也許你是科比的鐵桿球迷，也許你只是知道有個打籃球的叫科比，無論你對科比了解多少，相信你都不能否認科比頭上的籃球巨星光環(huán)。除了天賦、熱愛和勤奮鑄就的卓絕球技，還有什么成就了萬眾矚目的科比？

With Sunday's retirement announcement， Kobe Bryant's upcoming visit will be the last time he comes to Philadelphia as a professional basketball player. It is a time of reflection for those who knew him when he played at Lower Merion， who watched him evolve from a talented 13-year-old boy to an NBA-ready 17-year-old man.

I was an assistant coach on the Lower Merion team for Kobe's junior and senior seasons， and I have wonderful memories of the kid that I first met as an 8th grader. That first encounter was at the Jewish Community Center on Haverford & City Line， and I recall a boy who was fascinated with his new-found ability to jump up and touch the rim1）. He did it about 50 times as he warmed up for a routine Saturday afternoon pickup2） game.

When the game started he played with a skill and savvy3） that belied4） his age. I was coaching at Wilmington College at the time， and thought that this skinny near 6-foot kid was about a junior in high school. It was the first of many times that Kobe would shock me when he told me in a barely audible5） whisper of a voice that he was 13 years old.

Three years later， and in large part for the chance to coach this prodigy6）， I found myself as an assistant coach to Gregg Downer at Lower Merion. Gregg had done a brilliant job in setting a blueprint7） for Kobe's high school career and Kobe and his father Joe had bought in8） entirely. The skinny kid had grown in size， strength and national stature and I was looking forward to coaching him for his last two years of high school.

People often ask what it was like to coach Kobe in high school. It was awesome. The biggest compliment I can give him is that he would have been one of my all-time favorite players even if he was a terrible basketball player. His love of the game and passion for improvement became trademarks of his legacy， and they were all on display every game， every practice and every drill at Lower Merion.

A four-win freshman season gave way to a .5009） sophomore year. By Kobe's junior year， his reputation had grown and the expectations were high. We rode10） him to a 15-1 record in the Central League， 26-5 overall and into the second round of the state tournament.

The coaches would joke that he did something in practice every day that we had never seen before. We stacked11） the teams against him in drills， but he persisted. We sometimes changed the rules or the score in mid-drill to keep his team from dominating， and while the drill was still going on he would be yelling and screaming that we were cheating or that we had the score wrong.

There is an oft-told story of him chasing 5'7" Robby Schwartz through the hallways after a Schwartz turnover12） cost Kobe's team a victory in a drill. That story has grown legs over the years， but is based on real events and is a great example of Kobe's competitive nature. If you were keeping score， Kobe was playing to win.

Chester High was our kryptonite13）， and a 27-point loss to them at Villanova in the District 1 championship in 1995 would fuel the fire of Kobe and his teammates until next year， his senior season. Kobe wasn't usually a loud or vocal leader—in a youthful and almost na?ve way it was unimaginable to him that someone would not have complete focus or effort—but the mere mention of Chester would fire him up.

His occasional eruptions would always get the team's attention. Two come to mind and offer a rare trip to the psyche14） of the future superstar.

One was a hot summer night in July of 1995. We had just played Chester in the championship game of the Plymouth Whitemarsh summer league， and they had beaten us again. Unlike the previous season where we were overmatched by the Clippers， we had a good chance to win this game.

But we did not win， and Kobe was not happy about it. When the coaches were done speaking he addressed the team， loudly. His message， "I am not losing to these [expletives15）] again！" He told his teammates， still loudly and with plenty of uncharacteristically foul16） language， that they had better get out and work their butts off17） and be ready to play when practice started in November.

We wound up playing Chester twice in his senior season and we won both times.

The other eruption came after a game at the Beach Ball Classic， a Christmas tournament in Myrtle Beach， South Carolina. Kobe fouled out late in the game against a good team from Oklahoma called Jenks. We led by a few points when Kobe went to the bench18）， but proceeded to blow19） the lead and get manhandled in overtime.

Without our superstar， the Aces looked scared and played without poise20）. It was a good wakeup call for the team， who had been enjoying the benefits of playing with the player who was now generally considered the best high school player in the country. Things like full outfits of gear from Adidas and the trip to South Carolina were being taken for granted， and the team was not focused on individually improving. The loss dropped our record to 4-3.

Kobe exploded on the team in a voice that was louder and angrier than I had ever heard him. "You can't back down！" he said over and over. "You gotta step up and take it to them！" It may sound trite21） but his tone and language were so uncharacteristic that it got everyone's full attention.

It was the best wakeup call the team could ever receive. Prior to that day they had looked at Kobe as a super talent， but now they started to see him for what he really was： a player whose incredible talent was exceeded by his work ethic， his passion and his irrepressible will to win.

