Super Roy
超人罗伊
You're a halfback .
“你来做中卫。”
I looked over my shoulder at the empty field behind me. "Me?" I asked, pointing to my chest.
我回头看看身后空荡荡的球场。“我？”我指着自己的胸脯问。
Yes, the coach said again. "You're a halfback. Yep, no doubt about it."
“是的，”教练又说了一遍。“你来做中卫。没错，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.
教练名叫“超人罗伊”。曾有人告诉过我他的真实姓名，但我没记住。在我心目中，他一直就是“超人罗伊”——足球教练、人生导师、哲学家以及学习榜样。正是这个人，让骨瘦如柴还有点儿胆小的我第一次参加少年棒球队训练就担任中卫。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.
那天去训练的时候，我还是一个缺乏运动经验和技能的小孩子。我不知道自己到底是不是属于那儿。而当我离开的时候，我已经成了这支球队的中卫，并且我想不明白，“超人罗伊”在我身上看到了什么我自己都没看到的潜质。
Are you sure I'm a halfback? I asked him the next day.
“您真的让我做中卫吗？”第二天我问他。
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."
“让我瞧瞧。”他边说边退后几步仔细打量我。“是的，你来做中卫。你最好习惯这一点。”
Okay, I said, puzzled but beginning to accept the idea, strange as it seemed.
“好吧。”我说。奇怪的是，我虽然感到疑惑不解，但还是开始接受这个主意了。
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 .
那天晚些时候，我们正式开始训练。四分卫不断地将球准确地塞进我的双手。而我，原本只是个连持球触地能得多少分都得问人的卑微家伙。我希望整个赛季我都不必碰球。我希望只做一名候补队员。但是现在，球却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.
“超人罗伊”有个每天都要进行的惯例。训练结束时，他会挑一名球员走到队列前。该名球员必须背诵“超人罗伊”前一天教给他的一句格言。这是训练中一个非常重要的时刻。没有人愿意在全体队员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，训练结束后，“超人罗伊”叫住了我。“明天轮到你了，”他说，“准备好听你的格言了吗？”
Okay, I said, straining in deep concentration. "I'm ready."
“准备好了。”我边说边尽量集中注意力。“我准备好了。”
Well, here it is: 'It's not the size of the man you play; it's how you play the man.' Got it?
“好，听着：‘比赛的关键不是对手的体格，而是如何去对抗对手。’记住了吗？”
Yes, Coach."
“记住了，教练。”
Super Roy winked at me and gave me a pat on the shoulder.
“超人罗伊”对着我眨了眨眼，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，我的脑海中一直回响着这句话。“比赛的关键不是对手的体格，而是如何去对抗对手。”早上等公共汽车的时候，我反复默诵着这句话。课间休息的时候，我一遍又一遍地将它写下来。训练的时候，我每击出一个球就会在心里默诵一遍那句格言，仅仅为了确保它还没有从我的脑子里“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."
当那个时刻到来的时候，我骄傲地走出队列。“比赛的关键不是对手的体格，而是如何去对抗对手。”
Super Roy gave me another smile and a wink.
“超人罗伊”又对我笑了笑，眨了眨眼睛。
I remembered my quote—I always will.
我记得我的格言——我永远都会记得。
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.
数年以后，我渐渐明白了“超人罗伊”的方法的绝妙之处。他是那种能激发队员潜力的教练。他是一个懂得运动可以塑造人的性格的教练。
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，一个骨瘦如柴的小孩子懂得了自信，懂得了没有他克服不了的困难。那是塑造了我人生的一课。
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.
在告别少年棒球队很久之后，我成了一所“问题少年”学校的教师。我一直将“超人罗伊”的人生之课铭记于心，并且自如地借用。每天，我都要让一个男孩记住一句新格言，一句专门为他准备的格言。我总是在我的学生们身上寻找他们自己不曾发现的优点。
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.
我的班里有个男孩，他头脑灵活，还有一副适合在公众场合演讲的好嗓子。一天，我给全班提了个问题，他的回答棒极了。“观点不错，总统先生。”我对他说。
After class, he stopped me in the hallway. "Mr. Heisler, why did you call me Mr. President?"
下课后，他在走廊上拦住我。“海斯勒先生，您为什么叫我总统先生呢？”
Because you are a president. It's just a matter of time. Might as well get used to it.
“因为你是一位总统，这只是早晚的问题而已，你最好习惯这一点。”
I gave him a wink and a pat on the shoulder. Super Roy would have been proud.
我对他眨了眨眼，拍了拍他的肩膀。“超人罗伊”一定会感到骄傲的。