The afternoon schedule at Medford High was quite relaxed: one hour of self-study and two hours of physical exercise.
Because Ms. Victoria, the homeroom teacher, was not always present, the one-hour self-study period mostly turned into free activity time.
Most students gathered in small groups, chatting and passing the time.
Mike still sat in the first row, undisturbed. He borrowed a technology book from Sheldon and began to read.
The story of Mike and Regina at noon had already spread among the girls in the class in multiple versions.
Fearing Regina's power as the Queen Bee, no girls in the class disturbed Mike for the entire self-study period.
Learning makes people happy, and an hour passed quickly.
Mike returned the book to Sheldon and asked curiously, "Sheldon, what sport are you participating in?"
In America, good physical condition is also an advantage. Even well-known universities reserve about 10% of their admissions slots each year specifically for student-athletes.
Over there, Sheldon put away his book, looked up, and said, "Tam and I have agreed to report to the basketball team."
For those not good at sports, joining a team sport to coast along is a good option if they want to earn enough physical education credits.
However, Mike knew that one mental sport was also counted as a physical activity. He asked, "Why don't you consider international chess?"
"Hmm?" Sheldon thought for a moment, then exclaimed happily, "That's a good suggestion! I'll go find Tam and check it out right now."
After speaking, he hurried out of the classroom.
On the other side, Mike also found Georgie, who was heading to the football field.
"Joining the football team is very simple; you need to have your own set of sports equipment," Georgie said after learning Mike's intention. "If you really decide to join the team, I can go with you to buy the equipment after school."
Football is a highly confrontational sport, and even during practice, protective gear is required.
Soon, the two arrived at the football field, where many students, already fully equipped, were warming up.
Mike also saw Regina and others on an open space on the other side of the football field. They were wearing matching cheerleading skirts, full of youthful vitality.
Cheerleading dance, as a group activity, was also included in the sports curriculum.
At this time, Regina was surrounded by other cheerleading girls, busy sharing gossip, and did not notice Mike.
Karen, however, saw Mike, who was dressed differently. She secretly waved to Mike when Regina wasn't looking.
This girl was already curvy, and wearing the cheerleading uniform made her charm even more prominent.
...
On the other side, the football coach, George, seemed very happy to see Mike arrive.
Because Medford High is a public school, the physical quality of its students is generally lower than that of private high schools.
And football, coincidentally, is a sport that heavily relies on physical talent.
Often, if one's physical condition is inferior to the opponent's, it means their performance will also be inferior.
Therefore, if someone with obvious physical talent like Mike is willing to join the team, it will definitely improve the team's performance.
After Mike stated his intention, George enthusiastically took him to conduct a physical test.
The physical test content primarily focused on six aspects: balance, flexibility, speed, strength, endurance, and agility.
Among these, speed and strength were the most important.
Faster running speed allows players to perform better offense and defense on the field.
And greater strength allows players to gain an advantage in physical confrontations.
Speed test: 40-yard (~36.5m) sprint.
Mike took off his jacket, stretched his body, and stood at the starting line.
With a command, he sprinted out like a cheetah...
George looked at the stopwatch showing 4.9 seconds and was so excited he almost cheered.
For a high school student to run in the 5-second range is already excellent, let alone Mike breaking the 5-second barrier in one go.
Now, George was even more convinced that Mike had great talent in football.
"Let's do two more sets," George said to Mike as he walked back.
Afterward, Mike tested two more times, further improving his best time to 4.5 seconds.
This result was already quite incredible. Even if Mike were to wear about 20 pounds (~9kg) of protective gear now, he would probably still be able to run under five seconds.
George, calling himself lucky, left the assistant coach to oversee the daily training of the team members, then took Mike to the equipment room for strength testing.
Strength test: Bench press (125% of body weight) repetitions.
This item required measuring body weight first. Mike went to the scale and measured 182cm in height and 169 pounds (76.66 kg) in weight.
During this time, his height had actually grown another two centimeters, and his weight had increased by four pounds.
Afterward, Mike performed a 211-pound bench press, achieving a final result of 11 repetitions.
For the football team, five bench press repetitions are considered excellent, and Mike's eleven repetitions were already quite good.
However, football never lacks strong players, whose bench press results often reach twenty or thirty or more.
So, overall, Mike would be a speed-type player, specifically a running back behind the quarterback.
Next, Mike went on to test other events: a standing vertical jump of 1.05 meters, a standing broad jump of 3.12 meters...
After more than an hour of testing, Coach George held Mike's data list and exclaimed excitedly, "Mike, believe me, you will become the team's ace. In the future, you might even become a star player on the football field..."
George was once a football player himself, and now it seemed he was pinning his professional dreams on Mike.
As he spoke, a large ball of light fell from him.
[Football Experience + 100]
With this experience orb, Mike's football skill instantly reached an introductory level.
Then, Coach George brought Mike back to the training field.
He clapped his hands, gathered all the team members, and introduced, "His name is Mike, and he has excellent physical condition. From now on, he will be one of us. Everyone, welcome him!"
This was the first time Coach George had introduced a newcomer so formally, and all the team members looked at Mike curiously.
Finally, led by Captain Aaron and George, the team members applauded.
Newcomers like Mike, who visibly possess good physical qualities, are usually easily accepted by the team members.
Of course, not everyone welcomed Mike.
In the crowd, a chubby young man over one meter eighty tall felt very displeased seeing Coach George pay so much attention to Mike.
This person's name was Sam, the strongest player on the team besides Captain Aaron, and also the team's current running back.
Mike's appearance made him vaguely feel that his position was threatened.
...
On the other side, Coach George, having finished introducing Mike, saw that it was getting late. After a few words of encouragement to the team members, he announced their dismissal.