

After which, Cheng Hou decided to drink up. He took a sip from his water bottle only to find it empty. He groaned as he walked out of the field and into the canteen for a refill. After filling his bottle up, he walked back. Sipping in some cold water, Darren returned from the staff office just in time for Cheng Hou to resume his activities.

"Sorry bro," Darren apologized. "Coach Zul was just telling me about the plans for NSG this year and it overran."

"It's alright," Cheng Hou waved his apology off, "It's just a small matter, don't need to apologize."

As the both of them walked into the field, Darren remembered what he also wanted to say.

"Also, Meili is coming later."

"Huh? Wasn't she sick?"

"No. Apparently she just ManaDr'd2 her way to skip school because she was lazy to come."

"There's no way," Cheng Hou scoffed. "It's only the second week of school."