I do not usually write reviews but I felt the obligation to do so on this occasion since I believe this drama is being unfairly underestimated. I almost did not watch the drama because of how discouraging the reviews were, but after watching it has actually entered my personal top ten of c-dramas!
The main reasons people criticise the show is that it is supposedly unnecessarily long/draggy and contains too many clichés, therefore I am going to address these two claims and give my own opinion.

LENGHT OF THE SHOW
I did not feel like the story was too long, I actually believe every episode was needed.
In terms of plot, they definitely did not need that many episodes but they were necessary to develop and discuss important and sensitive topics such as sexual abuse and mental health care (especially how it is overlooked in the sports field). I personally was positively surprised by how well they handled these issues and by how they seamlessly introduced them in the story, considering that c-dramas are usually mainly light and fluffy romances. These topics were given the focus and respect they deserved, and it was clear that the writers had the intention to spread awareness around them by challenging the common misconceptions and stereotypes attached to them. The main leads' acting skills were also a major plus which further helped to convey the message.

CLICHES
Yes, there were some common c-dramas' cliches. But then again, they are called "c-dramas' cliches" for a reason, so why are you here watching c-dramas anyway if they bother you so much?
As other people have said, if you have already watched Go go squid and PYHOMS you can easily spot some similarities. It was definitely smart by the authors to use details that they know have worked in past famous dramas and they honestly blended everything pretty well, so it does not seem like a collage of dramas. I actually enjoyed this drama more than PHYHOMS which, in my opinion, is draggier than this one.

OVERALL: It might not be the most original drama to date (except for the sensitive topics that they discuss, which is quite original for a c-drama) but overall it is very enjoyable, the main actors are great as usual (Xing Fei always manages to draw some tears), the OSTS did not disappoint and you might find some familiar elements to other dramas which are, in my opinion, just a nice add to an already pleasant and well-written story.