After the examinations, Feng Yu finally had the time to look into the sales issues of Bing City’s Pharmaceutical. Other than the health supplements, the medicines for common flu and inflammation also need advertising. These medicines should be kept in every household. This was what Feng Yu had in mind.
But before Feng Yu could start working on this advertisement, there was a report on the news that shook the whole nation!
Wang Junxia and another two top athletes had jointly announced that they want to change their coach!
When this news was reported, not only China’s sports circle were shocked. Even the public was shocked! These three athletes, also known as “The 3 Xia” were the pillars of Ma Family Army. If they requested a change of coach, what about the rest of the athletes?
Soon after, the rest of the members if the Ma Family Army, especially the ones who had gotten good results, regardless of men and women, starts to announce that they wanted a new coach. They wanted Shenyang’s men’s athletics coach as their chief coach.
It was normal for athletes to switch clubs, but these were not regular athletes. They were top international athletes. Furthermore, they were not switching clubs. They wanted to change their coach!
In this era, the status of athletes was not as high as the later years. Just look at the Ma Family Army. Coach Ma was more famous than his medal-winning athletes! People will say it was the coach’s credit when the athlete won a medal. It can’t be that you had worked hard and the rest of the athletes did not. Why are you the one who had won the medal?
Also, coaches in the athletic world were prestigious. It was even more prestigious than the status of teachers in the olden days. This was the reason why the athletes did not receive offers to star in commercials and endorsement, and Coach Ma could get million RMB offers to endorse a product.
Actually, the rift between Coach Ma and his athletes in the Ma Family Army had started a long time ago. For an athlete to be successful, talent, training and their hard work were critical. But the most crucial aspect was the athlete’s talent!
Training and hard work would determine the baseline of an athlete. But talent will determine whether if the athlete would succeed. All of China’s best mid to long distance young runners were in Ma Family Army. This was the main reason why Ma Family Army was so victorious.
Coach Ma’s claims of “inventing” the deer stride running method, was only imitating the way those western athletes ran in competitions. He changes the name of this technique and claims that he was the one who invented it. Actually, it was the same basic principles. Whatever Coach Ma knew, the other coaches also knew. This was why the athletes do not mind changing a new coach.
There was an uproar when this news came out. Isn’t the World Championships around the corner? Why such things happened just when the athletes were about to depart to the Championships?
Once again, the reporters gathered at the training grounds of the Ma Family Army. Feng Yu saw the dark face of Coach Ma on the news. Coach Ma did not answer many questions asked by the reporters and left.
Others might not know, but Feng Yu knew that these athletes will achieve good results at this year’s championships, National Games, next year’s Asian Games and even in 1996’s Olympic Games.
In Feng Yu’s previous life, the cost of hiring an athlete to endorse a product was more expensive than those movie stars. As long as the athlete was famous, like Yao Ming, Liu Xiang, etc. their fees were costly. But other than Yao Ming and Liu Xiang, the products endorsed by the athletes were not very successful.
Feng Yu rubbed his chin, thinking if he should sign these athletes up. A 5 years endorsement contract should cost less than 500,000 RMB for each athlete, and their influences would be worth more than this amount. Feng Yu could still make use of them to enter the foreign markets.
The more Feng Yu thought about this, the more he feels it was worth. He immediately departs for Shenyang. He wants to speak to Wang Junxia and the rest of the athletes personally. At the same time, he wants to watch the happenings there.
The reasons why Wang Junxia and the rest of the athletes were unhappy with Coach Ma was because Coach Ma only paid them basic salaries. Their allowances, rewards and prize money was controlled by Coach Ma. All of them do not get a single cent of their prize!
Also, Coach Ma do not allow them to take on endorsements for companies. But Coach Ma himself was about to take on these endorsements at high fees.
All these athletes were initially not coached by Coach Ma. They joined Coach Ma after they had started their athletic career. For instances, Wang Junnxia had shown good results in 1991 National Games and was transferred to be under Coach Ma. All this while, Wang Junxia prefers her former coach, Coach Wang. She felt that Coach Wang treated her better.
The impression of Coach Ma in the athletes was an abusive, stubborn, greedy and extreme person. All of them do not like this coach.
After the health products scandal, the athletes realized that all of their hard work put in was erased by what Coach Ma said. “All of them have good results because they had drunk the Chinese Turtle Essence.”
Coach Ma had earned all the money, and they do not even get a single cent from him. Their achievements and hard work were also taken away by him. All the athletes felt that there was no reason to stay with such a coach.
When all the athletes gathered to speak with Coach Ma, they were scolded by him. Coach Ma even told them that it was because of him, they got to where they are today!
He wanted them to tell the media that they have been drinking the Chinese Turtle Essence and the Energy of Life all this while. The problems with these products were with the manufacturers and had nothing to do with the Ma Family Army. Also, the prize money for the world championships will be as usual. All prize money will be given to the coach and the training grounds!
Coach Ma had no choice. He does not have money now. If it weren’t for the bank loans, his training grounds would have shut down. He had to cough out the 10 million RMB in one go, and he was now in debt.
Coach Ma was only hoping that his Ma Family Army would achieve good results at the World Championships to change the public’s impression of him. This way, he would be able to continue to make money to cover the gaps.
But his athletes refused. Why should we help you when you got into trouble yourself? The top athletes from both the men and women teams started to announce their desire to leave Ma Family Army and followed by the rest of the athletes. Coach Ma could not stop them from going!
All the athletes knew that the whole nation was waiting for their performances at the World Championships and the higher-ups will not punish them for wanting to change the coach. The athletes had decided that if Coach Ma still insists his old ways, they would report Coach Ma to the higher-ups. Report Coach Ma for hitting and scolding the athletes. Report him for forcing them to tell lies and making them eat some unknown medicine!
Feng Yu remembered that the Ma Family Army was disbanded next year in his previous life. It should be sometime before the Asian Games. There was also lots of media attention on them. At that time, everyone felt that it was Wang Junxia and the rest were being ungrateful to Coach Ma. Not a single person sided with the athletes. It was until Wang Junxia won the 1996 Olympic Games, things got better for her.
Feng Yu also felt unjust for the athletes when he found out about their treatment. Why was the coach taking the most credit for the athlete’s performances? Why Coach Ma was entitled to the athletes’ prize money? Whose money was used to build that training camp by the beach? Why does it belong to Coach Ma?
There was one thing puzzling Feng Yu. He remembered that it was the male athletes that brought up this matter first in his previous life. He heard that this time, it was Wang Junxia the first to announce she was leaving Coach Ma.
Also, Coach Ma was the reason for Ma Family Army’s disbandment in Feng Yu’s previous life. In this life, it was because of the health products scandal. Feng Yu realized that the Ma Family Army was disbanded because of him……