That December game against Jenks would be the last high school game that the Aces would lose that season. We won 27 games in a row， culminating with a State Championship victory in Hershey.

The foundation for Kobe's superstardom22） was built in his time in the Philadelphia area. I was blessed to spend two years coaching him and his teammates， all of whom eventually took on Kobe's attitude that there is no room for second place. I have often said that Kobe is the most misunderstood professional athlete in the world. For all of the glitz23） and glamour of being a Laker and an NBA superstar， he is still the same kid I met at the JCC. He just wants his team to win.

科比·布萊恩特周日（編注：2015年11月30日）宣布了退役的決定，他即將踏上的費城之行將是他作為職業(yè)籃球運動員最后一次到訪費城。對于那些從他在勞爾梅里恩高中打球時就認識他、看著他從一名13歲的天才少年成長為一名行將加入NBA的17歲青年的人們來說，這是一個充滿回憶的時刻。

在科比的11、12年級兩個賽季，我擔任勞爾梅里恩高中籃球隊的助理教練，對于這個初次見面時才上八年級的男孩，我有許多美好的回憶。我初次見到他是在哈弗福德和城界街上的猶太社區(qū)活動中心，我記得那是一個為剛剛發(fā)現(xiàn)自己跳起來可以觸摸到籃筐而興奮不已的男孩。在為一場周六下午例行的臨時組織的比賽熱身時，他把這個動作做了大約50次。

比賽開始了，他打球時的球技和智慧都掩飾了他的年齡。我當時在威爾明頓學院執(zhí)教，以為這個身高接近六英尺的瘦小子已經(jīng)差不多上11年級了。當科比用幾乎聽不見的聲音低聲告訴我他只有13歲時，我大吃了一驚，而這只是科比帶給我的諸多震撼中的第一例。

三年后，我來到勞爾梅里恩高中當了格雷格·唐納的助理教練，這在很大程度上是為了得到指導這位天才少年的機會。格雷格在為科比規(guī)劃高中籃球生涯方面做得很出色，科比和父親喬完全同意他的安排。當年那個瘦骨伶仃的孩子已經(jīng)變高變壯，在全美有了聲望，我很期待能夠在他高中的最后兩年指導他。

人們常常問我，做科比的高中教練是什么感覺。感覺好極了。我能給予他的最高贊美就是，即使他籃球打得不好，他也永遠是我最喜愛的籃球運動員之一。他對這項運動的熱愛和對提高球技的渴求成了他留下的精神的標記，在勞爾梅里恩的每場比賽、每次練習和訓練中，他的這些精神都顯露無遺。

在科比的九年級賽季，球隊只贏了四場球，到了十年級賽季，球隊輸贏比例各半。到科比上11年級那年，他的名氣已經(jīng)大增，人們對他的期望也很高。我們依靠他帶領(lǐng)球隊取得了中部聯(lián)賽15勝1負的成績和26勝5負的總成績，并在州錦標賽中打入了第二輪。

教練們開玩笑說，科比每天的訓練內(nèi)容都是我們前所未見的。我們在訓練中安排參賽兩隊時故意不利于他，但他仍堅持不懈。有時，為了不讓科比一隊占優(yōu)勢，我們會在訓練中途臨時改變比賽規(guī)則或改動比分，而這時仍在場上訓練的科比就會大聲抗議，說我們作弊或是我們把比分計錯了。

有一個經(jīng)常被人說起的故事：在一次訓練中，由于羅比·施瓦茨失球而導致科比那一隊輸球后，科比追著身高五英尺七英寸（編注：約一米七二）的施瓦茨滿樓道跑。多年來這則故事流傳頗廣，不過它背后確有其事，是說明科比天性好勝的極好事例。只要還在計分，科比就要打贏。

切斯特高中隊是我們的克星，1995年在維拉諾瓦的一區(qū)決賽上我們輸給了他們27分，這次失利在科比和隊友們心中激起的斗志一直燃燒到第二年科比讀12年級的那個賽季?？票韧ǔ２皇悄欠N喜歡大聲訓斥別人的隊長——他用一種年輕而稚氣未脫的方式認為，有人在比賽中沒有全力以赴是不可想象的——但是只要一提到切斯特高中隊就會令科比大為光火。

他偶爾的發(fā)火總能吸引全隊的注意。我想起兩個這樣的例子，它們?yōu)槲覀冏哌M這個未來巨星的內(nèi)心世界提供了難得的機會。

他的一次發(fā)火是在1995年7月一個炎熱的夏夜。在剛剛結(jié)束的普利茅斯-懷特馬什夏季聯(lián)賽的決賽中，我們對陣切斯特高中隊并再度落敗。與上一賽季因為實力懸殊而輸給快船隊（編注：切斯特高中籃球隊隊名）不同，這次我們本來很有希望獲勝。

