Super Roy
超人羅伊
You're a halfback .
“你來做中衛。”
I looked over my shoulder at the empty field behind me. "Me?" I asked, pointing to my chest.
我回頭看看身後空蕩蕩的球場。“我？”我指著自己的胸脯問。
Yes, the coach said again. "You're a halfback. Yep, no doubt about it."
“是的，”教練又說了一遍。“你來做中衛。沒錯，就是你。”
The coach's name was Super Roy. Someone told me his real name once, but it never stuck. In my mind, he'll always be Super Roy—football coach, mentor, philosopher and role model . He was the man who made a halfback out of a scrawny , scared little fellow on his first day of Pony League practice. He was the man who shaped my life.
教練名叫“超人羅伊”。曾有人告訴過我他的真實姓名，但我沒記住。在我心目中，他一直就是“超人羅伊”——足球教練、人生導師、哲學家以及學習榜樣。正是這個人，讓骨瘦如柴還有點兒膽小的我第一次參加少年棒球隊訓練就擔任中衛。正是他塑造了我的人生。
When I got to practice that day, I was a small kid with little athletic experience or skill. I wondered if I belonged there at all. When I left, I was the team's halfback, and I wondered what Super Roy had seen in me that I didn't see in myself.
那天去訓練的時候，我還是一個缺乏運動經驗和技能的小孩子。我不知道自己到底是不是屬於那兒。而當我離開的時候，我已經成了這支球隊的中衛，並且我想不明白，“超人羅伊”在我身上看到了什麼我自己都沒看到的潛質。
Are you sure I'm a halfback? I asked him the next day.
“您真的讓我做中衛嗎？”第二天我問他。
Let me see, he said, standing back to have a good glance at me. "Yep.You're a halfback. Might as well get used to it."
“讓我瞧瞧。”他邊說邊退後幾步仔細打量我。“是的，你來做中衛。你最好習慣這一點。”
Okay, I said, puzzled but beginning to accept the idea, strange as it seemed.
“好吧。”我說。奇怪的是，我雖然感到疑惑不解，但還是開始接受這個主意了。
Later that day, we started running plays . Time after time, the quarterback put the ball right in my hands. Me, the nerdy fellow who had to be reminded how many points a touchdown was worth. I expected to go all season without touching the ball. I expected to be a bench warmer , and now the ball was in my hands—literally .
那天晚些時候，我們正式開始訓練。四分衛不斷地將球準確地塞進我的雙手。而我，原本只是個連持球觸地能得多少分都得問人的卑微傢伙。我希望整個賽季我都不必碰球。我希望只做一名候補隊員。但是現在，球卻真真切切地在我的手中。
Super Roy had a routine he did every day. As practice wound down , he would pick one of the players to step forward. The player had to recite a quote Super Roy had given him the day before. It was a very important moment in practice. No one wanted to forget his quote in front of the whole team.
“超人羅伊”有個每天都要進行的慣例。訓練結束時，他會挑一名球員走到隊列前。該名球員必須背誦“超人羅伊”前一天教給他的一句格言。這是訓練中一個非常重要的時刻。沒有人願意在全體隊員面前忘掉自己的格言。
When practice was over one day, Super Roy summoned me. "Your turn tomorrow," he said. "Ready for your quote?"
一天，訓練結束後，“超人羅伊”叫住了我。“明天輪到你了，”他說，“準備好聽你的格言了嗎？”
Okay, I said, straining in deep concentration. "I'm ready."
“準備好了。”我邊說邊儘量集中注意力。“我準備好了。”
Well, here it is: 'It's not the size of the man you play; it's how you play the man.' Got it?
“好，聽著：‘比賽的關鍵不是對手的體格，而是如何去對抗對手。’記住了嗎？”
Yes, Coach."
“記住了，教練。”
Super Roy winked at me and gave me a pat on the shoulder.
“超人羅伊”對著我眨了眨眼，拍了拍我的肩膀。
The next day my mind played like a broken record . "It's not the size of the man you play; it's how you play the man." I repeated it to myself in the morning while I waited for the bus. I wrote it down time and time again during breaks in school, and all during practice I mumbled the quote to myself after each hit, just to be sure it hadn't been knocked out of my head.
第二天，我的腦海中一直迴響著這句話。“比賽的關鍵不是對手的體格，而是如何去對抗對手。”早上等公共汽車的時候，我反覆默誦著這句話。課間休息的時候，我一遍又一遍地將它寫下來。訓練的時候，我每擊出一個球就會在心裡默誦一遍那句格言，僅僅為了確保它還沒有從我的腦子裡“溜走”。
When the time came I stepped forward proudly. "It's not the size of the man you play;" I told my teammates, "it's how you play the man."
當那個時刻到來的時候，我驕傲地走出隊列。“比賽的關鍵不是對手的體格，而是如何去對抗對手。”
Super Roy gave me another smile and a wink.
“超人羅伊”又對我笑了笑，眨了眨眼睛。
I remembered my quote—I always will.
我記得我的格言——我永遠都會記得。
Years later, I came to understand the genius of Super Roy's methods.He was the kind of coach who brought out the greatness in his players. He was a coach who understood what sports can do to shape character.
數年以後，我漸漸明白了“超人羅伊”的方法的絕妙之處。他是那種能激發隊員潛力的教練。他是一個懂得運動可以塑造人的性格的教練。
That year, a scrawny little kid learned to believe in himself, to learn there is no problem so big he can't handle. It was a lesson that shaped my life.
那一年，一個骨瘦如柴的小孩子懂得了自信，懂得了沒有他克服不了的困難。那是塑造了我人生的一課。
Long after my Pony League days were over, I became a teacher at a school for troubled boys. Super Roy's lessons were never far from my mind, and I borrowed from him freely. Every day, there was a new quote for a young man to remember, a quote made just for him. And I always looked for the good in my students that they never saw in themselves.
在告別少年棒球隊很久之後，我成了一所“問題少年”學校的教師。我一直將“超人羅伊”的人生之課銘記於心，並且自如地借用。每天，我都要讓一個男孩記住一句新格言，一句專門為他準備的格言。我總是在我的學生們身上尋找他們自己不曾發現的優點。
There was a young man in my class who had a gifted mind and a superb voice for public speaking. One day, he gave a great answer to a question I'd posed to the class. "Good point, Mr. President," I told him.
我的班裡有個男孩，他頭腦靈活，還有一副適合在公眾場合演講的好嗓子。一天，我給全班提了個問題，他的回答棒極了。“觀點不錯，總統先生。”我對他說。
After class, he stopped me in the hallway. "Mr. Heisler, why did you call me Mr. President?"
下課後，他在走廊上攔住我。“海斯勒先生，您為什麼叫我總統先生呢？”
Because you are a president. It's just a matter of time. Might as well get used to it.
“因為你是一位總統，這只是早晚的問題而已，你最好習慣這一點。”
I gave him a wink and a pat on the shoulder. Super Roy would have been proud.
我對他眨了眨眼，拍了拍他的肩膀。“超人羅伊”一定會感到驕傲的。
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