但是我們沒能取勝，科比對此很不高興。教練訓話結(jié)束后，他開始對隊友們講話，聲音很大。他的大意是說：“我不要再輸給這幫[此處將粗話略去]！”他一邊一反常態(tài)罵罵咧咧，一邊大聲告訴隊友，他們最好回去拼命練習，在11月恢復訓練時拿出個樣子來。

最后，在科比的12年級賽季，我們又跟切斯特隊交過兩次手，并且兩次都贏了。

科比的另一次發(fā)火是在南卡羅來納州默特爾海灘舉行的圣誕賽事“海灘籃球經(jīng)典賽”的一場比賽過后。在對陣來自俄克拉荷馬的一支優(yōu)秀球隊詹克斯隊的比賽中，科比在比賽后段因為犯規(guī)被罰下了場?？票茸教嫜a席時我們還領(lǐng)先幾分，但在接下來的比賽中，我們不僅丟掉了領(lǐng)先優(yōu)勢，還在加時賽中被對手狠狠地修理了一番。

缺少了科比這張真正的王牌，王牌隊（編注：勞爾梅里恩高中籃球隊的綽號）看上去驚慌失措，打球亂了陣腳。對于這支因為擁有被公認為全美最好的高中籃球選手而沾了光的球隊來說，這無異于一記當頭棒喝。諸如由阿迪達斯提供全部運動裝備、遠赴南卡羅來納參賽這樣的事情都被隊員們視作理所當然，他們沒有把心思用在提高個人球技上。這場失利使我們的成績降為4勝3負。

科比沖隊友們大發(fā)雷霆，我從沒聽到過他聲音這么大、這么憤怒?！澳銈儾荒芪房s不前！”他一遍又一遍地說?！澳銈儜撋锨叭ソo他們點顏色！”他說的內(nèi)容可能沒有什么新意，但他的語氣和用詞卻如此不同尋常，每個人都聚精會神地聽著。

對隊員們來說，這個警鐘敲得正是時候。在那天之前，他們將科比視為一個超級天才，但那時他們才開始真正認識他，他是這樣的球員：他的勤奮、他對籃球的熱愛和他那不可遏制的求勝心超越了他所擁有的非凡天賦。

12月對詹克斯隊的那場比賽是王牌隊在那個賽季輸?shù)舻淖詈笠粓龈咧谢@球賽。之后，我們連續(xù)拿下了27場勝利，最后在赫希贏得了州冠軍。

科比巨星地位的根基是他在費城地區(qū)時就打下的。我有幸指導了他和他的隊友們兩年，他的所有隊友們最后也都向他看齊，樹立起勇爭第一不做第二的態(tài)度。我常說科比是世上遭人誤解最多的職業(yè)運動員。盡管作為一名湖人隊隊員和NBA巨星，科比擁有著耀眼的光環(huán)，但他依然是那個我在猶太社區(qū)活動中心遇到的男孩。他只是希望自己的球隊獲勝。

1. rim [r?m] n. <美>【籃】籃筐，籃圈

2. pickup [?p?k?p] adj. <口>臨時拼湊成的

3. savvy [?s?vi] n. 理解；智慧；實際知識

4. belie [b??la?] vt. 使人對……產(chǎn)生誤解；掩飾

5. audible [???d?bl] adj. 聽得見的

6. prodigy [?pr?d?d?i] n. （有極大的音樂、數(shù)學、運動等天賦的）奇才

7. blueprint [?blu?pr?nt] n. 藍圖，行動計劃

8. buy in： 采納（尤指采納有效、可行的意見） ，接受；同意，贊成

9. .500： 相當于0.500，在此指科比所在球隊的勝負場數(shù)各半。這種數(shù)字寫法是NBA賽季中表達球隊勝率（即勝負之比）的一種方法。

10. ride [ra?d] vt. 依靠

11. stack [st?k] vt. （為達預期效果）不正當?shù)匕才牛ɑ蜻x擇）

12. turnover [?t??n??v?（r）] n. 【籃球、美式橄欖球】失球，丟球

13. kryptonite [?kr?pt?na?t] n. 氪星石。在關(guān)于超人的故事中，超人接近氪星石時會喪失特異功能。

14. psyche [?sa?ki] n. 心靈

15. expletive [?k?spli?t?v] n. 咒罵語

16. foul [fa?l] adj. 粗俗的（語言） vi. （比賽中）犯規(guī)

17. work one's butt off： 拼命干

18. bench [bent?] n. <美>替補隊（員）席

19. blow [bl??] vt. <俚>把……弄得一團糟

20. poise [p??z] n. 鎮(zhèn)定；沉著

21. trite [tra?t] adj. （觀點、言語或故事）陳腐的

22. superstardom [?su?p?stɑ?（r）d?m] n. 超級明星的身份（或地位）

23. glitz [ɡl?ts] n. 閃耀，閃光